2454 



PANSY 



PANSY 



"The Hearts-ease or Pansie hath many round leaves at 

 the first comming up; afterward they grow somewhat 

 longer, sleightly cut about the edges, trailing or creeping 

 upon the ground: the stalks are weake and tender, 

 whereupon grow floures in form & figure like the Vio- 

 let, and for the most 

 part of the same big- 

 nesse, of three sundry 

 colours, whereof it 

 tooke the syrname 

 Tricolor, that is to 

 say. purple, yellow, 

 ana white or blew; by 

 reason of the beauty 

 and braverie of which 

 colours they are very 

 pleasing to the eye, 

 for smel they have 

 little or none at all. 

 The seed is contained 

 in little knaps of the 



^f$sfr: 



2748. Viola tricolor. Nearly or quite 

 the original form of pansy. 



bignesse of a Tare, 

 which come forth 

 after the floures be 

 fallen, and do open 

 of themselves when the seed is ripe. The root is noth- 

 ing else but as it were a bundle of threddy strings. 



"The upright Pansie bringeth forth long leaves 

 deeply cut in the edges, sharp-pointed, of a bleake or 

 pale green colour, set upon slender upright stalks, 

 cornered, jointed, or kneed a foot high or higher; 

 whereupon grow very faire floures of three colours, 

 viz., of purple, blew, and yellow, in shape like the com- 

 mon Hearts-ease, but greater and fairer; which colours 

 are so excellently and orderly placed, that they bring 

 great delight to the beholders, though they have little 

 or no smell at all: for oftentimes it hapneth that the 

 uppermost floures are differing from those that grow 

 upon the middle of the plant, and those vary from the 

 lowermost, as Nature list to dally with things of such 

 beauty." L. H. B. 



Cultivation of pansies. 



There are few plants more popular than the pansy. 

 Every year the demand for the plants is greater. This 

 flower has been cultivated for so long that its source 

 is a matter of uncertainty. As seen at the present day, 

 it is an artificial production, differing considerably from 

 any known wild plant. 



Pansies were probably first improved from the origi- 

 nal type in Great Britain, where the cool and moist 

 climate is well adapted to their cultivation, and new 

 varieties gradually appeared with larger flowers, of 

 varied colors. For many years, England and Scotland 

 bore the reputation of growing the best pansies. About 

 forty years ago, three French specialists, Bugnot of St. 

 Brieuc, and Gassier and Trimardeau of Paris, made 

 immense strides in developing the pansy, and their 

 productions were a revelation to the horticultural 

 world. Such sizes and colors were previously thought 

 impossible. Trimardeau developed a new race with 

 immense flowers and very hardy constitution. His 

 strain, crossed with those of Gassier and Bugnot, 

 has given a pansy which is superseding the older Eng- 

 lish varieties. At the present day, Germany and France 

 lead in introducing new varieties. 



It is customary at the present day to make a 

 careful selection of seedlings for new varieties, also 

 to propagate by the means of cuttings. The spec- 

 cialists are devoting much time to the improvement 

 of the various types and strains. The flowers are being 

 steadily improved in all points by which pansies are 

 judged, size, color, substance and form. Nearly all 

 of the beautiful colors are to be found among the 

 giant types, and the care that is being taken in the 



selection of colors makes it reasonably sure that, when 

 the choicest seed is obtained, a large percentage of the 

 plants will come true to color. The season of blossom- 

 ing has been extended, the new early-flowering strains 

 blooming five or six weeks earlier in the spring than the 

 old varieties. 



There are many beautiful varieties of pansies and it 

 is difficult to make a selection, but the most popular 

 for both amateur and commercial growers are the giant 

 flowers of the Trimardeau type, the Gassier superb 

 strain of blotched pansies, and the Bugnots. One of 

 the newer strains is the "Masterpiece," a very large 

 flower with curled or ruffled petals, which are so un- 

 dulated and curled that many of its blossoms appear 

 to be double. The new upright giant five-blotched 

 pansy called the "Princess" by Ernest Benary is entirely 

 distinct from all other pansy strains in its great com- 

 pactness, its upright growth and its hardiness. Two 

 other types which should be mentioned are the "Orchid 

 Flowered," whose delicate orchid colors do not exist in 

 any other strain; and the "New Early Flowering 

 Giant" pansy, which blossoms in early March. 



It is conceded by European pansy specialists who 

 have visited the United States that the American 

 pansy seed planted on the American soil, will produce 

 larger and finer flowers than the foreign-grown seed of 

 the same strain planted on the same soil. 



Pansies degenerate very quickly; therefore it is very 

 important to procure fresh seed every year from a 

 specialist. 



The four characteristics of the pansy required by the 

 four leading pansy-growing people are as follows : 



Germany: Color, substance, form, size. 



Great Britain: Form, color, substance, size. 



France: Substance, size, color, form. 



America: Size, color, substance, form. 



The success of growing a crop of pansies depends 

 largely on having good fresh seed and on how the seed- 

 bed is treated the first six to twelve days; for if pansy 

 seed becomes dry after once sprouting, it is deaa; and 

 if kept too close, it will damp-off. 



A coldframe is a good place in which to sow the 

 seeds if the boards are not full of fungus; or a box 9 



2749. Modern pansies. (Nearly Yt natural size) 



