RADISH 



729 



RAKE 



Spring Varieties. Long rooted : Long White ; called 

 also the White Transparent, White Italian, and Naples 

 Radish. White Russian. Twisted Radish of Mons. 

 Semi-long Scarlet. Rose-coloured Semi-long. Scarlet, 

 or Salmon, or Scarlet-transparent Radish. Purple, 

 formerly called exclusively the Short-topped. Red- 

 necked White, and others. 



Turnip-rooted. White Turnip. Early White Turnip. 

 Pink, Rose-coloured, Scarlet and Crimson Turnip. Purple 

 Turnip. Yellow Turnip. New Yellow Short-topped. 



Autumn and Winter Varieties. These are all of the 

 turnip-rooted kind, and are in the order they follow in 

 coming into use : Yellow Turnip. Round Brown. White 

 Spanish. Oblong Brown. Black Spanish. Large Purple. 

 Winter or Purple Spanish. 



The soil, a light loam, and moderately fertile, should 

 be dug a full spade deep, and well pulverised. Manures 

 should not be applied at the tune of sowing. The situa- 

 tion should always be open, but for early and late crops 

 warm and sheltered. 



Sowing. For the earliest productions.during December, 

 January, and February, in a hotbed; and in the open 

 ground once a month during winter, and every fortnight 

 during the other seasons of the year. 



In the open ground the seed is generally sown broad- 

 cast, and well raked in, but in drills is much the most 

 preferable mode. In either case it must be inserted 

 thin, and buried a quarter of an inch deep. Thick sowing 

 causes the tops to be large, and the roots tough and thin. 



If broadcast, the beds should be laid out 4 or 5 feet 

 wide, divided by alleys a foot in width, the earth from 

 which may be thrown out to raise the beds. If drills 

 are employed for the long-rooted, they are required to be 

 3 inches asunder, for the turnip-rooted 4 or 5, and for 

 the Spanish, &c., 6 or 8. 



When the seedlings are well up, and advanced to five 

 or six leaves, they are ready for thinning ; the spindle- 

 rooted to 3 inches apart, the turnip-rooted to 4, and the 

 larger varieties to 6. The spaces, however, require to 

 be rather increased in moist, warm weather. In dry 

 weather they ought to be watered regularly every night. 

 The early and late crops that have to withstand the 

 attacks of frost, &c., should be kept constantly covered 

 with dry straw or fern, to the depth of about 2 inches, 

 or with matting, supported by hooping until the plants 

 make their appearance, when the covering must be re- 

 moved every mild day, but renewed towards evening, 

 and constantly during frosty or tempestuous weather. 



The bed should have a good watering the morning 

 before that on which they are taken up, but none after- 

 wards until subsequent to the drawing. 



To draw for Salads whilst with their seed-leaves, sowings 

 must be made once a week. The management is pre- 

 cisely that required for rape, mustard, &c. 



To obtain Seed, leave in April, or early May, some of 

 the most perfect plants of a main crop. When in full 

 vigour, they must be taken up with as little injury as 

 possible to the roots and leaves, and planted in rows, 

 3 feet asunder each way, being inserted by the dibble 

 completely down to the leaves. Water must be applied 

 until they have taken root, and occasionally throughout 

 their growth, especially when in flower. If practicable, 

 it is best to leave some plants where raised. 



To obtain seeds of the Black Spanish, some seeds must 

 be sown in March, or some of the winter-standing crop 

 left or transplanted during that month. The pods must 

 be cut as soon as they become of a brown hue, and vvell 

 dried. 



Two varieties must never be raised near each other, 

 and seed of the previous year's raising should always 

 be employed. 



The seeds of the different varieties are easily distin- 

 guished by an experienced seedsman. Those of the long 

 white radish are small, flat, and pale ; of the scarlet and 

 purple long-rooted, large ; and of the first very light- 

 coloured, compared with those of the latter ; of the white 

 turnip, small, round, and brown ; scarlet turnip, rather 

 larger, and somewhat darker ; purple turnip, larger and 

 brown, being similar to the long-rooted purple, except 

 in size. 



Forcing. A moderate hotbed is required for this crop, 

 of a length according with that of the frame to be em- 

 ployed ; the earth about 8 inches deep, on the surface 

 of which the seed is to be sown as soon as the violent 

 heat is abated, and an additional fourth of an inch sifted 

 over it. 



