The Spec. Char., &c. Leaves elliptical, serrulated, bluntly acuminate. Flowers sessile, axillary, generally solitary, and somewhat terminal, usually 4-petaled, and with 3 distinct, furrowed, woolly styles, which are about equal in length to the stamens. Native of Nepal, at Narainhetty; where it flowers in September, and where it is called kengua by the inhabitants. This species is very like C. Sasánqua. The flowers are white and fragrant. It is called in the Newar language, kissi, or kissi-swa. leaves have a very strong, but transient, smell of tea; but an infusion possesses only a very slight degree of flavour, owing, perhaps, as Mr. Gardner justly observes, to the defective manner of gathering and drying them. It has also been ascertained by Mr. Gardner that the Nepalese extract an oil from the seed of the Kissi by pressure, which is much valued by them as a medicine. (Don's Mill., i. p. 676., adapted.) Introduced into the garden of the Horticultural Society in 1823; but, not being a very showy, species, it has not been extensively propagated. There are stools of it in a cold-pit in the Vauxhall Nursery. Plants, in London, cost 10s. 6d. each, and at Bollwyller, 30 francs. 6. C. OLEI FERA Abel. The oil-bearing Camellia. Identification. Abel's Chin., p. 174.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 577. Engravings. Lodd. Bot. Cab., 1065.; Ker. Bot. Reg., 492.; Chandl. Ill., t. 3.; and our fig. 100. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves elliptic-oblong, acute, serrated, coriaceous, shining. Flowers solitary. Calyxes silky, deciduous. Petals 5-6, 2-lobed. (Don's Mill., i. p. 577.) A native of Cochin-China, where it is cultivated, and forms a small tree 10 ft. high. This bears a close resemblance to the two preceding species: the flowers are very numerous, white, and fragrant. The Chinese call it "the oil-bearing tea plant," as it very closely resembles tea. Dr. Abel sometimes found it of the magnitude of a moderately sized cherry tree, and never less than the size of a shrub 6 ft. or 8ft. high. At 100 a distance, these plants looked as if they had been lightly clothed with snow; but nearer they exhibited one immense garden of white roses. This species is said to have been originally brought to the country by Lord Macartney; but it was afterwards lost till 1820, when it was reintroduced by Captain Nisbett. It is readily distinguished from C. Sasánqua, as it is of a much more robust habit, and larger in every respect, with thicker leaves, having moderately large serratures, and being sharp at the point. (Gard. Mag., vol. vi. p. 290.) The Chinese extract an oil from the seed, which is in very general use in the domestic economy of China. The seeds are white, and are reduced to a coarse powder, which is afterwards chewed or boiled in bags, and then pressed, when the oil is produced. The seeds of all the different species of camellia are said to be used in China for the same purpose. (Abel.) 7. C. EURYÖIDES Lindl. The Eurya-like Camellia. Identification. Lindl. Bot. Reg., t. 983.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 577. Synonyme. Thea euryöldes Booth, in Hort. Trans. Engravings. Lodd. Bot. Cab., 1493.; Lindl. Bot. Reg., t. 983.; and our fig. 101. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, serrated, sulcate beneath. Branches hairy. Peduncles lateral, 1-flowered, scaly. (Don's Mill., i. p. 557.) Native of China, whence it was introduced, in 1824, in rather a singular manner. The grafted part of a camellia, brought from China, in 1822, by Mr. John Potts, having perished, the stock sent up young shoots, and proved to be this species, which had been before unknown to botanists. It forms a diffuse bushy plant, with hairy branches, obovate, acuminate, serrated leaves, and small neat white flowers, never expanding fully, but in size resembling those of a Thea. It is inferior in showiness to any of the previously known camellias; but must be considered a subject of much interest to the cultivator, from its being one of the stocks employed by the Chinese in propagating the ornamental species of the genus. (Hort. Trans.) This species is not much cultivated, because, though beautiful as an evergreen shrub, it is less so than the other sorts. It deserves a place, however, on the conservative wall, wherever the collection is extensive. Soil, Situation, and general Management. The camellias will grow in any free soil; but a loam inclining to sand, enriched with leaf-mould or thoroughly rotten