34 PANSY, VIOLA AND VIOLET 



Winter's rest ; each day brings new life into the old 

 plants, and the leaves and shoots begin to look quite 

 fresh and green. 



It is in the Tufted Pansy (Viola) and Violettas that we 

 now see the advantage of the tufted root growth. At 

 the beginning of the year, these old plants should 

 consist of nice circular tufts, from 4 to 8 inches in 

 diameter, each few days showing a marked improvement 

 in their health and size. 



The Fancy Pansy, on the other hand, although it may 

 consist of a tuft of a sort (if it be alive at all), is not 

 of the same rooty character as the Viola, but consists, 

 more often than not, of one stem with many lateral 

 growths, which, having but few rootlets, are therefore 

 of less use for breaking up and thus creating new plants. 

 With the majority of Violas, however, almost every 

 little growth in the tuft possesses roots, and is a plant 

 in itself. It will thus be seen what a number of plants 

 can be produced from one tuft. For instance, if one is 

 very short of a particular variety, cuttings may be taken 

 from time to time during the Summer and Autumn, and 

 in the Spring the plant may be broken up to provide 

 further stock. In this way a large number of plants 

 can be obtained. Here again we see the disadvantage 

 of the so-called "Tufted Pansies" that are not tufted, 

 their growth being similar to that of the Fancy Pansy. 



A fairly large frame should be placed in a sunny 

 aspect, and the soil therein having been well broken up 

 is prepared in the same way as advocated for propagating 

 cuttings. 



Of course, the best plants for the purpose are those 

 forming a nice circular tuft, every individual stem of 

 which is attached to the ground by means of rootlets, 

 or with rootlets breaking away at its junction with 

 the main stem. Each growth will then be a little plant 

 in itself, and only needs to be detached with care, and 



