FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSfe 
cultivation. All the forms of R. asiaticus (Persian, Turkish, etc.) like 
V 1 ^ good rich loam, mixed with the well-rotted remains of a 
hot-bed, or equally well-rotted cow-dung, and some sharp sand. The 
beds should be in neither too sunny nor too shady a position. The soil 
should be dug out to a depth of eighteen or twenty inches, and care 
taken to secure good drainage, for though these plants love plenty of 
moisture, they cannot endure a water-logged soil. The prepared compost 
should now be laid in, and the claw-like roots planted, four or six inches 
apart. They should then be covered with fine soil If planted in 
October or November, the roots should be three and a half inches 
beneath the surface of the finished bed, and protected from frost by a 
layer of leaf-mould, straw-litter, or fern, which should be removed when 
the severe weather is past, and before the tender shoots appear above 
ground. If the roots are held over till February, they should not be 
planted deeper than two inches. Water should be given if the soil gets 
dry, but if the foliage turns yellow before the flowers appear, you may 
conclude the drainage is deficient Propagation of the double sorts must 
be effected by root-division, or separating the offshoots; these generally 
flower the first season after separation, and this plan leaves the parent 
root intact, which is desirable. The division should take place when the 
roots are lifted for drying after flowering. New varieties are raised from 
seed as in the case of Anemones. The seedlings flower in their second or 
third year. Sowing may take place in autumn, protecting the young 
plants under glass during the winter: or the seed may be sown in a cold 
frame in January. 
Description of The figures of R. asiaticus give a slight idea of the 
Mate 6. variation in form and colour of the flowers. Fig. 1 shows 
the carpels arranged on the conical receptacle, and surrounded by the 
numerous stamens. 
MARSH MARIGOLDS 
Natural Order Ranunculacejs. Genus CaUha 
Caltha (Greek, kalathos, a basket or cup). Five or six species of 
marsh herbs, with stout creeping rootstocks, and heart-shaped, glossy 
leaves, chiefly from the root. Flowers few at ends of branches, white or 
yellow. Sepals, five or more, petal-like, not remaining long after the 
flowers open. Petals absent. Carpels many, developing into many-seeded 
follicles. Distribution, temperate and cold regiona 
