ARDISIA

(from ard is, a point; in reference to the acute, spear-pointed anthers). S YN. Pyrgus. O RD. Myrsineæ. An extensive genus of greenhouse or stove, mostly ornamental, evergreen trees and shrubs. Flowers white or rose-coloured, more or le panicled; panicles sometimes many-flowered at the extremities of the branches, and longer than the leaves, sometimes few-flowered and in the axils of the leaves. Leaves alternate, rarely almost opposite, or three in a whorl, dotted. Propagated by cuttings of the half-ripened wood taken from the side shoots of the plant any time from March to September; but, as the points of these side shoots bear the blo oms and fruit, they are not well adapted for making good plants. To obtain the best plants, the largest, ripest, and best-coloured berries should be sown early in spring, as soon as gathered, in a wide-mouthed pot or seed pan, well drained and filled with loam and peat in equal parts, with the addition of some sand, and plunged in bottom heat, the soil being kept moderately moist. The seeds will germinate in a few weeks after sowing, and when about 2in. high, the strongest seedlings should be selected and placed in 3in. pots, the same mixture of soil being used, with the addition of a fourth part well decomposed manure. After potting, the plants must be moistened overhead twice a day with a fine rose or syringe, and be kept in a close atmosphere until the roots have taken to the fresh soil. When the plants begin to grow again, they should be removed to a light situation in the house; and when the pots are well filled with roots, a shift into 6in. pots may be effected, water being given judiciously until well established, and here they may remain to fruit. Until the berries are coloured, clear manure water, given once or twice a week, will be found beneficial. The plants arrive at their best when about 18in. or 2ft. high; after that, they begin to get naked at the bottom. It will then be wise to cut the worst plants down to within 2in. of the pots, in early spring, allowing them to become dry at the roots before this operation is performed. By giving moisture to the roots when the cut has become dry, the plants will soon break into growth again, when some of the worst placed shoots should be rubbed off, leaving only one or two of the strongest and best placed, calculated to develop into a well formed plant. When the shoots have grown 2in. or 3in., the plants should be turned out of their pots, the soil shaken out from the roots, and the long ends of the roots trimmed in a little with a knife; they must then be placed in a pot sufficiently large to hold the roots without squeezing. The plants should now occupy the warmest end of the house in which they are grown, care being taken in watering until new roots are formed, when they may have more air and somewhat liberal supplies of water. As soon as they are sufficiently advanced in growth, they should be transferred to a larger-sized pot. With proper treatment, they will flower and fruit the same season as they are cut down, and form handsome plants. Although most species of this genus are cla ed as stove plants, they will succeed very well in a temperature that does not fall below 45deg. in winter; and, when so grown, they are not so liable to become infested with large brown scale and other insect pests. This is particularly the case with A. crenulata, and cool treatment is also favourable to the ripe berries hanging on the plants for a much longer time than when grown in a stove. Moreover, they do not suffer so much when removed for decorative purposes.