RANUNCULACE.^I. 1 9 



The species acutiloba and Americana, as offered in some lists, 

 do not present anything superior or ver}^ distinct from those 

 above named for the purposes of decoration. Their flowers 

 are blue, and the habit and time of flowering the same as the 

 others. They are probably only one species, diftering some- 

 what in the form of the lobes of the leaves. 



Pseonia. — In this genus there are many plants of bold and 

 striking character; their immense flowers, conspicuous at a long 

 distance, giving many glowing intense shades of colour, and 

 their distinct and generally excellent habit, mark them out as 

 very valuable among herbaceous plants. There are depre- 

 dators of Pasonies who take exception to their large and not 

 over-well-dressed flowers, and call them vulgar ; but they are 

 only vulgar when they occupy an unfit position, as when flaunt- 

 ing in a narrow cramped border, or in a villa garden or cot- 

 tager's plot. Their beauties are fit only for producing distant 

 efl"ects, and they should be planted only where the sense of 

 space is large, and always in association with masses of foliage, 

 as of trees and shrubs. They prefer a somew^hat shady posi- 

 tion, as on the margins of woods and in glades ; their flowers 

 last longer thus : and when planted in masses in such places, so 

 as to be seen from a distance, their characteristic glare is sub- 

 dued, and the effect beautiful. They may be used with excel- 

 lent effect, also, to embellish the banks of lakes and running 

 streams at infrequent intervals. Only a few of the species 

 have been productive of useful varieties, and the greater part 

 of such are merely accidental, not the result of direct endeavour 

 to improve their qualities ; and considering how excellent many 

 of these are, there is strong encouragement to florists to make 

 many of the species the subject of direct experiment. Any 

 good deep loam is agreeable to them ; they are not fastidious 

 as to quality, provided it be not too wet. Propagate the 

 herbaceous species by division of the roots, and the Moutan 

 sorts by cuttings in slight heat in spring, when the young 

 shoots have hardened a little at the base, and by layering and 

 division also, and by grafting on the roots of the herbaceous 

 species. New varieties are raised by seed, which should be 

 sown as soon as ripe, as they lie long. A proportion of the 

 plants may appear the following spring, but the majority will 

 lie dormant twelve months or more, and they lie the longer if 

 the seeds are not sown immediately they are ripe. The JMoutan 

 varieties are not so hardy as the herbaceous ones, and should 

 not be selected for cold wet localities. They are capable of 

 resisting cold in any degree likely to be experienced in our 

 climate ; but in unfavourable situations the flowers are often 



