38-1 
CAMELLIA HALFIDA. 
with paper to protect a small plant, and the man 
carelessly asked the hoy what he had, and 
where he had heen for it, when the lad showed 
him both the plant and the invoice, which he 
had been to fetch from Messrs. Loddiges, and 
was taking it no matter where. The 
invoice showed that the plant was Corvea 
speciosa, and the price was five guineas. The 
nurseryman immediately went to buy all he 
could, but was only able to get one, and after- 
wards got another party to go and buy him a 
second. He immediately set to work, by 
grafting all the bits he could take off on stocks 
of C. alba, and before the plant was well 
known, had hundreds for sale ; and we have 
ourselves heard the man say it was the most 
money-getting plant he ever worked, for the 
young ones went off at a good price, and nobody 
saw how they were worked or suspected they 
were worked at all. However, these three 
Correas have been favourites, and the whole 
family deserves to be. 
Mr. Milner, of South Lambeth, took great 
pains to save seed, and succeeded in producing 
many very striking varieties, among the fore- 
most of which was C. Milnerii, which was 
purchased by Mr. Glenny for twenty- five 
pounds, and afterwards let out to the nurseries 
at two guineas per plant. Mr. Glenny after- 
wards purchased a great number of seedlings, 
two of which, C. Cavendishii and another, 
he let out by cuttings to Mr. Groom. C. rosea 
was sold to Mr. Low, and is by far the best 
of the whole for habit and abundant bloom. 
C. longiflora and grandiflora were sold to 
other nurserymen ; and C bicolor, the true 
one, which is speciosa in miniature and 
brighter, was let out at the Clapton Nursery. 
Since that period a large batch of seedlings, 
the remainder of Milner's stock, came into the 
hands of Mr. Gaines, of Battersea, and have 
been named and sent out in all directions. 
This family now affords some very pretty 
contrasts, and a dozen may be selected that 
will group well. The grand feature in the 
Correa is its blooming all through the winter, 
and its abundant and well-disposed flowers. It 
is not, however, half enough cultivated, and, 
except three or four, very little known. It is 
not a market plant, because it comes in flower 
at the time of year that flowers are not 
wanted ; but it is a desirable plant in all 
private greenhouses and conservatories. It 
is raised from cuttings of the young wood, 
with a bell-glass over them, and in a cold 
frame ; but the striking can be hastened with 
slight bottom heat. It grows best in loam 
and turfy peat, without dung, and requires 
cool treatment. A frame or greenhouse, with- 
out fire-heat, except in extreme weather, suits 
it ; and it can, without any trouble, by con- 
stant shifting and careful watering only when 
required, be grown to any size ; we have seen 
them ten feet high, and literally covered with 
flowers ; and we should recommend everybody 
who has a greenhouse to select a dozen of the 
sorts, (for they are now reasonable enough to 
be within everybody's reach,) and grow them 
well, for they will enliven the greenhouse 
when there are very few flowers to break the 
monotony of the dreary months. We have 
seen several of the sorts at Lee's, and all of 
them at Gaines's — we are quite sure they will 
be appreciated the first season. When the 
bloom is over, the knife may be used to keep 
the plant in form, and check exuberant 
shoots, but it is generally graceful in its 
nature. 
CAMELLIA HALFIDA. 
This king of the rosy varieties is a fo- 
reigner, and of no very great price, but it is 
second to not one of the pinky or rosy tribe. 
It is a better form than the double white ; it 
has thicker petals, smoother edges, stands 
better up in the centre, and is rounder in the 
outline. The plant is of fine habit, and if any 
person would only grow one of the red tribe 
it should be Halfida. The true colour of it 
may be called peach-blossom. We are not 
quite so much interested about the foliage of 
a plant as to describe its peculiarities when 
trifling ; all we say of Halfida is, that the habit 
is as good as myrtifolia, and that the plant is 
as free a grower. The flowers are confined, as 
far as we saw any, to the ends of the shoots, 
and open freely. Tried on its own bottom, it 
did not grow so freely as worked on the 
single or semidouble red for a stock ; and on 
reticulata a plant did very well indeed, but the 
Ghent nurseries sent it over well worked and 
in good condition, and all we have been able 
to get sight of among imported plants grew 
alike. It is unquestionably one of the very 
best of the reds or roses, looking at the pro- 
portions generally ; and above all things we 
recommend every grower to obtain it, although 
we do not know where to direct anybody to 
get it in England. We have only seen it in 
private collections, except in one or two in- 
stances in which the parties had the wrong 
plant under the name. The Paris nursery- 
men have it pretty reasonable, and we believe 
the Ghent ones have it : the safest way to 
get it would be in bloom if possible, but we 
do not think the continental nurseries have 
any other under the name. It cannot be too 
much propagated, nor too generally grown. 
In point of money value it may be cheap, but 
it is worth a score of the other reds, and in 
form equal to the best of any colour. 
