VIOLA. 157 



VIOLA. 



Violet. 



" Violets, sweet tenants of the shade, 

 In purple's richest pride arrayed, 



Your errand here fulfil ; 

 Go bid the artist's simple stain 

 Your lustre imitate in vain, 



And match your Maker's skill." 



This is an extensive genus of plants, of dwarf habits, suita- 

 ble for the border or rock-work. There are many indigenous 

 species which flourish well in the garden, and will repay the 

 trouble of collecting them from the woods, meadows, and pas- 

 tures. 



Viola odorata, or the Sweet-scented Violet, should not be 

 wanting in any collection of plants, on account of its fragrance 

 and early appearance. A single flower will perfume a large 

 room. The flowers appear in April, and continue through 

 May. There are the single white and single blue, and the 

 double blue and white varieties ; the double sorts are the most 

 desirable ; they succeed best in a shady, sheltered place, and 

 are rapidly multiplied by divisions of the plant. 



Viola tricoloi'. Pansy; Lady's Delight. The Heart's 

 Ease, or Pansy, is a general favorite, an old acquaintance 

 with every one who has had anything to "do with a flower-gar- 

 den. It begins to open its modest but lively flowers as soon as 

 the snow clears off in the spring, and continues to enliven the 

 garden till the snow comes again. The flowers are in the 

 greatest perfection in May and June. The burning sun of 

 summer is unfavorable for their greatest beauty; but in autumn 

 they are fine again. The Pansy is properly a biennial, but can 

 be perpetuated by cuttings or divisions of the root. 



Viola grandijlora is an improvement of V. tricolor, or on a 

 larger scale, and this has now become a florist's flower. The 

 following directions for its cultivation are from the Gardener's 

 Chronicle : 



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