864 VIOLA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



VI SCUM. 



respects they are equal to the older sorts, 

 much more tufted in habit, and better 

 garden-plants in every way. Among the 

 best kinds are Albino, Blue Gown, Blush 

 Queen. Bridal Wreath, George Muirhead, 

 Queenie, Lucy Franklin, Flower of Spring, 

 King of Whites, Sweet Lavender, and 

 Sylvia. These in their several shades of 

 colour are certainly some of the most 

 beautiful flowers ever seen. The best of 

 the older kinds with white flowers are Mrs. 

 Kinnear, Countess of Hopetoun, Violetta, 

 Mrs. Gray, and Marchioness of Tweeddale 

 (with a delicate bluish shade). Near these 

 creamy-whites come a group of creamy 

 or pale yellow-coloured kinds, such as | 

 mentioned above, George Lord, Henry IV., 

 and Devonshire Cream. Among yellows 

 there is nothing better than Ardwell Gem, 



.*t. 



A Tufted Pansy. 



Pembroke, Molly Pope, Stephen, and 

 Mrs. Greenwood. Perhaps the most 

 precious of all are the lavenders and 

 delicate blues, such as Ariel, Florizel, 

 Azurea, Duchess of Sutherland, For- 

 midable, and Bessie Clarke. Of the 

 blues and rich dark purples we have 

 Archie Grant, Blue King, Holyrood, 

 Cliveden Purple, Lottie, and Max 

 Kolb. 



Although we like the colours simple and 

 pure, there are other pretty ones of a 

 different kind, such as Columbine, Blue 

 Cloud, Duchess of Fife, Countess of 

 Kintore, Skylark. In the south, however, 

 they are uncertain, liable to vary much in 

 colour, and never good in effect like the 

 true selfs. Some kinds, like Violetta, are 

 white, running off to delicate bluish or 

 lilac hues. These delightful things are so 

 easily raised and crossed, th; t it might 



almost be well if each garden had its own 

 colours, by the raising of a few kinds for 

 itself, so as to have as much variety as 

 possible. 



These plants love a light and cool 

 moist soil. In northern districts they are 

 naturally more at home under ordinary 

 conditions than in the south, and to bring 

 them to perfection in the south, special 

 treatment is necessary. 



For early spring-flowering the cuttings 

 should be rooted in July or August, and 

 planted out in their places the first or 

 second week in October. They commence 

 blooming early in April. In heavy soils, 

 that is, such as are liable to crack with 

 drought, use abundance of leaf-soil, burnt 

 ashes from the rubbish fires, and the like, 

 to bring them into better working. Also 

 select a dry time for digging, working 

 in the above with plenty of short manure 

 from an old Mushroom bed, and scattering 

 an inch or so on the surface for the roots 

 at planting time. Cuttings are better than 

 divisions ; particularly if they are made of 

 the young shoots stripped from the old 

 stool with a heel attached. To annually 

 obtain a supply of these cuttings it will be 

 necessary to plant out a reserve batch of 

 plants for the purpose. About the second 

 week in June, cut them back to within 2 

 in. of the soil. A month afterwards they 

 will be bristling with young shoots. As 

 soon as 3 in. long, scatter some fine soil 

 and leaf-mould among the young growths, 

 and keep well watered for a fortnight, by 

 which time the majority will be making 

 roots freely. A fortnight later they will be 

 ready for planting in nursery-beds in a 

 shady spot and in good soil. As growth 

 is renewed, pinch out the top of each to 

 encourage the quicker formation of shoots 

 at the base. By October there will be 

 some grand plants for putting into their 

 permanent quarters, full of youth and 

 vigour that will produce masses of flowers 

 by-and-by. 



Virgilia. See CLADRASTIS. 



VISCAEIA. F. ociilata, a showy and 

 beautiful hardy annual from South Europe, 

 is well suited for a border. Seed should 

 be sown in spring or autumn, and the 

 seedlings thinned out when large enough. 

 V. oculata is 6 or 8 in. high, and bears a 

 profusion of rose-coloured blossoms with 

 a dark centre. The varieties cardinalis 

 (bright crimson-purple), coerulea (bluish), 

 alba (white), Dunnetti (rose), splendens 

 (scarlet), picta elegans (crimson purple, 

 edged with white), and a dwarf variety, 

 nana, about 9 in. high, are desirable. 



VISCUM ALBUM (Mistletoe). This 

 half-shrubby parasite on trees is often 



