THE ANEMONE. 



573 



be better to defer this operation till Februaiy; 

 in milder situations the planting may take place 

 in October, or beginning of November. The 

 surface of the bed should be raked perfectly even 

 and flat, and the roots planted in rows, at the 

 distance of five inches from each other. A little 

 clean sand should be placed in the hole or trench, 

 and the roots are to be placed with their claws 

 downwards. Earth is then applied, so as to cover 

 ihe roots to the depth of one inch and a half. 

 When deeper or shallower than this, the plant 

 will not thrive well, as this seems their natural 

 , position. The roots remain several days in the 

 ground after planting before they begin to vege- 

 tate, and during this time they swell very much 

 by imbibing the moisture of the soil, and are 

 in this state very susceptible of injury from 

 frost, which is to be guarded against by covei-ing 

 the surface of the bed with straw, whenever 

 indications of a diminished temperature are felt, 

 and which may be removed when the frost 's 

 gone. 



Early in spring when the plants show them- 

 selves distinctly, the surface of the earth between 

 each rov,' should be trodden or beaten down, so 

 as to make it firm and compact; and if the soil is 

 compressed with the fingers quite close to the 

 plants, it will keep out cold drying winds, and 

 prove beneficial. This should be done in a fine 

 dry day soon after rain, whilst the ground is still 

 moist; and when completed, a little long straw 

 should be placed between each row, to preserve 

 the surface of the soil cool and moist till the 

 foliage of the plants is suflBciently grown and 

 expanded, to afford it shade without further 

 assistance. Natural showers in April and May 

 are essential to the healthy vigour of the plants; 

 but if these fail, soft water must be supplied, by 

 pouring it from a pan between the rows, avoid- 

 ing as much as may be, wetting the plants, as 

 the subsequent evaporation is apt to chill and 

 injure the foliage. If the sun is too strong, the 

 beds require to be shaded by mats or awnings, 

 properly adjusted. After the bloom is over, 

 watering is no longer necessary; but shading 

 from the hot noonday sun, is still requisite. 



By the end of June the plants assume a dry, 

 brown appearance; vegetation has then ceased, 

 and it is the proper time to take up the roots; 

 for, if left till rainy weather comes on, they will 

 begin to spring again. When the roots are 

 taken up their stems should be cut close off, and 

 they should be placed in a shady, airy apart- 

 ment, so as they may dry gradually, and in 

 which place they may remain till the season of 

 planting. Roots can thus be kept in a dry place 

 for three, and even five years, without impairing 

 their power of vegetating, although the vigour 

 and beauty of the plant is diminished. 



The wild species of ranunculus, common in 

 this country, especially the hulbosits, sceleratus. 



acris, and repens, are shewy looking meadow 

 flowers, and are characterised by the extreme 

 acrimony of their juices. Formerly they were 

 used in medicine, and sometimes employed for 

 causing a blister externally. Beggars are said 

 also to employ them for the purpose of creating 

 artificial sores and ulcers. The fresh roots are 

 acrid and poisonous ; but when old and dry , becom o 

 so innocuous as to be eaten. Hogs are fond of 

 them, and frequently dig them up. Sheep and 

 goats are also said to browse on the plant, while 

 cows avoid it. 



There is a vulgar notion that these plants give 

 the rich yellow colour to butter, and hence the 

 name of butter cups. This, however, is a mis- 

 take, as the richness of the pasture, and the lux- 

 uriance of the grasses, are the sole cause of the 

 superiority of the butter produced. The r. acris, 

 as well as hulbosus, is sometimes found double. 

 In this state it forms a common flower in gardens, 

 under the name of bachelor's buttons. 



The water ranunculus, r. aquaticus, has large 

 flowers, which are very conspicuous on the mar- 

 gins of ponds and ditches. According to Dr 

 Pultney, this species is not poisonous; on the 

 contrary, cattle eat it, and thrive on it. In 

 the neighbourhood of Ringwood, on the borders 

 of the Avon, some of the cottagers support their 

 cows, and even horses, almost wholly by this 

 plant. 



A man collects a quantity every morning, and 

 brings it in a boat to the edge of the water, from 

 which the cows eat it with great avidity, inso- 

 much that they stint them, and allow only about 

 twenty five or thirty pounds to each cow daily. 

 One man kept five cows and one horse so much 

 on this plant, with the little which the heath 

 aflbrded, that they had not consumed more than 

 half a ton of hay throughout the whole year, 

 none being used except when the river is frozen 

 over. Hogs also are fed with this plant, and 

 improve so well on it, that it is not necessary to 

 give them any other sustenance till they are 

 put up to fatten. This property of water crow- 

 foot is the more remarkable, as all the other 

 species have been esteemed acrimonious, and 

 some of them even deadly poisons. 



The Anemone. Natural family ranunculacece; 

 polyandria, polygynia, of Linnaeus. The ane- 

 mones are nearly allied to the ranunculus. There 

 are a number of species growing wild in this 

 country; many are common to the south and 

 north of Europe and America, while others are 

 found in China and Japan. There are two spe- 

 cies cultivated as garden flowers. The poppy 

 anemone (a. coronariaj, a native of the Levant, 

 and introduced into this country in 1596; and 

 the star or broad-leaved anemone ("a. hortensis), 

 a native of Italy, and brought to Britain 

 from Holland about the same time as the other. 

 Both have been cultivated with the same assid- 



