THE RANUNCULUS. 
171 
fills it with maggots, which are very destruc- 
tive. The loam which should be used should 
be of that description which does not adhere 
too closely ; loam which, when a handful in a 
damp state is squeezed closely, should retain 
its shape when laid down gently, but which 
will break easily when pressed in one spot. 
The ground in which the ranunculus is grown 
must be well drained, and indeed, for every 
thing this is almost the first point to attend 
to. The bed should be dug out from a foot 
to fifteen inches deep, three feet six inches 
wide, and the bottom loosened ; upon this the 
ordinary soil mixed with an equal portion of 
rotten cow-dung, or dung from an old melon- 
pit, may be returned to the bed to the thick- 
ness of six inches, leaving nine to be filled 
with the fresh loam, or rather mixture pro- 
posed ; and this may be done in the first week 
of February. The soil should be put in two 
or three inches above the surface of the paths, 
as it will subside a little. 
PLANTING. 
About the middle of February is the plant- 
ing time for the show varieties, which are 
much more delicate than the ordinary kinds ; 
and being also more valuable, the shows 
are held in June, that they may suit spring 
planting, and so prevent loss by hard frosts, 
which would occasionally take place in very 
hard winters. In planting stretch a tight line 
down the centre of the bed, and draw a drill 
two inches deep ; then remove the line six 
inches, and draw another, and so on till three 
drills are drawn on each side the centre one ; 
this will occupy three feet, and allowing three 
inches clear of the outside rows, makes up 
the three feet six width for the beds. In 
these drills place the tubers six inches apart, 
pressing the points into the soil gently, so as 
to leave just the crowns above the bottom of 
the drill. Into this drill, the earth, being 
first properly pulverised, is to be drawn 
back again, so as to cover the crown two 
inches, and it should be rather pressed down 
upon them, not too hard, but close, so as not 
to let the air readily in upon the tubers, 
which, if the lumps be not broken, and well 
crumbled, would be the case. The beds may 
then be well levelled, or rather smoothed and 
left until they come up. On their breaking 
through the ground, the earth will be loosened 
a good deal ; and as soon as they are fairly 
through, the soil about them must be crum- 
bled again, and pressed close to the tubers. 
The beds should also at that time be stirred 
over the surface, and laid smooth and regular 
again. If there be dry weather the bed must 
be watered all over, not merely the rows, but 
the entire bed, and completely saturated so 
that it will not want watering again very 
soon ; for when the rows only are watered the 
dry parts of the bed absorb the moisture 
away from the roots, and they are soon dis- 
tressed again. When the plants are once up 
the bed never should be dry one inch below 
the surface, consequently the greatest atten- 
tion is required to the watering department. 
BLOOMING. 
When the blossoms rise and begin to ex- 
pand, they must be shaded from the sun as 
jealously as the tulip, but the shading should 
be such as will not exclude the light nor the 
air. Hoops and mats draw them too much ; 
tulip irons, which are some feet high, with 
transparent cloth to cover them, are far better ; 
here they will bloom in perfection, and not 
be drawn up ; but in cloudy days, when the 
sun is not out, they are far better without any 
covering. They must also be protected from 
wet, which would spoil these flowers altoge- 
ther. When the bloom is over, or at least so 
far advanced as to be no longer wanted, the 
covering must be taken off altogether, and the 
plants must have all the rain that may come, 
for two or three weeks at least, however wet 
it may be ; but if it be a dripping season after 
that, the plants which have pretty well ma- 
tured their tubers must be protected from 
any further rain, as there would be danger of 
the tubers growing again. In ordinary sea- 
sons, however, there is not too much wet, and 
the foliage will turn yellow and decay. 
STORING. 
It is not necessary to wait until they have 
actually died down before the roots are taken 
up ; it is better to lift them when they have 
turned yellow, and an inch of stem should be 
left on them. They should be put by in thin 
bags or boxes, with their names to them ; but 
before they are bagged they should be dried 
in the shade. It is generally sufficient to 
leave the mouths of the bags open, and put 
them side by side upright in a shallow drawer 
or box ; or it is still better to have drawers 
or boxes made with partitions like those for 
tulips, and let them dry in these before they 
are put away. When they have thoroughly 
di'ied, the drawers may be put into their 
places, and all that is then required is to occa- 
sionally examine them, to see there is no 
mildew or mouldiness about them, for that 
would soon destroy their vitality, and they 
would be decayed long before planting time 
came again. 
AUTUMN PLANTING. 
There are many persons, who, besides plant- 
ing select beds in February for the June 
show, plant also in autumn for earlier bloom. 
The sorts used for this are surplus stock of 
good ones, or altogether common ones. The 
