April.'] CHARACTER OF A FINE RANUNCULUS. 87 
ANEMONES AND RANUNCULUS. 
Moist weather and frequent showers are highly essential 
to the perfecting of these flowers ; and if these should fail at 
this season of the year, artificial means must be used to sup- 
ply the deficiency. Take a watering-pot without the rose, 
and run the water (river or rain water is best) gently between 
the rows, taking care not to make holes in the ground. 
When they have got a good watering at root, take the 
syringe and give them a gentle sprinkling in fine evenings, 
observing not to use force, for fear of breaking the flower- 
stems. In dry weather, the result of a deficiency of water 
would be, that the stems and flowers of the strongest roots 
will be weak and make no progress, and many of them will 
not bloom; the foliage of a sickly, yellow appearance, from 
which they would not recover; and the roots, when taken 
up, are of little use for farther transplanting. 
A good plan in dry seasons is to cover the ground between 
the rows with cow manure, which will prevent the moisture 
from evaporating ; and the rain or water passing through it 
greatly enriches the soil and strengthens the roots. 
CHARACTER OF A FINE • RANUNCULUS. 
" It is indispensable for a good ranunculus to have a stem 
about eight or twelve inches high, strong enough to support 
the flower, and quite upright. The form of the flower should 
be hemispherical, not less than two inches in diameter, con- 
sisting of numerous petals, gradually diminishing in size to 
the centre, lying over each other, so as neither to be too 
close nor too much separated, but having more of a perpen- 
dicular than a horizontal direction, in order to display the 
colours with better effect. The petals should be broad, with 
entire well-rounded edges, their colours dark, clear, rich, or 
brilliant, either of one colour or variously diversified, on a 
ground of cinereous white, primrose, yellow, or flame colour, 
or diversified with elegant stripes, spots, or niottlings." 
