REMINISCENCES OF A VOYAGE TO AND FROM CHINA. 177 
as we do potted carnations in Britain,—when the flowering is over, and 
the layers removed, the old root is thrown away. 
There are wonderful stories current at Canton about the vast 
varieties of the peeony which are known in the northern provinces of 
the empire. There, they say, the cultivators have them of all colours, 
even blue and black ! That they have many varieties of the herbaceous 
sorts, is more than probable; but that they possess such a variety of 
the shrubby sorts, is extremely doubtful. 
The next most desirable family of plants were the camellias: of 
these, we purchased four plants of the double-striped, three of the 
double white, and three of the double red. We heard of and got 
drawings of the single white, called by them chasanqua , but Samay 
the gardener said, it being a wild Alpine plant, was not in cultivation. 
All the camellias are called cha faa , that is, tea jlower, probably 
from resemblance, and the sorts are contradistinguished by the 
adjectives houng, red, pack , white, &c. The common single red 
( C . Japonica ) is extensively cultivated in pots, few dwelling-houses 
being destitute of them. As the petals adhere at the base, and are 
deciduous together, they are repeatedly replaced on the points of the 
leaf-buds, so long as they retain their form and colour. 
When the palace of Shykinqua was prepared for the reception of 
Lord Macartney, the gardens were profusely furnished with flowering 
plants in pots. But as the embassy arrived later than was expected, 
many of the camellias had shed their flowers. But on the day of his 
Lordship's arrival the camellias were as blooming as ever with borrowed 
flowers from other quarters ! 
Constantly industrious and indefatigable as the Chinese florists are 
in the culture of ornamental plants, they have nothing like (we have 
lately been told) the vast variety of their favourite camellia which are 
now common in Europe. A view of Loddiges’, or Knight’s, or 
Chandler’s collections, would throw a Chinese florist into hysterics, 
and send him home wringing his hands in envious despair! 
The list given by Ksempfer of the camellias (Tsubbaki ) seen by 
him, are, besides the above mentioned, one with pale flesh-coloured 
flowers, with white spots; another with double red flowers, the five 
outer petals large, the inner shorter and plaited, with many stamina 
degenerating into petals ( Warratah ?); another with single scarlet 
flowers, the outer petals heart-shaped. Kaempfer also mentions the 
C. sasanqua, or, as it is pronounced by the better-informed Chinese, 
sancha yu, that is, mountain tea oil tree , an oil being expressed from 
it, with which they anoint their hair, and the leaves are used for 
VOL. v.—NO. LIX. 
A A 
