« ■ ■ 



/' 



o 



this there arc many varieties, v/hich differ greatly in 

 the fize and colour of then- tlovvcrs. Some of thefe 

 varieties have very large beautiful fiowers, which have 

 an af^reeable odour ^ others have fmall flowers with- 

 out fcent ; whether thefe arc diltincc fpecies or acci- 

 dental varieties, 1 have not been able to determine, 

 for I have faved the feeds of mofl of the varieties as 

 carefully as poffible, and have fown them feparate, 

 but have always had a mixture arife, whjch may have 

 come from feeds lying in the ground -, for in gardens 

 where thefe plants 'have been permitted to Icatter then- 

 ieeds, it is impoffible to know how long the feeds nuy 

 lie in the ground ; and when they are turned up to 

 the furface, they will grow, v/hich renders it difficult 

 to determine the fpecihc differences of thefe plants in 



fuch places. 



This is an annual plant, whofe roots decay after they 



have flowered and perfefted their feeds. The lower 

 leaves are roundifli or oblong, and are indented on 

 their edges -, the fl:alks rife fevcn or eight inches high, 

 fending out many diffufed branches ; they are four- 

 cornered, and are garniflied with leaves which are 

 loncrer and narrower than thofe below; thefe are 

 notched on their edges, and fit clofe to the branches. 

 The flowers fl:and upon long naked foot-Ilalks, which 

 fpring from the wings of the ftalk ; they are in fhape 

 like thofe of the common Violet. Some of the vari- 

 eties have flowers much larger, and others are of the 

 fize of March Violets ; fome of them have the two 

 upper petals of a deep yellow colour with a purple 

 fpot in each, the two middle of a paler yellow with a 

 deep yellow fpot, and the lower petal of a velvet co- 

 lour ; in others the petals are white, with yellow and 

 purple fpots; in fome the yellow is the molt prevail- 

 ing colour, and in others the purple. 

 The tenth fort grows naturally upon mountains in the 

 north of England, and in Wales; this is a perennial 

 root, fending out Ihoots from the fide, which fpread 

 and propagate, in which it differs from all the Pari- 

 fics. The lower leaves are oblong and jagged ; the 

 ftalks feldom rife more than four or five inches high ; 



>, .they decline at the Bottom, and are garnilhed with 



" 'narrower leaves than thofe below, which are deeper 

 ^cui "on their fides., < The flowers ftand upon naked 



' foot-ftalks two inches long i they are much larger than V I R G A A U R E A. See Solidago. 



not produce fecu.-^. Although the v/Iiite, blue, and 

 purple Violets are generally fuppofed to be varieties 

 which have accidentally fprungfrom feeds, yet I have 

 fcveral years fowcd the feeds of ail the three forts, and 

 have not found either of them vary. 

 The other forts of Spring Violets are fometimcs pre- 

 ferved in botanic gardens for the fake of variety; 

 thefe may be propagated in the fame way as the 

 common fort, but require a moifl: foil and a ihady 

 fituation. 



The upright fort does not fend out fhoots like the 

 common Violet, fo increafes but Oowly by offsets; 

 this may be propagated by feeds in plenty, and is as 

 hardy as the common fort. 



The feveral varieties of Panfies will fcatter their feeds 

 in a fhort time after the flowers are paft, and from 

 thefe felf-fown feeds the plants which come up in 

 autumn, will flowxr very early in the fpring, and thefe 

 will be fucceeded by the fpring plants; fo that where 

 they are indulged in a garden, and their feeds are per- 

 mitted to fcatter, there will be a conflant fucceffion 

 of their flowers the greateft part of the year ; for they 

 will flower all the winter in mild fcafons, and moft 

 part of the fummer in fhady fituations, which renders 

 them worthy of a place in every good garden ; but 

 then they muft not be allowed to fpread too far, left 

 they become troubleforhe weeds, for their feeds, when 

 ripe, are caft out of their covers with great elafticity 

 to a confiderable diftance, and the plants will foon 

 fpread over a large fpace of ground, if they are per- 

 mitted to ftand. 



The common Panfy ftands in the College Difpenfato- 

 ry as a medicinal plant, but is rarely ufed in England. 