dung, seems to suit them best. Most of the species and varieties seem to prefer a situation somewhat shaded; which, as we have already observed, seems to be generally the case with evergreen plants having broad shining leaves. For this reason, an east or west wall, or even a north wall, inclining to the east or west, will be found preferable to a south wall for the more tender sorts; and for those which are to be treated as bushes, a situation in the shrubbery or arboretum, where they will be shaded by tall trees during the hottest part of the day, is desirable. Where there is ample space and a decided taste for the genus, a camellia garden, containing all the species and varieties, might be formed in the following manner. Choose a situation, either level, or having a west or south-east aspect; and enclose a circle, a quarter of an acre in extent, with a 9-inch brick wall, built hollow, and having holes about the size of the end of a brick at 3 ft or 4 ft. apart, immediately under the coping, for the purpose of receiving rafters for supporting a temporary roof of thatched hurdles or of boards. Against both sides of this wall all the more tender sorts of camellia might be planted; and the interior of the area might be devoted to the hardier sorts, to the green tea, and to other half-hardy and evergreen shrubs from China and Japan, such as Illícium, Magnolia fuscata, &c. Where a number of conservative gardens are to be placed together, the walls may be arranged in the form of pentagons, by which means, as in the cells of the honey-bee, no space would be lost. The form of the garden being either circular or pentagonal, and the walls being hollow, the latter need not be more than a brick in width, and they may be carried to the height of 10 ft., which will be sufficient. Being hollow, they might all be heated by steam from one boiler, a small steam pipe being conducted along their foundations. GENUS II. THE A L. THE TEA TREE. Lin. Syst. Monadélphia Polyándria. Gen. Char., &c. Calyx of 5 sepals. Petals 5-9, disposed in two or three rows, cohering at the base. Stamens almost unconnected to the very base. Anthers roundish. Style trifid at the apex. Capsules of 3 almost distinct carpels, 3-seeded; the dissepiments are formed from the edges of the valves being bent inwards. Beautiful evergreen shrubs from China. (Don's Mill., i. p. 577.) The species, in general appearance, closely resemble The camellias, with which genus they are united by various botanists. leaves are large, shining, laurel-like, and the flowers white, axillary, pediceled, and sweet-scented. The culture may be considered the same as that of the camellia, but some of the species are less hardy. 1. T. VIRIDIS L. The common, or green Tea. Identification. Lin. Sp., 735.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 577. Synonymes. T. Bohèa stricta Ait. Hort. Kew., ed. 2. vol. 3. p. 203.; T Engravings. Lodd. Bot. Cab., t. 227.; Woodv. Med. Bot. Suppl., 116. 102 2. T. BOHEA L. The Bohea, or Black, Tea. Identification. Lin. Sp., 743; Don's Mill., 1. p. 577. Synonymes. T. chinensis 3 Bohèa Sims, Bot. Mag., t. 998.; Dec. Prod.,1. p. 530.1 Spec. Char., &c. Leaves elliptical-oblong, obtuse, crenated, twice as long as broad. Flowers of 5 sepals, and 5 petals, axillary, twin or ternary. (Don's Mill., i. p. 577.) An evergreen shrub, with dark green leaves, much smaller than those of the preceding species; and white flowers, also smaller, but fragrant. Introduced from China in 1780, and generally treated as a frame or green-house plant. History, Uses, &c. The genus Thea (forming the Theacea of Mirbel, and included in the Camellièe of Jussieu and De Candolle) is almost exclusively confined to China, Japan, and some of the neighbouring islands; but, as the species are plants which have been cultivated for an unknown length of time, it is difficult to ascertain their native country. Of late, the Thèa víridis has been discovered in Upper Assam through an extent of country of one month's march, and within the East India Company's territories, from Sadiya and Beesa to the Chinese frontier of the province of Yunnan, where the shrub is cultivated for the sake of its leaf. This discovery was made in 1826, by Mr. David Scott; and an account of it is given in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of India for January 1835, and in the Gardener's Magazine, vol. xi. p. 429. It appears that the inhabitants of these countries are in the habit of boiling the stalks and leaves, and