The seedlings are in general up in less than a week, 

 and in six they will be ready to draw. Throughout 

 their growth air must be admitted as freely as is allow- 

 able. The glasses, however, must be closed on the ap- 

 proach of evening, and mats or other covering put on 

 in proportion to the severity of the season. When the 

 earth appears at all dry, a light watering must be given 

 at noon. 



The plants must not stand nearer than 2 inches to 

 each other. The temperature required is from 50 to 70 ; 

 and it must be kept to this heat by moderate linings as 

 required. 



If there be a deficiency of frames, hoops and mats may 



be employed, a frame of boards being formed round the 



bed, light and air being admitted as "freely and as often 



, as possible. If seed is sown within a frame without 



I any bottom-heat, the plants will be two or three weeks 



forwarder than if sown in the open ground. 



RADISH FLY. Anthomy'ia radi'cum. 

 RA'FNIA. (Named after C. Rafn, a Danish botanist. 

 Nat. ord. Leguminous Plants [Leguminosae]. Linn. 16- 

 Monadelphia, 6-Decandria. Allied to Hovea.) 



Greenhouse, yellow-flowered evergreens, from South 

 Africa, except where otherwise mentioned. Seeds in a 

 hotbed, in spring ; cuttings of firm side-shoots at the 

 beginning of summer, in sand, under a bell-glass ; sandy 

 peat and fibrous loam, kept rough by pieces of charcoal 

 and broken pots, and drainage well attended to. Winter 

 temp., 40 to 48. 

 R. amplexicau'lis (stem-clasping). 3-4. July. 1816. 



angula'ta (angular-6rancfe#/). 2. May. 1816. 



corda'ta (heari-ltaved). 2. May. 1821. 



cuneifo'lia (wedge-leaved). 2. Yellow, purple. June. 

 1816. 



elli'ptica (oval-leaved). 2. June. 1819. 



filifo'lia (thread-leaved). See R. ANGULATA. 



la'ncea (speai-head-leaved). 2. June. 1823. 



oppo'sita (opposite-leaved). 2. June. 1824. 



perfolia'ta (stem-pierced). 3-4. June, July. 1812. 



triflo'ra (three-flowered). 3. June. 1784. 



RAGGED ROBIN. Ly'chnis Flo's-cu'culi. 

 RAGS. See VEGETABLE MANURES. 

 RAGWORT. Otho'nna and Sene'cio. 

 RAILING is of various forms, but all, if made of wood, 

 are soon decayed if slight, and are clumsy and inelegant 

 if strong. Iron railing is at once light, neat, and en- 

 during, and may be erected for about 2s. per yard and 

 : upwards, 



RAILLIATIDIA. (Commemorative of A. M. L. 

 Railliard. Nat. ord. Composite.) 



Greenhouse evergreen shrub. Cuttings in sand under 

 a bell-glass. Fibrous loam, leaf-mould, and sand, 

 i R. ciliola'ta (finely-eye-lashed). 2. Yellow. July. 



Sandwich Islands. 1865. 

 RAIN BERRY. Rha'mnus catha'rticus. 

 RAIN TREE. Pithecolo'bium Sa'man. 

 RAINBOW FLOWER. I'ris. 

 RAISINS. Sun-dried grapes. 

 RAISIN-TREE. Ri'bes ru'brum. 

 RAISIN-TREE, JAPANESE. Hove'nia du'lcis. 

 RAJA'NIA. (Commemorative of the celebrated Eng- 

 lish naturalist, John Ray, the founder of the natural 

 system of botany. Nat. ord. Dioscoreaceae. Allied to 

 Dioscorea.) 



A stove twiner very similar to a Yam or Dioscorea. 

 ' Seeds, offsets, or divisions of the tubers. Loam, leaf- 

 , mould, and sand. 

 i R. brasilie'nsis (Brazilian). 6-8. Greenish. Brazi 



1827. 

 quina'ta (five-leafleted). SeeAKEBiA QUINATA. 



RAKE. This implement is now much less in use than 



formerly, when broadcast sowing was prevalent. Now 



. the broad hoe is quite as efficient in covering drill-sown 



seed. The head of the rake is best made of wood, and 



of this ash is most desirable. If the head be of iron, the 



! teeth are continuallv becoming loose. Rakes, with heads 



about 6 inches long, are required for dressing flower- 



