VIOLACE/E. 6 1 



able branch of market-gardening, and acres of Violets are to 

 be met with in the neighbourhood of such places : and the 

 gardener in private establishments must have a long season of 

 Violets by whatever means, or he fails to please the ladies by 

 a good many points ; for Violets, in season and out of season, 

 are indispensable in many establishments. The Sweet-Violet 

 is a British plant, common in many parts in hedgerows, open 

 woods, and pastures, and very generally affecting clayey dis- 

 tricts ; while in many widespread parts, where the soil is 

 gravelly, or hot and dry, it is rarely if ever seen. The plant, 

 in fact, prefers moderate shade and considerable moisture, and 

 strong rich loam to grow in ; and the nearer we can attain to 

 these conditions in cultivation, the greater will be our success. 

 Many have written on the culture of the Violet, and the 

 writers have by no means been harmonious in the practice they 

 inculcated, though each has stoutly enough maintained that his, 

 and his only, was correct and likely to be attended with success 

 — as indeed it may really have been in his circumstances, but 

 not therefore the best for one differently situated as regards 

 climate, soil, and choice of aspect. A moderately hea\y rich 

 soil is that in which they thrive best, and sustain the most con- 

 tinuous and abundant bloom ; and if the natural soil is in any 

 point short of this, the best means at command should be 

 adopted to bring it up to the desired condition. If it is light 

 and gravelly, clay and manure :>hould be added to it, in requi- 

 site quantity ; or if a poor hard clay, sharp gritty matter, with 

 no stint of old manure, would be the proper correctives. As 

 regards the aspect of the spot on which they are to be grown, 

 it is a point of some importance, especially if no natural means 

 of affording the plants a little shade are available. Whether it 

 is open to the east, the west, or the south, is of less importance 

 than the necessity of placing them where they will enjoy slight 

 shade either in the morning or afternoon. My own experience 

 is most favourable to placing them on a west border, where they 

 will be sheltered from the rays of the sun during the earlier 

 hours of the day. It is well, however, to have the stock de- 

 signed to bloom out of doors growing in ditferent aspects, as 

 by that means there will be less danger, in exceptional seasons, 

 of total failure. A very important point in their culture, by the 

 practice of which I have always been rewarded with good 

 results, is to lift and divide the plants annually, cutting away 

 all old and weak crowns and runners, and trimming the roots, 

 trenching and manuring the ground, and replanting them. The 

 best time for doing this is immediately after the flowers are 

 over, about the middle or end of April or the beginning of 



