GROWING VIOLETS. 85 



the singles nine inches apart. The rows are spaced about a foot apart 

 and cultivated with a wheel hoe. 



Some growers grow the young' plants through the summer in 2i^- or 

 3-inch pots plunged in frames, and in the fall transfer them directly from 

 the pots to the bench with equally good results. 



BENCHING. 



The double violets, Marie Louise, are lifted the third week in Au- 

 gust, the slender runners trimmed off and the plants benched inside. 

 Gov. Herrick may be benched any time in September, but if you want 

 early flowers on good length stems they should be benched before the 

 middle of the month. They require a warmer temperature than other 

 varieties and may be grown successfully in the cool end of a carnation 

 house. We have grown Princess of Wales and Dorsett, which seem to 

 be identical with each other. They bloom very freely in midwinter but 

 the flowers and stems are smaller than those of Governor Herrick. Cali- 

 fornia makes a long stem, but with us it does not bloom freely. 



SPACE BETWEEN PLANTS. 



Marie Louise is planted 9 inches apart each way. single varieties are 

 spaced 10 x 12 inches. Plants summered in pots are more dwarf and 

 may be planted closer. 



HOUSE BENCH AND SOIL. 



Our violet house runs north and south, though we have had equally 

 good results in an east and west house. 



We use solid beds wuth sides two feet high, filled the full depth with 

 good porous soil. When a crop is finished we take out the soil to a 

 depth of five inches, put in one inch of cinders and use the bench during 

 the spring for potted plants. During the summer we remove the cinders, 

 put in one inch of rotted manure and four inches of soil, fork it over 

 once, soak it down thoroughly, leave it till the weeds come up, then hoe 

 off the weeds, and it is ready to plant violets. For soil we have suc- 

 ceeded equally well with old garden soil and with sod from blue grass 

 pasture. 



TILLING AND PRUNING. 



During the fall the surface of the beds should be stirred frequently; 

 the weeds and all diseased or dying leaves should be removed as fast as 

 they appear. Trim the slender runners from the double violets. The 

 single varieties sometimes grow a suiplus of leaves, especially during 

 the warm fall weather, and they need an occasional thinning out. 



