February 23, 1895. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
405 
in their orders at once, and not waiting until all will 
want their seeds together. By so doing they will 
confer a benefit on a laborious and painstaking class 
of men, and get better served themselves. 
-- 
RANUNCULUS ASIATICUS. 
The Ranunculus asiaticus, although so seldom seen 
in these days amongst the collections of florists’ 
flowers and not frequently in ordinary gardens, is 
one of the most beautiful and ornamental varieties 
of florists’ flowers anyone can grow, either for 
exhibition purposes or for the decoration of a flower 
border, and it is as simple to cultivate as it is beau¬ 
tiful to behold when in bloom. 
Philip Miller, in his “ Gardeners’ Dictionary ” 
(third edition), published 1768, in speaking of the 
double varieties produced from seed taken from 
semi-double flowers, says, “ From these there are 
such prodigious varieties of new flowers annually 
obtained which are so large and of such variety of 
beautiful colours as to exceed all other flowers of 
that season, and the roots when strong generally 
produce twenty or thirty flowers upon each, which, 
succeeding each other, continue in beauty a full 
month or longer, according to the heat of the season 
or the care taken to defend them from the injuries of 
the weather.” 
Thomas Hogg, in the sixth edition of his 11 Practical 
Treatise on the Culture of Florists’ Flowers,” says, 
" It is very seldom you have the opportunity of 
beholding this flower in any great perfection, but if 
you are fortunate enough to meet with a bed of the 
choicest sorts growing in full health and vigour and 
bearing a profusion of splendid blossoms of all 
colours, plain and variegated, you will be forced to 
admit that it is an admirable sight, and one of the 
grandest displays of nature in vegetable life. A bed 
of fine Ranunculuses is esteemed by many in no 
degree inferior to a bed of the richest Tulips.” 
Tyso and other great florists who have passed 
away proved every word of Hogg's to be true, as to 
the glorious appearance of a well-cultivated bed of 
these charming flowers when in full bloom ! 
The late Samuel Barlow and the Rev. F. D. Hor¬ 
ner purchased the last of Tyso’s great collection, 
but I fear that most of these, if not all, have gra¬ 
dually dwindled away. 
Forty years ago I had a fine collection of Tyso s 
best strain, but, consequent on change of residence, 
I placed my roots in the hands of a friend to grow 
for me the following season, but he unfortunately 
put the box containing them in the corner of his 
greenhouse, where they all rotted from water drip¬ 
ping upon them before the planting season. I have 
never been able to meet with so fine a strain since, 
but I some years ago purchased a few hundred roots 
from Messrs. Barr & Sons, London, at 5s. per 100, 
and I was much gratified by the bloom which they 
produced, and have continued to cultivate them ever 
since from seed I collect yearly from semi-double 
flowers, and when the plants are in full bloom they 
are a gorgeous sight, and consist of all the colours 
and shades one can imagine, and my bed is always 
the admiration of my friends who witness it in all 
its beauty. Of course I take the precaution of cover¬ 
ing the flowers in the bed with a calico awning so 
as to protect them from the heat of the sun and 
rain. 
I plant the surplus stock in the open borders, and 
they, in an ordinary season, are not only beautiful 
to look at, but are exceedingly useful for cutting 
purposes. 
I make a rule of planting them the first available 
fine day which presents itself in the month of 
March, and I plant the roots in drills 3 in. deep, and 
place them about 4 in. apart each way, so that when 
covered with the soil the crowns will be about 2|in. 
below the surface. Before planting I put a little 
coarse sand in the drills. "Sea” sand I avoid, 
being under the impression that the salt it contains 
will cause many of the small seedling plants to rot. 
When the plants begin to show their buds or bloom¬ 
ing stems, which will be towards the end of June, 
I give them regular daily supplies of water, both 
morning and evening, and I give them a good supply, 
as scanty watering is next to useless. 
Every person who is fond of flowers will be 
thoroughly compensated if they will give the 
Ranunculus a trial, either for exhibition purposes or 
as cut flowers, and roots can be obtained from any 
of the large London bulb importers at a few shillings 
per hundred ,—James Thurston, The Grceii, Cannock. 
