IIAECH. 33 



The violet, the lowly violet, belongs to the 

 wild flowers, yet it is valued now in the garden, 

 when lavender and other fragrant plants are yet 

 waiting for sunshine to bring forth their scents. 

 The dark blue double sweet violet, is merely a 

 variety of our Avoodland flower, and the Eus- 

 sian and Neapolitan violets are a great addition 

 to our garden bed. The Neapolitans 



" Now in sv.-eet profusion spring, 

 Haunting the air." 



This is a winter flower, too, for it has been 

 in blossom froua October, and will still bloom 

 on till May. Many of our garden violets are 

 brought from the fields and woods of America, 

 and are cultivated by our gardeners for the 

 beauty of their flowers, as they are not fra- 

 grant. There is one species very common on 

 the high mountains of Pennsylvania, with small 

 chocolate flowers and haiiy roundish leaves. 

 The rich vegetable mould of some of these 

 beech forests, is very favourable to its growth, 

 and like our native violet, it seems to seek se- 

 clusion, rejoicing not alone in the quiet of the 

 woods, but often blooming quite hidden among 

 the dead leaves, which the high winds have 

 scattered from the leafy boughs. This flower 

 is on this account called the clandestine violet, 

 (Viola dandestina.) It is a common remedy 

 for wounds, among the dwellers in the forests, 

 and is called " all heal." The bruised plant is 

 applied with great success for similar purposes 

 in several parts of North America, and, like 

 most of the violet tribe, its roots contain an 



B 



