348 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



PLANTING THE RANUNCULUS. 



BY A CORRESPONDENT. 



IjURING- the present month I plant ray Turbans; but in 

 general I keep the other sorts out of the ground till the 

 beginning of February. This allows me to expose the 

 soil of my bed as much as possible to the action of frost, 

 and a few fine dry days in spring enable me to commit 

 my tubers to the earth in safety. As to time, a few days earlier or 

 later in planting will not be of much importance, provided the soil 

 is sufficiently dry to allow of its filling up the interstices of the 

 tubers, and securing that firm, yet porous state, so necessary for a 

 healthy vegetation. The day being dry and fine, you may at once 

 commence your operations by nicely levelling the bed, which should 

 be perfectly Hat, and not raised in the centre, a practice of which 

 inexperienced persons are fond, and which is so often injurious. As 

 the Ranunculus naturally requires a low marshy soil, it will demand, 

 in its cultivated state, a great deal of moisture, and therefore the 

 bed should be below the level of the garden rather than above 

 it, that draught may be repelled as long as possible, and that arti- 

 ficial watering, when necessary, may be most effective. 



In levelling, let the surface only be stirred, as some degree of firm- 

 ness in the subsoil is advantageous to the plant. Have ready the 

 roots in the papers with the names, some neat wooden labels, and a 

 quantity of clean white sand ; then, determining to brave the cold 

 wind which may be blowing, and not to be discouraged by the back- 

 ache, proceed to commit to the earth the humble-looking tubers, 

 which in four months are to develop so many beauties. About 

 four inches apart every way is probablv the best distance at which 

 the Ranunculus should be planted, and the amateur should there- 

 fore regulate the size of his bed by the number of roots in his collec- 

 tion, and dispose them equally all over it. "With a cord and a small 

 trowel draw a straight furrow across the bed, beginning in the 

 centre and advancing to the edge with successive furrows, that the 

 planted roots may not be interfered with. Place the roots so that 

 the crowns shall be one inch and a-half beneath the surface, when 

 the bed is completed, and having thus filled the furrow with tubers, 

 four inches apart, drop a little sand on each, sufficient to cover it, 

 and draw the excavated soil over the whole. Make another furrow 

 four inches distant from the first, and proceed as before, until that 

 side of the bed is finished. Then operate in the same way with the 

 other side, and the work is done. A slight pressure with the hand 

 should be given to every row as the work proceeds. With regard 

 to the labelling, I have found the following plan the best: As each 

 root is taken out of the paper, write its name on the painted stick 

 with a strong lead pencil, and place root and label in the furrow 

 together. The stick should be about one inch distant from the root, 

 aud must be fixed in rather firmly, as I have found the nocturnal 

 perambulations or gambols of a cat sufficient to throw them iuto 

 confusion. If the writing is always turned the same way, either 