OUR GARDENING CHARITIES. 
There can be no doubt whatever that much of the 
success that attends the labours of the managers of 
our gardening charities is due to the kindly interest 
that is taken in them by the conductors of our 
gardening papers, and the liberal manner in which 
valuable space is given up to the promotion of the 
good cause. To men like myself, who are from 
necessity compelled to carry on our vocation far 
from the ” centre of civilisation,” the notices con¬ 
cerning either of the charities, and especially the 
reports of their meetings, are of the greatest interest. 
We like to know wbat is going on at headquarters, 
and especially to read the speeches of the good men 
who preside at the annual festivals and plead the 
cause of the deserving poor amongst us in such 
warm-hearted and generous terms. 
You are always a willing worker, Mr. Editor, in 
aid of our charities, and it is the knowledge of this 
that tempts me to beg a little space for the discussion 
of one or two ideas that have recently occurred to 
me. I note with pleasure what is being done in 
various parts of the country to add to the funds of 
our charities, and very much like the business ideas 
promulgated at the recent meeting at Worcester. 
In populous places like Worcester, no doubt, a great 
deal could be done by unity of action and combined 
efforts, and at no great expense as regards time and 
money ; but in outlying country districts this is not 
so easy of accomplishment, still I hope the day is 
not far distant when every gardener in the land will 
feel it his duty to contribute something to one or 
both of our splendid charities. 
I think a good deal might be done by Gardeners' 
Mutual Improvement Associations making occasional 
collections at the close of their meetings, or at 
quarterly meetings specially organised in aid of the 
charities. These might be made very popular 
gatherings by engaging the services of one or more 
lecturers on subjects likely to prove attractive to 
amateurs and cottagers, and by the local gardeners 
exhibiting examples of the subjects lectured upon. 
A small charge could be made for admission to such 
meetings, or a collection made during the evening, 
whichever might be thought the most desirable. I 
have found that taking specimens to evening meet¬ 
ings and inducing others to bring some that much 
more interest is created in the subject matter of the 
paper read, or the lecture delivered. Recently, when 
lecturing in Devonshire on hardy plants, I took 
with me a goodly number of species and varieties, 
and the experiment answered admirably. I believe 
that if the ontside public only knew of such meet¬ 
ings, many would attend and gladly give something 
for the privilege. 
I have recently suggested to one of these Associa¬ 
tions, that if they would arrange to hold a meeting 
on these lines in March or April, with Apples and 
their culture as the subject dealt with, I would 
contribute as many samples as possible, and do all I 
could to make the meeting a success. I am waiting 
a reply. I think every Association might well admit 
other than members to their meetings, making a 
small charge in aid cf the charities. 
As regards the auxilliary branches of the Gar¬ 
deners’ Royal Benevolent Institution, I hope they 
will increase in number until there is one in every 
important centre. Could not one be established at 
Exeter, for instance ? I have read Mr. Bruce 
Findlay’s letter with regard to a memorial to the 
memory of the late Mr. William Thomson, and, no 
doubt, there are many who would subscribe some¬ 
thing to such a fund, but I am convinced that a great 
many more would contribute if the proposition took 
the form of a “ Thomson Memorial ” in connection 
with one or both of the charities. No better means 
exists for perpetuating the memory of a good man 
than associating his name for all time with some 
noble charity, and I hope this may yet be done.— 
John Crook, Forde Abbey. 
-—J-- 
HINTS ON POTTING. 
After reading Mr. Pettinger’s continuation of the 
above subject, which appears on p. 395 of the last 
issue of the Gardening World, we must hasten to 
assure him that the artifice which has caused him 
once again to enter the field of discussion was most 
emphatically not written in a spirit of criticism, and 
we are very sorry that Mr. Pettinger should have so 
understood it. By criticism, we of course assume 
that fault-finding is really meant, With regard to 
the higher order of criticism, which in this case 
really means the stating of an individual opinion 
which may not be exactly at one with somebody 
else’s ideas, every one possesses the right to criticise, 
and no one would, we imagine, take exception at any 
fellow-gardener claiming this right and acting 
accordingly—Mr. Pettinger, perhaps, least of all. 
