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FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
an inch in diameter. It grows well but is 
often infested with scale insects. 
Illicium religiosnm —The Japanese 
Star Anise shrub, is a very bushy grow¬ 
ing, beautiful and interesting plant. The 
leaves when crushed are strongly aromat¬ 
ic, reminding of sassafras, and the small 
inconspicuous flowers exhale also a faint 
perfume. It attains a height of 15 feet. 
The lower growth is very broad and at 
the top it tapers to a narrow point. It is 
one of the sacred plants of Japan, al¬ 
ways planted in the neighborhood of tem¬ 
ples and common in private gardens. 
From the powdered bark, mixed with re¬ 
sin are prepared the “smoke candles,” 
with which incense is made in the tem¬ 
ples. I have quite a number of fine speci¬ 
men plants, which grow luxuriantly on 
high pineland. The Japanese and Chin¬ 
ese deciduous Magnolias,—almost ever¬ 
green in Florida—such as Magnolia Yu- 
lan, M. stellata, M. Soulangeana, M. ob- 
ovata, M. parviflora and M. Watsoni,—» 
grow well with me, flowering from No¬ 
vember to March. All my plants though 
healthy are rather stunted, never making 
such exquisite specimens as we see in Au¬ 
gusta, Ga., Atlanta, Washington or St. 
Louis where many of them grow to tree 
size and are masses of color in early 
spring, before the leaves appear. 
Camellia Japonica —One of the glories 
of our southern gardens, ranks very high 
as an ornamental shrub. Before the big 
freeze I have seen specimens from 20 to 
30 feet high in Tallahassee, Quincy and 
Monticello, and some about equally tall 
in Jacksonville. Camellias grow well ev- 
everywhere in my garden even in full 
sunshine, but they are doing best and 
flowering most profusely in half shade 
and in rich rather moist soil. There are 
hundreds of garden forms, double and 
single, and all are beautiful. 
Camellia reticulata —From Hong 
Kong and southern China, has very vivid 
rosy-red single and double flowers. It 
grows much better and flowers more pro¬ 
fusely than the common Camellia. 
Camellia Sasanqua —The Susan Ku- 
wa of Japan, is a small bushy tree of 
dense growth. There are single and 
double forms, some of them immaculately 
white. All the flowers are fragrant. They 
flower with me in November and Decem¬ 
ber. The double white form blooms 
most profusely at Christmas time. This 
species and its varieties is better adapted 
to our soil and climate than any other 
Camellia. 
Camellia Thea —The Tea Shrub, is a 
fine ornamental plant, perfectly at home 
in our State. It should be planted every¬ 
where where choice flowers are appre¬ 
ciated. The blossoms are single, pure 
white with a bunch of yellow stamens. 
Some forms are very fragrant. 
Cleyera Japonica —This is one of the 
most conspicuous and impressive of all 
my plants. The growth is dense and con¬ 
ical. The foliage is glossy green and of 
oval form. In May the nodding creamy 
white small flowers appear most profuse¬ 
ly, perfuming the air of the entire gar¬ 
den. In August the cherry like reddish, 
mealy fruits burst open and show the nu¬ 
merous vivid red seeds which form an 
additional charm. The old leaves as¬ 
sume a bright red color. 
Eurya Japonica —and its variegated 
forms are also charming shrubs, but need 