then squeezing them into a ball, which they dry in the sun, and then retain for use. Much has been written on the plant which produces the tea of commerce. Dr. Lettsom, who wrote a pamphlet on the subject in 1772, asserts that all the different kinds of tea brought to Europe are the produce of Thea viridis, and that the whole difference in the qualities of teas depends, not on the species of plant, but on the soil and climate in which the plants are grown, the different ages and periods at which the leaves are gathered, and the different modes of preparing and drying them. A green tea plant, he asserts, planted in the bohea tea country, will produce bohea tea; and a plant from the bohea tea country, planted in the green tea country, will produce green tea. Among all the different opinions that have been advanced on the subject, this appears to us by far the most plausible. It is said, however, that Thea Bohèa is cultivated in the southern provinces, as the Thèa viridis is in the north; and that hyson, and all its numerous varieties, are made from the latter; and bohea, and all its varieties, from the former: but, comparing the price of green and black tea in this country, and the quantity of the latter which is consumed in proportion to that of the former, it is difficult to believe that the black teas are all made from the leaves of Thèa Bohèa, which is a very distinct species, constitutionally much more tender than Thea víridis, and of comparatively slow and diminutive growth. From Kæmpfer, Thunberg, and Siebold we learn that the tea plant is extensively cultivated in Japan, the various islands of which extend from 30° to 41° of north latitude; from which, in considering its extensive culture in China, and the great extent of territory where it is found indigenous, it is easy to conceive that its varieties may be as numerous as those of the grape vine or the apple are in the south of Europe. Mr. Reeves has disputed, in Gard. Mag., vol. ix. p. 713, 714., the correctness of some of Mr. Main's statements. Whoever wishes to pursue this subject at greater length, and to consult a digest of all that has been hitherto written on it, may peruse Royle's Illustrations, from p. 108. to p. 113. The Thea viridis is sufficiently hardy to stand the air in the neighbourhood of London, with little or no protection. There are bushes of it from 6 ft. to 8 ft. high, and 20 ft. or more in circumference, in the Mile End Nursery, which, in severe winters, have only a little pea-haulm or a mat thrown over them. There are, also, large plants at Syon, at Purser's Cross, at Vere's Villa, at Brompton, at Upton, near Ham, at Lady Tankerville's, Walton on Thames (40 years old, and 8 ft. high), &c., which, we believe, have never received any protection whatever. The plants at Mile End are in a deep sandy loam, and they are remarkable for sending down their strong, thick, black roots in a perpendicular direction to a great depth. There is a plant at Farnham Castle, Surrey, almost as large as those in the Mile End Nursery; and there are plants at White Knights, and at various other places, which leave no doubt of the hardiness of this species. Indeed, it thrives far better in the open air than in pots; probably owing to its constitutional habit of throwing down its roots perpendicularly to a great depth. The only conservatory in which we have seen it in a prosperous state is that at Cashiobury, in Hertfordshire, where the glass roof is taken off during the greater part of the year. The plant not only flowers freely in the open air, but sometimes, as at Farnham Castle, it ripens seed. It is easily propagated by layers; and its general treatment, both in the nursery and in the pleasureground, as a half-hardy shrub, may be considered the same as that of the camellia; with this difference, that, being more of a bush than that plant, and loving the shade still more, it does not seem to answer so well against a wall. In the warmest parts of Devonshire, and the south of Ireland, it might be grown as an article of field culture for its leaves; and, if our prejudice in favour of the Chinese mode of preparation could be got over, and the leaves could be slightly fermented, and dried in the same manner as the best meadow hay is about London, being afterwards compressed into cakes to keep for use, the principal nations of Europe might easily grow their own tea, instead of importing it from China, if such a measure were found necessary, or thought desirable. The culture of the