86 



THE BOOK OF GARDENING. 



white, yellow, maroon, scarlet, crimson, and olive, with other 

 flowers edged, striped, spotted, and mottled ; and here the greatest 

 improvement obtained in the Ranunculus was by a clergyman, 

 the Rev. Joseph Tyso, of Wallingford, in Berkshire. He effected 

 quite a revolution in this flower, obtaining not only the most 

 varied shades of colour, but also perfection of form. 



CuLiVATiON. — Like most florists' flowers, the Ranunculus 

 is easily raised from seeds, which, of course, must be saved from 

 the very best varieties. The flowers intended to bear seed must 

 be fertilised, and also supported by small sticks. When the 

 seed is ripe, it should gathered and dried in an airy room. Mr. 

 Tyso sowed his seed in October or January, and placed the seed- 

 pans in a garden-frame ; under favourable conditions it ger- 

 minated in four or five weeks. Air should be admitted freely to 

 the frames, and early in May the seed-pans or boxes must be 

 placed out in the open garden, where they can be carefully 

 watered until the leaves decay. About the middle of July the 

 small seedling tubers must be taken out of the soil, and -dried 

 in an airy room, not in the sun. After being dried they may be 

 placed in a box in dry sand. They should be planted in the 

 first week of March following, and they will flower most pro- 

 fusely the following season in June, the second season after 

 sowing the seed. The seed should be sown thinly and evenly, 



and be just covered with soil. 



Ranunculus roots can be obtained from any 

 seedsman; they are usually priced at a cheap 

 rate in the bulb catalogues — a hundred tubers 

 can be obtained for three or four shillings. 

 As I wrote twenty years ago, " There is 

 no garden so small but might have space for 

 a small bed (Fig. 44), or so large but that 

 this modest flower might charm some quiet 

 nook with its presence." Many persons pur- 

 chase a stock of tubers, but fail to grow them 

 owing to careless planting or planting in 

 unsuitable soil. The tubers are of small 

 size, and do not succeed unless they are 

 planted at an uniform depth. A good medium clayey loam is 

 suitable, and the tubers should he planted early in March, when 

 the soil is in good working condition. Drills should be drawn 

 i^in. deep and 4in. apart. Some fine sand should be sprinkled 

 in the drills, and the roots (Fig. 45) pressed gently into the 



Fig. 45.— Ranun- 

 culus Root. 



