THE SWEET VIOLET 229 



pared to supply him at short notice with the necessary young 

 plants with which to make a start. 



The violet delights in summer-time in partial shade ; therefore 

 the bed should be made, if possible, under the north-east side of a 

 fence or hedge. It will also thrive under the shade of deciduous 

 trees such as Japanese maples, almonds and laburnums. The 

 beds should be placed fairly well in the open, and not hi the dense 

 shadow cast by house walls. 



While it is true that ordinary garden soil will suffice for success- 

 ful violet culture, it is equally true that the measure of the grower's 

 success will depend upon the care with which the soil is prepared. 

 Deep digging is essential, and where it is possible this should be 

 done some time before planting-out time arrives. Where the 

 soil is inclined to be heavy it can be improved by an admixture of 

 well-decayed manure, road grit, leaf mould and burnt vegetable 

 refuse. But in thus enriching the soil avoid as you would the 

 plague the use of a great quantity of rank stable manure. The 

 inevitable and undesirable result of this operation would be the 

 production of any quantity of foliage and of very few flowers. 

 If the soil be light and hungry, however, it can be improved by 

 digging in and burying fairly deep some thoroughly decayed cow 

 manure. The effect of this will be to keep the ground cool and 

 moist during the heat of summer. It is in conditions such as this 

 that violets revel. When one remembers that the violet grows 

 naturally in the woodlands, in soil that contains the accumulation 

 of years of fallen and decayed leaves, it will be realised how 

 advantageous it is to supply the bed with a certain proportion of 

 leaf mould. If this be used as a dressing it will prevent the surface 

 from becoming cracked hi hot weather, and will at the same time 

 supply the roots with the medium in which they are most at 

 home. 



As soon as the young plants are received from the florist they 

 should be placed hi their summer quarters The plants ought 

 to be rooted runners, similar to that depicted in Figure 1 of 

 Diagram 81. 



It is necessary that they should have plenty of room, and it is, 



