Character Sportive

"There is in the ranunculus what is by florists called a sportive character - that is, they run from their original colour. Some that have yellow ground, delicately spotted, will come plain yellow, and some red and white striped will come plain red; sometimes the colours will mix, and the flowers will become dingy." - Gard. Chron.

"Sometimes the flowers will be as green as the grass of the plants from which they grow. Some of the finest seedlings are weak, and therefore die in a few years, though for a short time they had great renown. Such has been the case with Abbe St. Andrew, Quixos Viol le Vrai Noir, Grand Berger, and Rose Incomparable, and some others of later date. But there are others of first-rate character which are remarkably strong, and increase abundantly, such as Attractor, Felix, Saladin, Edgar, Eureka, Victor, and many others." - Ibid.

Characteristics Of A Good Flower

"The form of the ranunculus should be two-thirds of a ball; petals, broad, thick, free from notch or indentation, cupping a little, and disposed that each cover the place where the two under ones join; commonly concealing the anthers, abundance of petals lying close over each other, and forming a compact flower, open enough to show the colour on their inside, but not enough to be loose; and the under ones must hold well in their places, forming a square, if not a hollow back. The stem thick, strong, and elastic; but the flower upright, and from one and a half to two inches in diameter. The colour is a matter of taste, but must be dense and distinet; the purer the white or yellow, and the more contrasted the edging or spotting is, the better the flower; in selfs the more brilliant the colour is, the more likely to be attractive; but so long as the colour is decided, the only advantage that can be gained by colour is novelty. The outside of the petal should be as bright as the inside.

If shown in a stand, there must not be two alike: all the flowers in a row should be of one size, and the back row the largest".

Propagation. By Seed

To the Rev. Joseph Tyso we are indebted for the following directions: -

"Impregnate the double flowers with the farina of the single ones. This cannot be done with effect in every case; but whenever an old flower, with a pericarpium or eye, gather a single or semi-double flower, and apply the farina to the eye of the double flower.

"The seedlings will bear a striking resemblance to the mother plant, as to colour and habit of growth. The seed may be sown at all seasons, from the 1st of August to the 1st of March, the middle or latter end of October, and the beginning of January. Sow in boxes eighteen inches by eleven inches, and four inches deep, full of loamy earth, and the surface level. Sow the seeds about an eighth of an inch apart; cover them as thinly as possible, and water with a fine rose; but place the boxes under glass, without heat. The plants usually make their appearance in about a month. Give air day and night, except in severe frost; then cover up with straw mats. With such protection, the young plants will endure the severest seasons. Clean the surface of the boxes from green moss in February, and top dress them. Put the boxes in the open ground up to the second week in May, and water daily until the grass begins to wither; then sutler the boxes to become quite dry; and in the middle of July, take them up, and preserve the roots in bags until February, and then plant them as the general stock.

In the following June they flower in great profusion." - Gard.

Mag.