$. 
RIBES. 
351 
ROBINIA. 
greenish-yellow flowers, and black | ness. 
In its native country, also, 
fruit; R. céreum, the wax-leaved | the Rtbes sanguineum always grows 
currant, the leaves of which are | partly in the shade, and near water. 
round, and appear thinly covered| The colour of the flowers varies 
with white wax; R. sanguineum, 
the red-flowered black currant, a 
beautiful and well-known species, 
of which there are several varieties ; 
and R. aureum, the yellow-flowered 
black currant. All these kinds are 
very beautiful ; but the most orna- 
mental are Ribes sanguineum, and 
its varieties or allied species, R. | 
Glutinésum, with pale pink flowers, 
and R. malvdceum, with lilach ones, 
and also the dark red variety, R. s. 
atrortubens. There are also several 
kinds of R. atireum, all of which 
are well deserving of cultivation. 
All the kinds of Ribes are easily 
propagated by cuttings ; or by seeds, 
which most of the kinds ripen in 
abundance—and one kind, Ribes 
punctatum, sends up suckers. They | 
are generally quite hardy ; but R. 
punctatum, being a native of Chili, | 
succeeds best against a wall. R. 
sanguineum, and its allied species, 
are natives of California, and, like 
all the plants from that country, | 
they are very liable to die off, if the 
collar of the root be exposed to the 
sun. Thus, a fine healthy plant 
of Ribes sanguineum, several feet 
high, and covered with flowers, will | 
often wither and die away without 
any apparent cause ; but if the facts 
connected with it be closely exam- 
ined, it will generally be found that 
the ground in which the plant grows 
has become quite dry and powdery | 
at the surface, so that the roots 
have been exposed to sufficient heat 
to wither them at the point of junc- 
tion with the collar. This never 
occurs when the plant is suffered to 
remain in a state of nature, as it 
always sends out side-shoots near 
the ground, so as to shade its root ; 
but in gardens and shrubberies these 
side-shoots are frequently trimmed 
away from a mistaken idea of neat- 
| very much according to the soil in 
which the plant is grown ; the dark. 
est and brightest hues being observ- 
able in those plants which are grown 
|in calcareous soils, and the palest 
and least brilliant in those grown in 
sandy soils. Ribes aireum, the 
_yellow-flowered currant, and its al- 
lied species and varieties, succeed 
best in gravelly soils, and appear in 
| general very hardy. ae 
Rice.—See Ory'za. 
Ricua’rp1a.— Aroidee.— Kunth’s 
name for Calla ethidpica. For the 
culture, &c., see A‘RuM. 
Rict'nus.—- Euphorbidcee.—Palme 
| Christi. The Castor-oil plant, Ri- 
cinus communis, is a half-hardy an- 
nual in this country, worth growing 
for its splendid leaves and very cu- 
‘rious flowers and seed-pods; but in 
the East Indies it becomes a tree. 
| The oil is expressed from the seeds. 
| When grown in England, the seeds 
should be sown in a slight hotbed, 
in February, and the young plants 
removed to the open border m May. 
It should be grown in light rich soil, 
well manured with decayed leaves, 
'and in a situation open to the san. 
Rico\r1a.—Crucifera.— A very 
pretty little annual, nearly allied to 
Lunaria, which only requires sow- 
ing in the open border in April.— 
See ANNUALS. 
Ripeinc.—Throwing up ground 
in ridges, in order to expose it more 
|thoroughly to the action of the 
weather. This operation is most 
useful in clayey soils, as the water 
freezing separates the particles of 
the clay, and lightens the soil; and 
it is performed by opening a trench, 
and throwing up the ground so as 
to form a kind of hillock sloping on 
both sides. 
Rosi nra.— Leguminodse.—Orna- * 
mental trees and shrubs, with long 