Still, the misunderstanding on his part of the spirit 
that prompted the writing of the article in question 
which we again assert was not intended to be a 
critique of Mr. Pettinger’s—has not been an unmixed 
evil, as it has caused him to take up the sword of 
discussion, (as he believed in his own defence), 
thereby favouring us with another of his articles 
which we all so much appreciate from their great 
practicability and good common sense. 
As we stated before, it does not follow that 
opinions with regard to the treatment of the same 
plants in different districts that may appear con¬ 
tradictory when compared the one with the other 
are necessarily wrong in those points, wherein the 
seeming contradictions are exemplified, for there are 
many roads that lead to London. We are also 
aware (a knowledge with which Mr. Pettinger kindly 
credits us), that it is impossible to adequately discuss 
the ” pros ” and " cons ” of potting in a single article 
or in a series of them, so it should be very evident 
that it is not at all likely that we should criticise 
him for incompleteness as this would indeed be find¬ 
ing fault for fault-finding’s sake, a procedure that 
would be unworthy of any member of society in 
general and of the horticultural profession in 
particular. 
With regard to the question of firm versus loose 
potting. This is one of the most disputable points 
in the whole of the domain of gardening, in fact it is 
a very good illustration of the old saw ” that man¬ 
kind was not made to agree.” As we mentioned in 
the article which has caused Mr. Pettinger to take 
his coat off, the free use of the rammer in the potting 
of some subjects is a necessity, but in multitudes of 
other instances it is most certainly not so—nay it 
is a positive evil. It is quite possible to work the 
soil about the roots of the plants operated on with¬ 
out the use of the rammer at all. The firmer that 
the soil in the pots is made the greater difficulty do 
the roots of the plant experience in penetrating it 
and hence the greater the check placed upon root 
action. Now, as everyone knows, there is an insepa¬ 
rable connection between the growth of the root and 
that of the stem and leaves, if one suffers so does the 
other in the exact proportion of the injury to the 
one. Hence it follows that where a plant is required 
to grow freely, too much check should not be put 
upon its root system. In the case of Tomatos, very 
luxuriant growth usually means a corresponding 
reluctance on the part of the plants to fruit, hence 
we pot firmly when shifting the plants into the 
fruiting pots, to check the too rampant vegetative 
growth. But in the case of very tender plants every 
inducement must be given them to grow away 
strongly, therefore we pot lightly. As an instance 
that this is the right method of treatment, take a 
sickly plant with little or no roots attached, knock it 
out of the pot in which it has been growing (?) and 
place it in a bed of cocoanut fibre. Note how quickly 
roots will be produced in a substance which from its 
springy nature it is impossible to get very firm. 
Mr. Pettinger says “ that to lay down a hard and 
fast rule that everything should be rammed was not 
what he intended or even mentioned.” Precisely so ! 
We quite agree with him, but did anybody say that 
he did ? In ordinary cases the soil in the pots may be 
made sufficiently firm by the use of the fingers, ex¬ 
cepting, of course, when large pots are being used, 
as for instance, in the case of Chrysanthemums. 
Spiraeas, it is true, do not need every particle of soil 
about their roots that it is possible to give them, or 
they will almost need some one to stand over them 
with the water-pot during bright weather to prevent 
flagging. We are still of opinion, however, that 
when instructions are given to pot firmly it is often 
taken to mean the free use of the rammer. 
With regard to the question of drainage, there is 
no need to discuss its importance as affecting the 
health and vigour of the plants. The quantity 
necessary will of course vary with the kind of plant 
that is under treatment. Still, we would emphati¬ 
cally state that whether a large or a small quantity 
of crocks are placed in the pot, precautions should 
be taken to keep what drainage is given free and 
unobstructed, by placing a layer of moss or rough 
