THE RANUNCULUS, 45 



THE RANUNCULUS, (Ranunculus.) 



THE species may be divided into two kinds border 

 flowers and florists' flowers. The latter consist of 

 some hundreds of varieties obtained from the species 

 Ranunculus Asiaticus, a native of the Levant, with tuber- 

 ous roots, which is rather too tender to endure the winter 

 in the Northern States in the open air without some kind 

 of protection. The wild plant grows naturally in Persia, 

 in meadows which are moist during winter and in the 

 growing season, but dry during a great part of summer. 



The usual season for planting the Ranunculus is No- 

 vember. The roots may be placed about six inches apart 

 each way, covered with two inches of soil, and protected 

 by straw, mats, or rotten tan, during severe frosts, or they 

 do splendidly when grown in cold frames. The plants will 

 come into flower in June, and when the leaves wither the 

 roots may be taken up, dried in the shade, and preserved 

 in a dry place until they are wanted for replanting. As 

 the plant seeds freely, even when semi-double, new sorts 

 without end maybe raised from seed, which maybe sown 

 in pots or flat pans as soon as it is gathered, and placed 

 in a cold frame. 



The tubers, if kept dry, will retain their vitality for two 

 or three years ; and hence, if roots which should be 

 planted in November are kept out of the ground till the 

 November following, and then planted in pots and pro- 

 tected from frost, and when they appear above ground 

 put into green-house heat, they will flower at Christmas. 

 If not planted till December, they will flower about the 

 end of January ; and if not planted till January, they 

 will flower in March. In this way, by always having a 

 stock of old roots, and planting some every month in the 

 year, Ranunculuses may be had in flower all the year 



