406 



ELEMENTARY STUDIES IN BOTANY 



FIG. 70. Pansies. 



ferring to the characteristic variegated colors of the flower. 

 The old English name of the pansy is " heart 's-ease," and 



it has always been a favorite 

 home-garden flower. Numerous 

 garden varieties have been devel- 

 oped, ' that differ as to size of 

 flower, nature of coloring, and 

 arrangement of colors. The highly 

 developed varieties are not apt to 

 continue true in unskilled hands, 

 so that the safest plan is to secure 

 seed from the breeder each year. 



The plot selected for the culti- 

 vation of pansies should be shel- 

 tered from wind and exposed to 

 the morning sun if possible, and 

 good garden soil will produce the best pansies. For early 

 spring blooming, the seed is sown in August, the bed is cov- 

 ered with strawy manure and kept moist. 

 In about two weeks the plants will ap- 

 pear and the straw is gradually removed. 

 In the next spring the flowers will appear. 

 To secure blooming during the late sum- 

 mer and autumn, seeds can be germinated 

 within doors from February to June, and 

 the young plants set out into the per- 

 manent bed. 



114. Sweet pea. Sweet peas (Fig. 

 71), as the name suggests, belong to the 

 legume family (Legumiriosse), along with 

 garden peas and beans. The originals of 

 the cultivated varieties came from the 

 Mediterranean region and southern Asia, 

 and the number of shades of color now represented by the 

 200 varieties is surprising. The supply of seed for the world 



FIG. 71. Sweet peas. 



