COMPANION TO THE FLORAL MAGAZINE. 
13 
BRIEF HINTS ON THE CULTURE OF RANUNCULUS. 
By Mr. George Lightbody, Falkirk. 
To grow Ranunculus well, the beds require to be prepared in autumn. 
Remove the surface, spit and turn over the subsoil, breaking it well, place 
a layer of 3 or 4 inches of rotten cowdung over it, then cover it with 
the surface-soil, and allow it to settle till planting time. 
Plant so soon as the weather will permit after the middle of February. 
Plant in drills five or six inches apart, and be particular that the crowns 
of the tubers are covered with exactly \\ inch of soil. When they are 
up, keep the soil close about the necks of the plants. Keep the surface- 
soil well stirred and free from weeds. 
In dry hot weather, when there is no danger from frost, water liberally 
in the evening with soft water the same temperature as the atmosphere. 
When the flowers begin to show colour, shade on the side next the 
sun; give all the air possible; allow no rain to fall on the flowers. 
When in bloom, keep the surface moist by watering between the rows, 
holding the rose of the pan below the blooms. 
When the bloom is over, allow them to get the weather; the tubers 
after this soon ripen. Look over them daily, and so soon as the foliage 
of a plant turns yellow, take it up, cut away the stem, clean it from soil 
and fibres, and place it in a cool dry place to dry gradually. When this 
essential operation is neglected, the tubers are certain to start into se¬ 
cond growth, to their great injury, if not total loss. 
During the time the tubers are out of the ground, keep them in a dry 
place where there is no danger of their contracting mould, which would 
be the destruction of them. A fire-room will be a safe place to keep 
them till planting time comes round. 
GLADIOLI. 
The present month being a favourable time for procuring bulbs of this 
valuable and increasingly popular autumnal flower, we subjoin, for the 
information of our readers, lists of some of the most desirable varieties, 
—giving in the first list the most striking of the French ones, and, in the 
second, some of those raised by Mr. Standish, of Ascot and Bagshot, 
whose fame as connected with the Gladiolus has spread far and wide. 
Those who purchase foreign-saved bulbs will do well to look at them from 
time to time, for, being harvested earlier than ours, they are apt to start 
into growth sooner than those saved in this country. We had a few of 
the novelties sent out by Messrs. Thibaut and Keteleer last November, 
and on looking at them we found that they had started; in this case the 
best plan is to pot them at once, and keep them moderately dry in a cool 
place free from frost. 
