296 



HORTICULTURE. 



Flower 

 Garden. 



Rammcu- 

 liu. 



white spotted ; olive ; purple and coffee-coloured stri- 

 ped ; red and yellow striped ; and red and white stri- 

 ped. The Turquoy, or turban-shaped ranunculus, is a 

 very distinct sub-variety. \ 



497. The qualities of a fine double ranunculus, as 

 described by him, consist in the flower being of a he- 

 mispherical form, at least two inches in diameter, the 

 numerous petals gradually diminishing in size to the 

 centre; the petals broad, with entire, well rounded 

 edges ; their colours dark, clear, rich, or brilliant, either 

 of one colour, or variously diversified on an ash, white, 

 sulphur, or fire-coloured ground, or else regularly stri- 

 ped, spotted or mottled. The stem should be strong 

 and straight, and from eight inches to a foot in height. 



The root is composed of several thick fleshy fangs or 

 claws, uniting at top into a head. When the plant 

 becomes strong, several subordinate or lateral heads 

 are formed, and each of these may be taken off with 

 their proper claws, to form a new plant. These offsets, 

 it may be observed, form better flowering plants than 

 the central head, which is exhausted by flowering. 



The soil preferred for the ranunculus bed is fresh 

 rich loam, inclining to clayey. It should be deep, per- 

 haps little short of three feet ; for it is surprising to 

 what a depth the fine fibres from the tubers penetrate 

 downwards. Some gardeners raise the bed a few inches 

 above the surrounding ground. If manure be at any 

 time added, it should be well rotted, and must be in- 

 troduced at the very bottom of the bed at least two feet 

 and a half below the tubers. Miller mentions three 

 feet as the proper depth of soil for the beds, adding, 

 that on such beds plants will produce forty or fifty 

 flowers, which in a shallow soil would not afford a do- 

 zen. The beds are kept flat on the surface, not raised 

 in the middle as for tulips. Miller directs, that the 

 roots should be planted six inches apart each way ; but 

 this is too wide : Five inches between the rows, and 

 three or four inches between each plant in the rows, are 

 sufficient. In some situations, the plants grow strong- 

 er than in others ; and a good general rule is, to ob- 

 serve the size which the leaves commonly acquire, and 

 then, in that garden, to plant so close as that the grass 

 or foliage of contiguous rows may just meet ; the ground 

 being kept in a desirable state of moisture by this close 

 covering of leaves. The tubers should not be more 

 than an inch and a half deep in the earth ; and they 

 should be placed with the claws pointing downwards 

 or the bud upwards. It is not right to plant ranmvu- 

 luses year after year in the same bed. If a little fresh 

 soil be introduced, they may do twice ; but after this, 

 the earth of the bed should be entirely changed, or a 

 new bed should be made in a different part of the gar- 

 den. 



The time of planting is either the latter end of Oc- 

 tober, or the first mild and dry weather in February. 

 When put in in October, the buds sometimes appear 

 above ground in November ; in this case, a thin cover- 

 ing of half an inch of light soil, is cast over them be- 

 fore severe weather set in. Autumn planted ranuncu- 

 luses also require attention in the spring ; if hard frosts 

 occur when the flower-stems appear, a covering of hoops 

 and mats may be proper for a few days. 



The beds are weeded with the hand, and by careful 

 cultivators the earth between the rows is stirred up only 

 with the fingers, a hoe being very apt to cut and injure 

 the tubers, or break too many of the fine roots. When 

 the flowers begin to expand, the florist does not fail to 

 guard equally againet nightly frosts and scorching sun- 



5 



beams, by means of a canvas awning, or at least of Flower 

 mats laid over large hoops. When drought occurs, li- Garden. 

 beral watering proves very beneficial to the ranuncu- 

 lus bed. 



When the flowering is over, and the leaves have be- 

 gun to decay, the tubers are carefully lifted on a dry 

 day ; being thoroughly cleared of earth, they are dried 

 in the shade, and then deposited in separate drawers or 

 boxes, or in paper bags, till wanted for replanting. 



When it is wished to raise seedling ranunculuses, the 

 seed is collected from flowers having "f *Wcir than 

 five or siv rowo of petals, of good colour. It is sown 

 in August, in boxes or pots, on the very surface of the 

 earth, and a little very fine mould is sifted over it, so 

 as hardly to cover the seeds. The young plants are 

 kept under a glass frame during winter; and most of 

 them flower the second year. 



Ammonc. 



498. The garden anemone is of two kinds, the broad- Anemone; 

 leaved (A. hortensis,) and the narrow-leaved {A. coro- 

 naria.) The former is the more hardy, being a native 



of Italy and the south of France ; the latter grows na- 

 turally in the islands of the Archipelago, where it ap- 

 pears of all colours. 



499. A fine double anemone should have a strong 

 upright stem, eight or nine inches high ; the flower 

 should be from two to near three inches in diameter ; 

 the outer petals should be firm, spreading horizontally, 

 except that they turn up a little at the end, and the 

 smaller petals within these should be so disposed as to 

 form an elegant whole. The plain colours should be 

 brilliant and striking ; the variegated ones, clear and 

 distinct. The flowers are generally divided by florists 

 into red and pink, rosy and crimson, white and white 

 spotted, dark and light blue. 



In preparing an anemone bed, the surface soil of some 

 old pasture, with the turf itself, is to be mixed with 

 some well rotted cow-house dung, and allowed to lie 

 for a year in heap, but occasionally turned over. Large 

 stones are to be cast out, but the soil should not be 

 screened, or at least should not be made too fine. 



The roots are tuberous, and very irregular in shape, 

 They are commonly planted six inches apart in each 

 direction, and about two inches deep, taking care to 

 place the bud uppermost. The best season for plant- 

 ing is considered to be the month of October ; but 

 some u>ota are generally kept back till December ; and 

 others are not put in tin FeU unr 7 , ; or>i r to ren- 

 der them later in coming into flower, and thus to pro- 

 long the anemone show. Where the flowers are prized, 

 the beds are sheltered during the severity of the early 

 spring, by mats laid over hoops ; for it is remarked 

 by practical men, that double flowers often become 

 single, by " the thrum (collection of narrow thread-like 

 petals) that is in the middle of the flower being de- 

 stroyed." In April and May, if the weather prove 

 very dry, they are regularly refreshed with water. 



In July, when the leaves decay, the roots are taken up, 

 but always in dry weather. They are cleared of earth, 

 either with the fingers, or by washing. They are then 

 packed in baskets or drawers till the planting season 

 recur. Of choice sorts, the smallest offsets are valua- 

 ble ; and as these are minute, and very much of the 

 colour of the soil, great attention is requisite to have 

 them all picked up at the time of lifting. 



500. New varieties are raised from the seeds of 



