272 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS 



Pansy, but that number is added to greatly by Dr. 

 Prior in his " Popular Names of Flowers." He gives 

 the following : Herb Trinity ; Three-faces-under-a- 

 hood ; Fancy-Flamy ; Kiss me-Cull me, or, Cuddle- 

 me-to-you ; Tickle-my-fancy ; Kiss me 'ere I rise ; 

 Jump up and kiss me ; Kiss me at the garden gate ; 

 and Pink of my John. All, it is to be noted, are of an 

 amatory nature. Prior thought that the quaint names 

 given to the flower arose partly from its habit of 

 " coquettishly hanging its head and half hiding its 

 face." Whatever the cause, the Pansy has many en- 

 dearing cognomens, and their number, allied to their 

 affectionate character, may be taken as some measure 

 of its popularity. 



The wild Pansy is a five-petalled flower, about 

 three-quarters of a inch across. The lower petal is 

 the largest, and, as in other wild flowers of which 

 the petals vary in size, it has what the florists would 

 describe as a " ragged " appearance. Florists do not 

 like flowers with petals that have gaps between them, 

 and one of their first objects in improving a flower 

 is to fill up the gaps. By steady selection they increase 

 the size of the smaller petals until they get them as large 

 as the biggest. They not only fill up the gap, but secure 

 a margin, so that the petals overlap each other a little. 

 If the outline of the petals is uneven, indented, or flat, 

 they pursue their operations until they have got it 

 slightly convex, and this, in conjunction with the closing- 

 up of the petals, gives a well-rounded flower ; in other 

 words, the upper outline of each petal unites to form a 

 circle. It all sounds mysterious and surprising to the 

 novice, but it is mere finger-and-thumb routine to the 

 experienced florist. Working by cross-fertilising one 

 variety with another, by selecting those of the offspring 



