542 The Gardener's New Director. 



inches below the furface, in the forms of beds, four in 

 breadth, and as many as you pleafe in length. Upon 

 the approach of frod, I covered them with two inches 

 of old tan ; which I fuffered to continue for the advan- 

 tage of watering them, without dillurbing their fine 

 compoft. 



It will be proper to cover thefe flowers when they are 

 in blow, from the influence of the fun, otherwife they 

 •will be hurried out of their beauty: As foonas the leaves 

 are dry, I took them out of their pots, and the open 

 ground, and kid them in the root-room in their parti- 

 cular drawers, until the feafon for planting, taking care 

 to protect them from the frofl;. Notwithflanding what 

 I have dire61:ed with refpeft to planting the Ranunculus 

 in pots, you may plant them in beds of the fame com- 

 pofl as thofe in the pots; and if they are not injured by 

 verniin, they will bloffom and profper well ; the beds are 

 to have two feet depth of conipon:; as their fmall fibres 

 run deep into the earth, provided it is well prepared, and 

 will give more flowers and ofF-fets than when iliallower. 



There is another method of preparing beds for this 

 flower, which I have feen pra61:ifed with great fuccefs : 

 A trench is firft dug two feet deep, in which put fourteen 

 inches of old well-rotted dung from an old cucumber, 

 or melon bed ; over which lay ten inches of good, frefh, 

 light earth, in which plant your Ranunculus roots-, and 

 ^vhen their fibres reach the old rotted dung, they arc 

 kept moifl: and active, whereby they fhow a flirong bloom ; 

 but be fure to give them new compofl and dung every 

 year, otherwife they will decline. If you have any very 

 well-rotted cow dung, I would prefer it to horfe dung, 

 from any hot-bed whatever. 



As to the feedlings, not any can be expe8:ed to fuc- 

 ceed well, but fuch as are obtained from well coloured 

 femldouble flowers. And in order to preferve the {ted, 

 you mufl as foon as you perceive the ic^ii part from the 

 axis of their flowers, look them over carefully twice a 

 day, and gather what are ripe, leaving the others to ri- 

 pen, which will be three weeks at leaft from the time 

 your earliefl: feeds are ripe ; then lay them in their feed- 

 paper b;\gs until Oflohcr, which feafon I take to be the 

 mofl: proper for fov/ing, them ; for fhould they be fown 



earher. 



