VIOLETS, RUSSIAN. 



547 



VISCUM. 



summer and autumn, runners should be 

 laid either in pots or on a hotbed where 

 they are growing, in February, selecting 

 the strongest runners, and pegging then 

 down, with a little soil over the runner 



VIRGINIAN STOCK. 



and keeping them moist : these will be 

 ready to plant out early in April, each with 

 its bundle of roots, and will come in a 

 month or six weeks earlier than the others. 

 But they must be placed in their winter 

 quarters early in September. 



Violets, Russian. 



To have an abundance of fine flowers in 

 the autumn and early spring, these should 

 be planted in beds under a wall, in a warm 

 aspect. The soil should be light, but very 

 highly manured, with a large quantity of 

 sand about 4 inches underneath the top 

 soil. The roots should be planted in rows 

 about 3 or 4 inches apart, and well watered. 

 Every year, in April, immediately after 

 they have done flowering, the beds should 

 be broken up, the soil renewed, and fresh 

 plants put in for another year. 



Virginian Creeper (nat. ord. Vita'- 



ceae). 



A favourite plant for covering an ugly 

 wall or shed. Its flowers are very insig- 

 nificant ; but this defect is amply com- 

 pensated for by its beautiful leaves, which 

 assume a most brilliant scarlet colour in ; 



autumn. Its growth also is very rapid ; 

 by some persons it is known as the Five- 

 leaved Ivy. See also Ampelppsis. 



Virginian Stock. 



A pretty little annual, the seeds of wh.ca 

 may be sown at almost any season. It is 

 sure to grow and bloom abundantly. Its 

 botanical name is Malcomia mdritima. It 

 grows to the height of 6 inches ; its flowers 

 are red and white, beautiful for margins. 

 By constantly picking off the seed, and 

 liberal waterings, it may be kept in flower 

 the whole summer. 



Visca'ria (nat. ord. Caryophylla'cese). 



There are several varieties of pretty 

 little annuals so named, suitable for 

 borders, small beds, and single lines. 



Among these may be named Viscaria 

 oculata, 9 inches, pink, dark eye ; V. o. 

 nana coccinea, 9 inches, scarlet, dark eye ; 

 V. Damietia, 12 inches, white, dark eye. 



Vis'cum (nat. ord. Lorantha'ceflo). 



The best known of this genus is the 

 Mistletoe (Visctun albiuti), a curious and 

 beautiful parasite, which, in our own 

 country, is generally found on old cankered 



VISCARIA OCULATA. 



apple-trees, and certainly not upon the 

 oak, with which it is traditionally asso- 

 ciated. It grows also on the white thorn, 

 he lime, and the sycamore ; indeed on 

 several forest trees. (See also Mistletoe.} 



