CHAPTER III 

 PANSIES AND VIOLAS FROM SEED 



" There are divine things well envelop'd, 

 I swear to you there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell. " 



THE raising of seedlings of any plant is always interesting, 

 because it is from seed that most new varieties are obtained ; 

 therefore the amateur has a chance, provided he is growing 

 a good strain, of obtaining some new colour or form. The 

 question of what sort of seed it is best to sow is one of the 

 first to present itself, but it cannot be decided satisfactorily 

 until the grower has a clear idea as to what object the 

 plants are intended to serve. If the plants are wanted to 

 form a mixed bed of Pansies or to dot along a mixed border, 

 the best Fancy Pansy seed obtainable should be sown. 

 If they are needed for beds of one colour or for lines of 

 one colour, Violas should certainly be chosen, and all the 

 leading seed merchants make a speciality of supplying seed 

 in different colours. In the purchasing of Pansy or Viola 

 seed, always avoid what is cheap, otherwise all the labour 

 and care is likely to end in disappointment. The best 

 Pansies and Violas do not seed freely, and therefore the 



best seed can never be plentiful. 



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