REMARKS ON THE CULTURE OF THE RANUNCULUS. 31 



and during that time have had an opportunity of ascertaining what 

 mode of treatment is successful. The natural situation where the 

 common wild Ranunculus flourishes, is where the soil is a light but 

 rich yellowish loam, as is observable in the summer season, in the 

 deep soil of the rich meadows of our own country; — a soil that is 

 cool and moist, during the heat of summer, even to the depth of half 

 a yard, or more, and yet the soil at the surface is of that open sandy 

 character as not to crack ; thus preventing, what is always injurious 

 to the fibrous roots, viz., being broken by the rending of the soil that 

 cracks during the growing season. In order to have a bed constructed 

 of a similar character to grow mine in, I formed one, in 1830, as 

 follows : — The first week in February I had the soil of my garden 

 dug out to the depth of two feet ; at the bottom I laid six inches of 

 fresh turfy loam, chopped into pieces of about four inches diameter. 

 In the preceding autumn I had a quantity of the same kind of turfy- 

 loam procured, and laid about half a yard thick in the back yard of 

 my garden, and from the field and cow-yard I had fresh cow-dung 

 procured, and laid upon the soil to the depth of six inches, and as 

 soon as spread over a portion of the soil to the depth named, I had 

 the soil under it turned over and incorporated together ; and so pro- 

 ceeded successively till I had through winter a sufficient quantity 

 prepared to fill up the excavation for a bed twenty four yards long. 

 The heap was turned over several times previous to filling in the bed 

 in February. This compost is rich, light, but cooling with the cow- 

 dung, and being distributed particularly throughout the soil, com- 

 bines to form a compost in which I have not failed a single season, 

 since 1830, to grow and bloom the Ranunculus, unequalled by any 

 other I have seen ; and 1 hesitate not to assert, whoever follows the 

 same system in preparing the bed, and the following method of 

 planting, &c, will obtain a vigorous bloom. 



In the first week of February I had the space for the bed filled up, 

 even with the surrounding ground, with the compost, well breaking 

 it as cast in. A week afterwards I had the surface made even, and 

 then three inches deep of fresh sandy loam from the bank of a hedge, 

 spread over the whole ; in this I plant my roots, at six inches apart, 

 in rows, covering them two inches deep. When the dry weather 

 sets in I cover the surface between the plants with a mixture of half 

 sand and half loam — this prevents the bed from cracking, and the 



