THE ODOUR OF VIOLET. 105 
as the V. swavis, and amongst the 170 other species of Viola 
known some are scented; but those mainly cultivated for their 
perfume are the doubie purple and double blue varieties of 
V. odorata, the Neapolitan (pallido-plena), some hybrid varieties, 
‘** Russian,” &c., being grown for bouquets. 
On the shores of the Mediterranean the Violet is cultivated on 
a large scale, especially in the districts of Grasse and Cannes. 
They are planted out in October or April. October is preferred as 
it is the rainy season, and the young plants are not then exposed 
to the heat of the sun or to the drought, as they would be if starting 
hfe m April. The best place for them is in the olive-groves, 
where they are protected from the powerful rays of the sun in 
summer and from the extreme cold in winter. They are placed in 
long furrows and do not require watering except where the earth 
is extra dry. In September the ground must be broken up round 
them and manured. Specks of bloom appear among the plants 
during November ; their number increases daily, until by December 
the green is quite overshadowed, and the whole plantation appears 
one glorious hue, for the leaves of the plant having developed 
themselves sufficiently for its maintenance, now rest in their 
growth and are completely overtopped by the young buds they 
have protected, and which now shoot past them and bloom in the 
open. The flowers are picked twice a week ; they lose perfume if 
they are allowed to remain long on the plant, and are all gathered 
before the leaves start growing or would otherwise be completely 
covered in by the foliage. The flowers are gathered in the 
morning and delivered at the factories in the afternoon, where 
they are taken in hand at once, as they would lose considerably 
in perfume if held over till the next day. This explains why the 
Neapolitan violets or any other of the highly perfumed violets 
sent from the South of France to London do not seem more 
odoriferous than the same varieties grown in England. The 
variety known as “ Double Parma” gives a good result. 
The plant is somewhat delicate and the harvest is very subject 
to climatic influences, sometimes suffering to the extent of 75 per 
cent. The old plants are removed every five years and young roots 
substituted, planting them between the old rows, or spaces which 
were before vacant. 
The perfume is extracted by the cold process of “ enfleurage,” 
