RAKE. 



415 



RANUN'CULUS. 



Rake, How and why used. 



Loudon says : " Rakes vary in size and 

 in the length and strength of their teeth 

 they are used for covering seeds or taking 

 off weeds or cut grass, for smoothing sur- 

 faces, and for removing or replacing thin 

 strata of pulverised surfaces, as in ' cuffing, 

 which is a mode of covering tree seeds 

 sown in beds, by spreading the earth pre- 

 viously drawn off to the sides, over the 

 seeds, by a smart blow or cuff with the 

 back of the rake." Indeed, the back of 

 the rake is frequently used in pulverising 

 and knocking to pieces clods of earth 

 before raking the surface of a bed for the 

 reception of seeds, and one end of the bar 

 is often utilised for tracing drills for the 

 reception of seed. Thus the rake may be 

 made to serve more purposes than one. 



Rampion. 



The root and leaves of this plant are 

 both eaten in salads, and in winter, when 

 variety is valued, it forms a valuable 

 addition to the materials in season for 

 salad making. Sowings should be made 

 in March or April for use in autumn, and 

 in May for a winter supply. A rich soil in 

 a shady position is necessary, and the seeds 

 should be sown in drills about 6 inches 

 apart. The plants should be ultimately 

 thinned out to the same distance apart in 

 the rows. 



Ranunculus (nat.ord. Ranuncula'cess). 



Next to the tulip, perhaps, ranunculuses 

 are the most beautiful of all bulbs or tubers, 

 if, indeed, their clawlike roots can fairly lay 

 claim to either of these names. They rival 

 the tulip in brilliancy of colour, and many 

 prefer the beautifully arranged balls of the 

 ranunculus to the stiff, formal cups of the 

 tulip ; both, however, have their distinc- 

 tive reatures of beauty, and deserve a place 

 in every garden. Although, by careful 

 research into the characteristics and quali- 



ties of the blooms, it might be possible to 

 increase the number of the varieties of this 

 beautiful flower to five or six, yet at present 

 they are confined to two, namely, the 

 Turban Ranunculus and the Persian Ra- 

 nunculus (Ranunculus Asiaticus}. There 

 are classes of the ranunculus known as 

 "English," "Scotch," and "French," 

 but these are merely improvements of the 

 types already mentioned, the last named 

 being a robust variety of the Turban type 

 which has gone back to a semi-double 

 condition, making amends for its retroces- 

 sion from the close and compact bloojns of 

 the Turbans, by increased abundance of 

 flowers and more vigorous growth and 



PERSIAN RANUNCULUS SEMI-DOUBLE VARIETY. 



habit. The colours of the ranunculus are 

 as numerous as they are beautiful, being in 

 all shades of purple, brown, crimson, 

 scarlet, rose, pink, and yellow, and in black 

 and white, some having the blooms varie- 

 ated with markings and edgings of another 

 colour. 



Planting, Soil, &c. The tubers may be 

 planted from October to the end of March, 

 some preferring one period and some 

 another : perhaps no better time could be 

 chosen for planting than the beginning or 

 middle of February. As soon as the beds 

 are in a fit state, lose no time in planting. 



