EIC 



[696 



RIP 



tings in a hotbed ; light, rich soil. The shrubby 

 kinds should have the addition of a little peat. 

 They are all too tender to do much good out of 

 doors. The following are all half-hardy annuals, 

 except li'vidus and ru'tilans : 

 R. commu'nis (common. Castor-oil Plant}. 6. 

 Green. July. E. Jnd. 1548. 



ine'rmis (unarmed-capsuled). 6. Purple. In- 



dia. 1758. 



Kra'ppa (Krappa). White. August. 1827. 



leucoca'rpus (white-capsuled). White. August. 



1827. 



li'vidus (livid- leaved}. 8. Purple. July. Cape 



of Good Hope. 1795. Greenhouse 

 evergreen. 



mucrophy'llus (large-leaved). White, red. 



August. 1827. 



ru'tilans (red-stalked}. Reddish-white. Au- 



gust. 1827. Half-hardy biennial. 



undula'tus (wavy-feared). Red, white. Au- 



gust. 1827. 



EICO'TIA. (Probably a commemorative 

 name. Nat.ord.,Cn/c/ers [Brassicacese]. 

 Linn., Ib-Tetradynamia.) 



Hardy annual. Seeds ; light, sandy soil. 

 Good for belts, knolls, or rock-works. 

 It. luna'ria (moonwort-like). Lilac, purple. June. 

 Egypt. 1757. 



RIDDLING. Another name for sifting. 



EIDGING is digging the soil into paral- 

 - _ _ lei ridges in this form, so as to 

 Af\A eX p Ose jt thoroughly to the action 

 either of the atmosphere or of frost. 



EIDGING-OUT. Planting out Cucumbers 

 and Pumpkins in the open-ground beds. 

 Eidging, however, should not be confined 

 to the winter, for in summer the extra ex- 

 posure to the air and heat is highly promo- 

 tive of vegetation : it impregnates the soil 

 with oxygen, promotes the decay of stub- 

 born vegetable remains, and disturbs 

 predatory vermin. Mr. Barnes says, " I 

 keep all ground, as soon as a crop is done 

 with, well trenched, burying all the re- 

 fuse I possibly can in a green state, cast- 

 ing the earth into rough ridges, tumbling 

 those ridges over with a strong fork on 

 frosty mornings in winter and spring, and 

 during hot sunny days in summer, con- 

 tinually changing the crops; keeping 

 the hoe at work at all seasons in suitable 

 weather, forking up all odd corners and 

 spare ground without loss of time. By 

 this* management, I find the ground is 

 always in good condition and never tired 

 by cropping, some judgment only being 

 exercised in applying such properties 

 again to the soil that have been taken 

 from it, or that are likely to be required 

 by the succeeding crop." 



The most effectual mode of ridging is 

 thus described by Mr. Parkins : 



Let <a, 6, c, d t represent a section of the 



ground to be trenched two feet deep. In 

 the first place the ground is measured 



out in longitudinal beds four feet wide; 

 this done, the top spit of the bed c is 

 laid on the bed g, and the second spit of 

 the bed c is laid on h. The first or top 

 spit of the bed / is then laid on h, so 

 that the top soil and subsoil are kept on. 

 separate and alternate beds, and may be 

 mixed, reversed, or returned as taken 

 out, at the will of the operator. By 

 this method the advantages are much 

 greater exposure of surface to the action 

 of the weather; the opportunity of in- 

 corporating with the soil any desirable 

 or obtainable manures, and at any desired 

 depth ; a thorough blending of the soil 

 to the depth of two or three feet ; and ifc 

 also facilitates the operation of draining 

 where necessary. It is needless to add, 

 that when the first thrown-out beds are 

 sufficiently pulverised, they are levelled 

 down, and others thrown out in the same 

 manner; #, h, t, represent the ridges 

 thrown out and left as rough as possible. 

 EIGIDE'LLA. (From rigidus, stiff; the 

 stiffness of the flower-stalk. Nat. ord., 

 Irids [IridaceaB]. Linn., 3-Triandria 1- 

 Monogynia. Allied to Tigridia.) 



Half-hardy bulbs. Offsets in spring ; also by 

 seeds in a hotbed ; rich, sandy loam and peat ; 

 bulbs require to be kept from frost and damp 

 during the winter. 



R. fla'mmea (flame-coloured). 5. May. Mexico. 

 1839. 



immacttla'ta (unspotted). 1 . Crimson. June. 



Guatimala. 183Q. 



ortha'ntha (straight-flowered). 1|. Crimson. 



June. Mexico. 1846. 



EINGING is cutting away a belt of bark 

 quite down to the wood entirely round a 

 branch. This checks the return of the 

 sap, and aids to make that branch more 

 fruitful, and the fruit on it finer. We 

 have seen it done with the best effect 

 upon the pear and grape-vine. It should 

 be done just previously to the blossoms 

 opening. When first suggested it was 

 called the Ring of Pomona. See LIGA- 

 TURES. 



EIPENING WOOD is one of the principal 

 objects to be aimed at for the production 

 of either flowers or fruit the following 

 year. To effect this, at the end of Au- 

 gust, or early in September, superfluous 



