MARCH. 
55 
Avlien ripe, washed with brownish red on the side next the sun, and marked 
with stripes of the same colour, the whole covered with fine delicate cinnamon- 
coloured russet, sprinkled with large grey dots. Eye half open, placed in a 
wide and shallow basin. Stalk short and stout, inserted in a deep cavity, 
with sometimes a fleshy swelling on one side of it. Flesh white, tender, 
buttery, and melting, somewhat gritty, but, when grown in a light, warm, and 
slightly humid soil, it is rich and melting. 
A dessert fruit, of good quality, ripe in September. 
The tree is a vigorous grower, and an abundant bearer. It succeeds well 
as a standard or pyramid.; and Diel says the fruit is better from an old than 
a young tree. 
(To be continued.) H. 
THE TRUE BLACK ALICANTE GRAPE. 
I beg to thank Mr. Hill, Mr. Wills, and Mr. Wighton, for their kindness 
in so promptly replying to my query respecting the Alicante Grape. The testi¬ 
mony of any one of these gentlemen is amply sufficient to satisfy me on the 
matter. I don’t recollect ever to have seen the true Black Alicante. I ain now 
pleased I asked the question, as the evidence of these gentlemen as to the 
excellence of the Alicante will, I doubt not, be as acceptable to others as it is 
to myself. M. Saul. 
THE CULTURE OF THE CAMELLIA. 
For winter decoration and for furnishing a supply of flowers during the 
winter and spring months, few if any plants equal the Camellia. With very little 
care they can be had in flower from the end of October until May. From some 
cause or other we do not find them so extensively grown in private establishments 
as they deserve to be; and what makes it the more singular is the fact that the 
Camellia is of the easiest culture, and one of the hardiest of greenhouse shrubs; 
indeed the plant does best in a low temperature during the winter months. To 
amateurs and young gardeners about to commence their cultivation the following 
remarks may be acceptable. 
Soil.— The soil best adapted to the growth of Camellias is a mixture of good 
loamy turf and peat, in nearly equal proportions, to which should be added a little 
sand. These should be well mixed and broken small, but not sifted. It should 
neither be too wet nor too dry when used for potting the plants. 
Drainage and Potting. —Effectual drainage is indispensable to the success 
of the plants. Put plenty of potsherds at the bottom of the pots, and cover them 
with a ihin layer of moss. The proper season for potting the plants is when the 
young growth is completed, and the blossom-buds for the next year are forming 
at the ends of the shoots. In potting, especially large plants requiring liberal 
shifts, put some of the coarsest of the soil at the bottom on the moss, and press 
the soil well round the ball, so as to leave no hollow between the pot and the ball; 
and the latter should be rather moist at the time of potting. After they are fresh 
potted, the plants should be taken back into the conservatory or greenhouse. 
The greatest attention should be paid to watering. Water should only be given 
when the plants absolutely need it. If given too freely after the plants begin to 
root into the fresh compost, it may cause them to start into fresh growth—a thing 
to be most carefully guarded against. Air should be given freely both by night 
and day. The plants intended for autumn flowering should remain in the greenhouse 
the whole summer, giving them plenty of air at night. Those for winter and 
spring flowering should be placed out of doors when the blossom-buds are well 
formed, in a situation where they can have free exposure to the atmosphere, and 
