92 
THE MANUAL OF GARDENING. 
are propagated by dividing the roots when done flowering, or in 
the beginning of April, or by sowing the seed as soon as ripe, 
clearing it from the pulp of the fruit. When the plants are large 
enough, pot them, or place them in open ground. 
Ranunculus, or Crow Foot , is a tuberous-rooted plant, like 
the Anemone : it is sufficiently hardy to bear the open air in our 
climate. There is a great variety of colours among Ranuncu- 
luses, and they may be raised from seed which must be treated 
like that of the Anemone, or more readily by dividing the roots. 
The soil best suited for them is a rich loam with a slight mixture 
of well-rotted dung. A narrow bed should be formed, across or 
along which lines should be drawn to mark the situation where 
the tuber is to be placed : this should be at about six inches apart 
each way ; the tubers are to be pressed down into the soil on 
which a little sand is laid, and not to be placed in with a dibble 
or in a drill : when they are placed, cover the whole with about 
two inches of light soil. The most common time for planting 
the Ranunculus is October; but when a succession of flowers is 
desired, some may be planted every fortnight, from October till 
February. Those designed to bloom late will require good 
watering. If some tubers are placed under a frame in Septem- 
ber, they will bloom in January or February, particularly if 
tubers are selected which have been kept out of the ground at 
the previous planting, as these will grow the most quickly. 
Those planted in autumn, will require occasional shelter during 
severe frosts, by placing a little litter or a mat supported by 
hoops ; but all covering must be removed both by night and day 
in open weather. Those which were planted late, and did not 
appear above ground till the severe frosts are over, will require 
no protection ; they must be moderately watered in dry weather, 
particularly when they are going to blow; if the bed is exposed 
to the full blaze of the noon-day sun, it will be requisite to shade 
it when the flowers are in bloom, by hoops and matting or an 
awning. The Ranunculus being a favourite florist flower, it has 
been crossed and varied in every possible way, till there are 
upwards of eight hundred named varieties, of every colour, from 
pure white to glossy black, and of every intermixture that can 
be thought of. 
When they are out of flower and the leaves die down, the 
tubers must be taken up, picked clean, and carefully dried, 
fvhen they must be put away in drawers or boxes, kept out 
of the reach of damp, but not excluded from air, and by no 
means pack them thickly over one another. For further par- 
ticulars in the culture and management of the Ranunculus, see 
Anemone. 
Tussilago, The Sweet Scented Colt's Foot , is a native of the 
