TO THE FLOWER GATvDEN. 237 



'well planted either in fibry or heavy loams, which are im- 

 proved by the addition of vegetable soil. They are propagated 

 in a variety of ways. The common sorts increase plentifully 

 from seeds, which are also resorted to (the tlowers having been 

 cross- fertilised) for the raising of new varieties. Sow the seeds 

 in broad shallow pots well drained, and filled with a mixture 

 of two-thirds peat and one-third loam ; place them in a cold 

 pit ; keep the soil moist, for it must not once dry after the 

 seeds are in. When large enough prick the young plants 

 out at an inch apart into other pots or pans, and as they 

 become larger pot them singly ; or, if intended for the open 

 au*, plant them in peat beds, giving them room from year to 

 year by taking away alternate plants and putting them else- 

 where. They may continue in the beds till they flower. If 

 there be any doubt of their hardiness put hoops and mats 

 over them, but it is useless to raise tender ones while there 

 are so many fine hardy varieties. Approved sorts and rare 

 species are propagated by layering, or by grafting on stocks 

 of the common sjDecies ; sometimes by cuttings. The varieties 

 raised by crossing the original species are numberless. 



RHUBARB. See Rheum. 



RHUS. Sumach. [Anacardiaceae.] Hardy deciduous 

 shrubs. Light loam. Seeds, layers, or cuttings. 



RIBES. Currant. [ Gross ulariacese.] An extensive 

 family of hardy shrubs, well suited for shrubberies. The 

 very best, which grows freely in ordinary garden soil, is the 

 R. sanguineum, a deciduous plant, which about May is deco- 

 rated with drooping bunches of scarlet blossoms. Of this 

 there is a very handsome double-flowered variety, and another 

 in which the blossoms are white. They are propagated either 

 by layers or by cuttings without difficulty. R. aweumj^rcscox, 

 flowers yellow. R. speciosum, flowers scarlet. 



RICHARDIA. [Araceae.j it. yE^/i/o/j/crt, formerly known 

 as Calla JEtliiopica, is a favourite greenhouse or window plant. 

 It has largish somewhat arrow-shaped leaves and a very 

 showy inflorescence, the white oddly-shaped showy part being, 

 however, not the flowers, but that which covers them — an 

 organ called a spathe. These j^lants require rest, which they 

 take at the end of summer after bloom is over. Towards 

 winter they begin to grow, and should be then repotted into a 



