THE RANUNCULUS. 165 



sustain no injury, and most likely will blossom 

 earlier by being planted in October : but is it worth 

 the while to run that risk, or endanger the safety of 

 a rare and valuable collection, that has required 

 no small trouble and expense to get together ? 

 Prudence forbids it. 



Treading the ground close round the plants, as 

 soon as they have made their appearance in the 

 spring, to keep the cold winds from cracking the 

 ground and injuring the roots, is, I conceive, a very 

 unwise and improper step, for the fibres must be 

 bruised and injured by it. The better mode is to 

 top-dress the bed with an inch thick of old cow- 

 dung : this will protect them, and at the same time 

 keep the bed moist and cool afterwards, when the 

 sun shall have acquired greater power, and rendered 

 watering necessary. 



An old book has just been put into my hand, 

 called the s Complete Florist,' written above a 

 hundred years ago, by Henry Van Oosten, a Dutch 

 gardener at Leyden. In treating of the Ranun- 

 culus, he writes thus : 



