9;3G THE PRACTICAL GARDENER. [Oct, 



such an extreme was a love for this plant carried, that between 

 *bur and five hundred pounds have been given for a single root. 

 A Scotchman, it is reported, was once so enraptured with it, 

 that he resided for a long time at Rome, in an uncomfortable 

 dwelling, to enjoy his passion for this flower ; and to such an 

 extreme did he carry his care of them, that he is said to have 

 placed two fierce dogs as guards over his tulip beds. 



Tulips, like all other bulbous-rooted plants, like a deep, 

 rich, light sandy soil, but they will grow very well in most 

 ordinary garden soil that is not too damp nor heavy. The tulip 

 gi'owers make choice of an open airy situation for their principal 

 beds ; and Hogg of Paddington, an enthusiastic cultivator of this 

 flower, recommends a soil of a fresh rich sandy loam, which 

 has been at least twelve months dug and exposed to the air 

 previously to using, moderately enriched with well-rotted dung. 

 In forming the beds, florists excavate the natural soil, the 

 whole length and breadth of the intended bed, to the depth of 

 twenty inches or two feet, which they fill up with the prepared 

 mould, leaving the bed when finished somewhat convex. Upon 

 the bed, finished in that manner, they mark, at regular dis- 

 tances, about seven inches apart, the situations for the bulbs, 

 which are planted from two to three inches deep. 



RANUNCULUSES AND ANEMONIES. 



In dry light soils, ranunculuses and anemonies may be now 

 planted, but in soils and situations which are wot and cold, it 

 is better to defer planting till the end of January or the be- 

 ginning of February. Where these flowers are cultivated in 

 beds, soils may be formed suitable for them, and in such case, 

 this month or the following is the best time for their planting, 

 as the roots will have more time to vegetate and form them- 

 selves, and will generally flower stronger than those which 

 are planted later in autumn or early in spring. Florists prefer 

 a soil much sti'onger for their beds of ranunculuses and ane- 

 monies than for any of their other flowers. A correspondent 

 in the Ilort. Trans, uses a stiff clayey loam, with a fourth-part 

 rotten dung. The bed, he recommends, should be prepared 

 to the depth of eighteen inches or two feet, and not much 



