148 



HOT-HOUSE — OF REPOTTINGj ETC. [_May. 



many otliers of this genus belonging to the hot-house^ but 

 being shy in flowering, are not generally esteemed. Most 

 of the flowers have the appearance of yellow balls of down, 

 and are hermaphrodite. The pots should all be well drained. 

 (Soil No. 1.)^ 



^schynanthus, about four species, among which j^. 

 grandiJioriiSy jE. BoscanuSj dark velvet purple and bright 

 scarlet, and parasiticus are very deserving of culture ; 

 they have thick fleshy foliage, are of slender growth, produc- 

 ing orange-colored tubular flowers in clusters, and require 

 treatment similar to the wax-plant. (Soil No. 2.) 



Ardisias, about eighteen species. Plants highly esteemed 

 for the beauty of their foliage, flowers, and berries. The 

 most popular in our collections is A, crenuldta. It has rose- 

 colored star-like flowers, in terminal panicles, and produces 

 beautiful small red berries, which continue until other ber- 

 ries are produced the following year ; and frequently there 

 may be seen on one plant the berries of three successive 

 years, thus being a very ornamental plant and very desira- 

 ble. It is vulgarly called the dwarf ever-bearing cherry. It 

 will keep in a good green- house, but not grow freely. A, 

 solandcea has large oblong leaves, narrowed at each end, and 

 bears purple berries ; A. 6legans has entire, oblong, shining 

 leaves; A. iimhellata^ once A. littordlis, is also a fine plant 

 for an abundance of flower and beauty of foliage. The 

 flowers are pink, in large decompound panicles. 



Allamanda, a family of half climbing plants, a little as- 

 similated to the oleander, with large chrome-yellow blossoms, 

 requiring plenty of pot- room and good culture to flower well, 

 A. catJidrtica and A. ScJiottii we consider the finest. (Use 

 soil No. 13.) 



Aphelanda cristata, a new plant with a brilliant spike of 

 crested flowers about six inches long crowning the plant. 

 (Use Soil No. 9.) 



Areca^ Cabbage-tree, ten species. They are a kind of 

 palms, with large pinnated leaves, or properly fronds. In 

 their indigenous state they are from six to forty feet high, 

 but in the hot-house they seldom exceed twenty feet. A, 

 catechu is used in medicine. A. olerdcea is cultivated exten- 



* These numbers refer to the table of soils at the end of the 

 work. 



