Plate 39. 



PERSIAN RANUNCULUS — COLUMBIA, ARGO, AND HILDA. 



In the whole range of Florists' flowers, there is scarcely one more charmingly 

 beautiful than the Ranunculus ; the variations of its colouring, the perfection of its form, 

 and the delicate beauty of many of the varieties, all tend to give it a very foremost place ; it 

 has latterly too, after years of neglect, been included amongst the flowers for which 

 the Metropolitan Floral Society offers prizes, and the Royal Horticultural Society also has 

 included it in its schedule j we may hope therefoi'e to see it more extensively exhibited 

 for the future. 



The varieties which we now figure were selected from the collection of seedlings raised 

 by Mr. Geo. Lightbody, of Falkirk, and which, to the number of nearly four hundred, 

 passed a couple of years ago into our hands; they evidence most unmistakeably the energy 

 and skill which Mr. Lightbody always showed in anything that he undertook. With the 

 exception of Mr. Cary Tyso, of Wallingford, no cultivator has ever given so much attention 

 to them as he did. 



The cultivation of the Persian Ranunculus, though not difficult, yet requires considerable 

 care ; the beds intended for their reception should be dug out to the depth of from nine inches to 

 a foot in the autumn, and a layer of well-rotted cow-dung placed at the bottom, to the depth 

 of four or five inches ; the soil should then be returned, and the ground levelled ; the beds 

 ought not to be above the level of the paths, as the Ranunculus like moisture. In the spring 

 they do not require any digging over, but just simply surface hoeing and the levelling of the 

 beds. These should be edged with thin boards, and in planting it is best to take a piece 

 of wood notched to the depth of one and a half inches, and this should be firmly pressed 

 on the bed, so as to make drills of that depth ; in these drills place some sharp sand and 

 plant the tubers firmly in it at that depth, cover them with the earth, and let the beds 

 be undisturbed, keeping them clear of weeds, watering in May if it be dry, and shading when 

 the plants advance to the blooming stage. They will amply repay the trouble bestowed upon 

 them. 



Plate 40. 

 ONCIDIUM CRCESUS. 



This very beautiful dwarf species of Oncidium was exhibited by Messrs. Veitch & Sons, 

 at one of the exhibitions of the Royal Horticultural Society, where it obtained a first-class 

 certificate ; although devoid of the grandeur of some of the genus, it yet, by the pleasing 

 contrasts of its colours (the rich deep brown and brilliant yellow), is exceedingly pretty, and 

 is a desirable plant to have in any collection of Orchids ; it will submit to cool treatment. 