plant for commercial purposes has been tried at Rio Janeiro, at Algiers, and, we believe, in Australia. There is much less difficulty in growing the plants, than in preparing the leaves in the Chinese manner; and, as this is principally performed by manual labour, it can only be done profitably where the population is extremely numerous, and the means of living proportionably as cheap as in China or India. At some future time an imitation of this process will, probably, be effected by means of steam. The black tea (Thèa Bohèa) is a much more delicate plant, and is very seldom to be seen in England in the open air in a thriving state. It will neither thrive in pots, nor do well in a conservatory, unless it is quite close to the glass. The best situation for it seems to be a pit, where it may be covered with glass during winter, and exposed to the air during summer. In a conservative arboretum, it may be preserved by placing litter, fern, or spruce branches round the roots, and covering the top with a case of wickerwork, which, in climates colder than that of London, may be thatched. There are stools of it in the open ground in the Kensington Nursery, and in some others; but they are protected with mats in winter. *Other Species and Varieties of Thea. 3. T. COCHINCHINE'NSIS Lour., the Cochin-China Tea, is said to have narrower leaves than the other species, and to have 1-seeded fruit opening at the apex. It is a shrub, growing 8 ft. high, and the leaves are used by the inhabitants of Cochin-China medicinally, as a sudorific and refrigerant. It has not yet been introduced into Britain, and is, in all probability, only a variety of the green tea. 4. T. OLEO SA Lour., the oily Tea, has lanceolate leaves, and peduncles 3-flowered, and auxillary. An oil is said to be obtained from the seed of this shrub, which has not yet been introduced into Britain. A species of tea grown in the province of Canton, with a pale-coloured leaf, which is occasionally mixed with Congou tea, is mentioned by Mr. Reeves (Royle's Illust., p. 111.); and this, with the numerous other sorts which are, doubtless, in cultivation in China and Japan, may be expected in Britain at some future period. Sect. III. Anticipated Ternströmiàceæ. We have already mentioned that there are, undoubtedly, many varieties of Camellia japónica in China and Japan which have not yet found their way to Britain; and there can be no doubt that the varieties of the green tea are still more numerous. In p. 173., it appears that Eùrya acuminata, which belongs to this order, is likely to be hardy. This shrub, Mr. Royle observes, attains the height of about 8 ft. or 10 ft., and is common in the Himalaya at an elevation of 6500 ft. The leaves are thick, coriaceous, finely serrated, smooth, and the young ones hairy. The flowers, owing to the early fall of the leaves from the lower parts of the branches, appear to be lateral; but they actually rise out of the axils of the fallen leaves. The plant is a handsome evergreen bush, well meriting introduction. (Royle's Illust., p. 128.) CHAP. XX. OF THE HALF-HARDY LIGNEOUS PLANTS OF THE ORDER AURANTIA CEÆ. WE introduce this order for the sake of noticing two genera, the species of which may, with care, be cultivated against flued walls without the protection of glass. These genera are Citrus and Limònia. The species of the first are trees universally known and admired, natives of India; and those of the second Himalayan shrubs, growing at considerable elevations in Nepal. Orange trees, when first introduced into England in 1595, were grown against a wall at Bedington, in Surrey, and flowered and fruited there for many years; till, as Evelyn informs us (see E. of Gard., ed. 1835, p. 967.), they were neglected. With a little care, and without the expense of glass, there can be no doubt that all the Citrus family might be grown against a hot wall in the climate of London, in as great, or greater perfection, than theyjare now to be seen in those formal artificial contrivances, tubs and boxes kept under glass, and which are far more expensive than hollow walls to be heated by steam or smoke flues, and protected by thatched hurdles, or reed or straw mats. Those who have seen the walls covered with orange and lemon trees at Woodhall in West Lothian, at Coombe Royal in Devonshire, and at M. Fion's in Paris, will not wonder at our great anxiety to encou rage the culture of this plant in the conservative manWe have also seen fine orange trees in the neigh ner. |