4 
HIBISCUS CAMERONII. 
flower remains open from eight or nine in the morning till four or five in the 
afternoon. Five or six of these flowers were often opened in a day from one 
plant, which continued to produce a succession of them for two or three months ; 
and, by having plants of different ages, we were seldom without some expanded 
flowers throughout the summer and autumn of last season. The flowers were, 
also, fully double the size of those first developed. 
" This plant appears to me to be one of the most desirable species of this large 
genus for cultivation ; being a profuse bloomer, of a dwarf habit, and not by any 
means tender, — a cool stove being quite sufiicient for it. 
" The best soil for potting appears to be a mixture of loam, heath soil, and 
sand, with progressive shifting into larger pots as the plants advance in growth. 
Cuttings of the short side-shoots root readily in sand, in a gentle heat, in about a 
month. Seeds have also been perfected this season ; from which, perhaps, plants 
of a more robust growth may be obtained, which would be an improvement. The 
seeds from which the first plants were raised, had evidently lost some of their 
vegetative power ; since these plants never grew so vigorously as those did which 
were raised from cuttings taken from them. I may also remark that there is 
frequently some difference in the colour of the flowers, proceeding from the season 
at which they are produced, and the state of the weather at the time." 
From these observations, the reader will be able to glean every fact of interest 
at present known concerning the species. We should rejoice to see our collections 
augmented by many other beautiful plants obtained in a similar way ; and trust 
that missionary bodies will direct the attention of their agents to an object which 
is in itself so praiseworthy, and might so easily be accomplished. Probably 
seedling plants of this species will ultimately be found capable of flourishing in a 
greenhouse ; and although their blossoms be fugitive, the abundance of them com- 
pensates for that defect. 
Hibiscus is derived from kibiscos, one of the names applied by the Greeks to the 
Mallow ; or from Ibis, a stork, which is supposed to eat one of the species. 
DSI 