 The great yellow Violet propagates by offsets in pret- 

 ty great plenty, if it has a moift foil and a fhady fi- 

 tuation ; this may be tranfplanted in autumn, and 

 the offsets may then be taken off, but the roots 

 fhould not be divided into fmall heads ; nor (hould 

 they be too often tranfplanted, becaufe they will not 

 produce many flowers, unlefs the plants are ftrong, 

 and have good root in the ground. This fort will 

 not live in a dry foil, nor in a fituation much expofed 

 to the fun. ^^ ^-^ 



■d > " S^tf *>'. 



>st<^^-*^^ 



V I O R N A. See Clematis." 



•■ 



. « 



thofe of the common fort, and are of a deep yellow 



colour, with a few purple ft:reaks in the center. This 

 plant continues flowering great part of fummer, but 

 the flowers have no fcent. 



V 



M. Tourn. Inft. R. H. 609. tab. 380. Lin. 

 Gen. Plant. 979. [fo called, becaufe its fruit is full 



1 M 



The Characters are, 



has male and female flowers upon feparate pla 



\le flowers have an empalement compofed of fk 



"The 



of 



have fourfummitSy w. 

 ich faftened to one of 

 ' female flowers havt 



7f four fmall oval leaves Jitt. 



men 



thefe have no petals or ft 



Jituated under the fli 



The germen 



The common Violets are eafily propagated by part- 



ino- of their roots ; this may be done at two feafons : 



the firft or moft common feafi^ for removing and 



parting of thefe roots is at Michaelmas, that the 



young plants may be well rooted before winter; this 



is generally praftifed where the plants are put on the 



borders of wood walks in large plantations, but in the 

 .,the gardens where they are cultivated for their flowers, 



the gardeners tranfplant and part their plants foon 



after their flowering feafon is over; fo they gather all 



the flowers firft, and the plants, which are then re- 

 . xrovcd, will have all the remaining fummer to grow 



and getftrength, fo will produce a greater quantity 



of flowers the following fpring, than thofe which are 



removed in autumn ; but this is not to be praftifed, 



where they cannot be fupplied with v/ater till they have 



taken new root, unlefs in moift feafons. ^ i j- u 



When thefe are planted, they fhould be placed at a Viscum {Album) foliis lanceolatis obtufis, caule dicho- 



noflyky but is crowned by an obtufe ftigma. 



afterward turns to a globular fmooth berry with one celly 



including a flefhf heart-fhaped feed. 



This genus of plants is ranged in the fourth feftion of 



Linnaeus's twenty-fecond clafs, which contains thofe 



plants whofe flowers have four male organs, and grow 



on feparate plants from the fruit. 



We have but one Species of this genus in Europe, 



viz. 



.good diftance from each other to allow them room to 

 ! fpread, for if they are expeded to produce many 

 flowers, they fhould not be tranfplanted oftener than 

 '; once in three or four years, fo that in that time the 

 offsets will fpread over the ground, if the roots are 

 three feet afunder. 

 - Violets may alfo be propagated by feeds, which 

 fliould be fown foon after they are ripe, which is about 

 the end of Auguft. The plants will come up the fol- 

 lowing fpring, and when they are fit to remove, they 

 fliould be tranlplanted in fliady borders to grow till 

 autumn, and then they may be planted where they 



tomo, fpicis axillaribus. Lin. Sp. Plant. 1023. Mfli 

 with blunt fpear-fhaped leaves^ forked ftalks^ and fpikes 

 of flowers rtjingfrom the wings of the flalk. Vifcum 

 baccis albis. C. B. P. 423. Mi/leto with white berries. 

 This plant, inftead of rooting and growing in the 

 earth like other plants, fixes itfelf, and takes root on 

 the branches of trees ; it fpreads out with many 

 branches, and forms a large buih. The branches are 

 ligneous ; they have a yellow green bark ; the largeft 

 is about the thicknefs of a man's finger, the other 

 are gradually fmaller; they are full of joints which 

 eafily part afunder, at each of which grow two thick 



arc to remain, but the double- flowering Violets do fleftiy leaves, which are broad and rounded at their 



} . 



points 



