RAP 



[685 ] 



RAP 



full of loamy earth, and the surface 

 level. Sow the seeds about the eighth 

 of an inch apart ; cover them as thinly 

 as possible, and water with a fine rose ; 

 but place the boxes under glass, without 

 heat. The plants usually make their 

 appearance in about a month. Give air 

 day and night, except in severe frost; 

 then cover up with straw mats. With 

 such protection, the young plants will 

 endure the severest seasons. Put the 

 boxes in the open ground up to the 

 second week in May, and water daily 

 until the leaves begin to wither ; then 

 suffer the boxes to become quite dry ; 

 and in the middle of July take them up, 

 and preserve the roots in bags until 

 February, and then plant them as the 

 general stock. In the following June 

 they flower. 



Taking up. The roots, in wet seasons, 

 should be taken up as soon as the leaves 

 turn yellow, as they are apt to sprout ; 

 but in dry seasons they may remain until 

 the leaves are brown. Take them up as 

 dry as the season will permit ; complete 

 the drying in a warm room, rather than 

 in the sun, and store them in a dry, cool 

 place. 



Forcing. Select tubers which have 

 heen kept three or four months, or even 

 a year over the season of planting, these 

 being more easily excited than those 

 which have been only the usual time out 

 of the soil; plant them in pots about 

 the beginning of August; and, by bring- 

 ing these into the greenhouse at different 

 periods, a bloom is kept up from October 

 to February. 



KAPE,OI- COLESEED. (Bra'ssicana'pus.} 

 Like mustard and other small salading, 

 it may be sown at any period of the year, 

 when in request, being allowed a separate 

 bed. It is cultivated as MUSTARD, which 

 see. 



To obtain Seed. Some plants of a 

 sowing made about the middle of July 

 must be thinned to eighteen inches apart: 

 they will survive the winter, and flower 

 in the May and June of the next year. 

 The seed, which is produced in great 

 abundance, ripens in July and August, 

 and must be cut as it docs so, and laid 

 upon cloths to dry. 



RAPE (EDIBLE-ROOTED). This name 

 may be applied to a variety of the rape 

 mentioned by Mr. Dickson, one of the 

 vice-presidents of the Horticultural So- 

 ciety. Its root is white and carrot-shaped, 



about the size of the middle finger. It 

 is much more delicate in flavour than 

 the turnip, like which root it is cooked, 

 only that it is not peeled, but scraped, 

 its skin being remarkably thin. 



Sowing. For the main crop, sow from 

 the middle of July to the end of August, 

 or even later. These will supply the 

 table until April ; and if wanted through- 

 out the year, a little may be sown in the 

 latter end of October, the plants from 

 which will be fit for use during April 

 and May ; the last crop to be sown from 

 the middle of January to the middle of 

 February, which will come in at the end 

 of May and during June. On a north 

 border, and if the soil is sandy and moist, 

 it is possible to have them sweet and 

 tender during the whole summer, to effect 

 which sow at the close of March and 

 May. 



Cultivation. Thin and hoe as turnips. 

 In dry weather the beds must be watered 

 regularly. 



Soil. One great advantage attending 

 the cultivation of this vegetable is, that 

 it requires no manure. Any soil that is 

 poor and light, especially if sandy, is 

 suitable to it. In rich, manured soil it 

 grows much larger, but not so sweet and 

 good. 



To obtain Seed in February or March, 

 some of the finest roots are transplanted 

 to two feet asunder ; but it would, per- 

 haps, be a better practice to leave them 

 where grown. The seed must be cut as 

 soon as ripe, and treated as directed for 

 turnips, <fec. 



EAPHA'NUS. Radish. (From ra, quickly, 

 nnd phainomai, to appear ; rapid germi- 

 nation of the seeds. Nat. ord., Orucifcrs 

 [Brassicacese]. Linn., 16-Tetradynamia.) 



Hardy annuals. Seeds; rich, sandy soil; but 

 for standing: the winter it should be dry and poor. 

 Sec RADISH. 



R. cauda'tus (tailed), ij. White, purple. July. 

 Java. 1815. 



Ln'ndra (Landra). 3. Yellow. June. Italy. 



1820. Biennial. 



suti'vus (cultivated). 3. White, purple. May, 



China. 1548. 



RAPHIO'LEPIS. Indian Hawthorn. 

 (From raphis, a needle, and lepis, a scale ;. 

 formation of the bractes. Nat. ord., Apple- 

 worts [Pomaceae]. Linn., 12-Icosandria 

 %-Di-pentagynia. Allied to Cratsegus.) 



Half-hardy, white-flowered, evergreen shrubs' 

 from China. Cuttings of half-ripened shoots in 

 sandy loam, in a sheltered place, under a hand- 

 light ; sandy loam and peat ; a sheltered place 

 against a wall, or protected in very cold places by 



