68 PANSY, VIOLA AND VIOLET 



Dr Stuart and some few other raisers continued to 

 work on these lines, and many beautiful things were 

 produced. In the majority of cases the resulting 

 seedlings were larger that Violetta, but had the same 

 style of growth and other characteristics similar. In 

 general, their growth may be described as procumbent and 

 tufted to a degree, the stems being very short jointed, and 

 numbers of shoots are emitted through the soil from the 

 base ; if left in the same position for two or three years 

 they are one mass of roots and practically perennial. 

 The flowers are borne on stiff erect footstalks, and as a 

 rule, well above the foliage. 



The similarity of these somewhat larger flowers of the 

 Violetta type led to confusion in their classification, as 

 they seemed to be too large to call Violettas, and not 

 large enough to be classed with the larger flowering 

 kinds. However, the size has gradually increased in 

 the newer varieties, and this question should no longer 

 arise. To demonstrate the confusion which existed in 

 the early days of the Violetta, a short extract from a 

 lecture given by Mr W. Baxter at the Viola Conference 

 in 1896 may be given. Speaking of exhibiting minia- 

 ture Violas, he drew attention to some of the smaller 

 Violas being included as Violettas, and therefore dis- 

 qualified in a recent show. He went on to say, " No 

 attempt was made to grow them large, in fact the effort 

 was in the opposite direction. This leads up to the 

 principal point for which I wish to contend, viz.: a 

 miniature should be a miniature, without allowing room 

 for a premium on bad cultivation." 



At the Viola Conference in 1894 certain rules to 

 define the properties of Violettas were adopted. These 

 are: 



First: Form. The flowers may not be circular as in 

 the florist's Pansy, but may be narrow and more oval in 

 form, and the petals smooth and of good substance. 



