Some of the varieties of Caméllia japónica are sufficiently hardy to grow in the open air in the neighbourhood of London, provided their roots and the lower part of their stems are mulched; that is, covered with straw or litter, and the main trunk wrapped round with a hay-band a few inches from the ground. The hardiest kind is the variegated red. Camellias seldom do well in pots, except when they are very small, as, when they attain a tolerable size, the flower-buds are very apt to fall off without expanding. The best mode of growing camellias is, therefore, to plant them in the free soil of a conservatory, taking care that some creeping plant is trained along the rafters over their heads, as they do not like to be exposed to too much sun, unless they have also a great deal of air, and are frequently and regularly watered. The soil for camellias should be peat mixed with a little sandy loam. The temperature of the camellia house should be from 50° to 60° during the whole of the growing season; but, when the flower-buds have formed, the glasses are generally taken off during the rest of the summer. Early in autumn, however, when the flower-buds begin to swell, the glasses should be put on and the house kept warm, the plants being regularly watered morning and evening, as, if the watering be neglected a single day, or if stagnant water be suffered to remain about the roots, the flower-buds will be sure to drop off without expanding. Camellias do not require frequent repotting. Small camellias are generally shifted only once in two years, and large ones, that is, those above five feet high, not oftener than once in three or four years. The time for shifting camellias is just when they have done flowering, before they are beginning to send out their young shoots. Great care must be taken when they are repotted not to bruise the roots, as they are very easily injured. Both camellias and orange trees are very subject to the attacks of the _black fly_, a kind of aphis. The best way of destroying these insects is to syringe the plants well, laying them down on their sides when they are in pots, or, if they are planted in the free soil, syringing them with a garden engine so as to throw the water in a powerful stream upwards, in order to get at the under surface of the leaves, where the insects are generally found. Some persons recommend fumigating with tobacco smoke; but I have never found it so efficacious as syringing, and washing the under surface of the leaves with a sponge, in case the insects should be very numerous. LETTER IX. THE PARK AND PLEASURE-GROUNDS.--SITUATION OF OLD HOUSES.--WATER.--FOREST SCENERY.--EFFECT OF A SHRUBBERY IN HARMONISING A FLOWER-GARDEN WITH A PARK.--OPENING VISTAS.--SCENES IN A PARK.--FENCES AGAINST CATTLE.--STYLES IN GARDENING.--USE OF A TERRACE.--PATTE D'OIE.--PLANTING AN ARCHITECTURAL GARDEN.--PLANTING AN ARBORETUM.--RENOVATING TURF.