ranu'nculus. 239 ranu'nculus. 



R. 



Ragged Robin. — See Lychnis. 

 Ragwort. — See Othonna ; and 

 Senecio. 



Rake, a well known toothed im- 

 plement for raking the surface of dry 

 ground, or collecting together grass on 

 lawns which have heen mown, or 

 weeds on surfaces which have heen 

 hoed. There is also what is called 

 the Daisy rake, in which the teeth or 

 tines are lance-shaped, sharp at the 

 edges, and so close together that when 

 drawn or raked over the surface of a 

 lawn they collect or cut off the heads 

 or flowers of such plants as the Daisy, 

 Crowfoot, Plantain, &c. The heads 

 of rakes, or that part which contains 

 the teeth or tines, are of different 

 lengths, from six inches to two feet ; 

 and the teeth, which are placed at 

 from one inch to two inches apart, 

 are from two inches to four in length. 

 In raking dug soil with a view to 

 render the surface even and fine, and 

 also" to collect stones, roots, &c. the 

 handle of the rake should be held 

 close to the middle of the operator, 

 so that the tines may pass through 

 the ground at an angle less than 45° ; 

 hut when weeds or short grass are to 

 he raked up, or the heads of Daisies 

 to be cut off, the handle of the rake 

 must be held above the middle of the 

 operator, so that the tines may form 

 an angle with the soil above 45 n . In 

 the latter case it is desirable that the 

 tines should slide along the surface ; 

 but in the former it is necessary that 

 they should penetrate into it through- 

 out nearly their whole length. 



Ranu'nculus. — Ranunculacece. — 

 The Ranunculus. The species may 

 be divided into two kinds : border 

 flowers, and florists' flowers. The 

 latter consist of some hundreds of 

 varieties obtained from the species 

 Ranunculus Asidticus, a native of 

 the Levant with tuberous roots, which 

 is rather too tender to endure the 



winter in the open air without some 

 kind of protection. The wild plant 

 grows naturally in Persia, in meadows 

 which are moist during winter and 

 in the growing season, but dry during 

 great part of summer. Hence one of 

 the first requisites in the culture of 

 this flower is a loamy soil kept moist; 

 and as the varieties are all double and 

 in a highly artificial state, the soil re- 

 quires to be made very rich with leaf- 

 mould, or the mould of hot-bed dung. 

 The common season for planting the 

 Ranunculus is November; the roots 

 may be placed about six inches apart 

 every way, covered with two inches of 

 soil, and protected by straw, mats, or 

 rotten tan, during severe frosts. The 

 plants will come into flower in July, 

 and when the leaves wither, the roots 

 may be taken up, dried in the shade, 

 and preserved in a dry place till 

 they are wanted for re-planting. A 

 great many named kinds may be pro- 

 cured in the seed-shops, the most dis- 

 tinct of which are the Turban, or very 

 dark red, the orange, the white, and 

 the fine or cut-leaved. As the plant 

 seeds freely even when semi-double, 

 new sorts without end may be raised 

 from seed, which may be sown in 

 pots or flat pans as soon as it is 

 gathered, and placed in a cold frame. 

 Those persons who wish to gruw 

 the Ranunculus as a prize flower, 

 should consult Hogg's Treatise on 

 the Ranunculus, or some other 

 work exclusively devoted to florists* 

 flowers ; but for private gardens, it 

 may be sufficient to remark the fol- 

 lowing particulars. The tubers, if 

 kept dry, will retain their vitality 

 for two or three years ; and hence, 

 if roots which should be planted 

 in November are kept out of the 

 ground till the November follow- 

 ing, and then planted and protected 

 from frost, and when they appear 

 above ground put into greenhouse 



