PANSY 351 . 



PANSY 



Viola tricolor. Hardy perennial 



PANSY growing is no longer a mystery, as it was by some regarded 

 in years not far removed. Seed, too, is now of such a quality, and 

 is saved in so many distinct colours, that for all ordinary purposes 

 the trouble of striking cuttings and keeping stocks in pots all the 

 winter through is mere waste of labour and pit-room. The Pansy is 

 a little fastidious, but not severely so. It thrives in a cool climate, 

 with partial shade in high summer, and in a rich, moist, sandy 

 soil. But stagnant water at the roots is unfavourable, as also is 

 a burning heat on a dry soil. Notwithstanding all this, the Pansy 

 will grow almost anywhere and anyhow ; but as we prize fine flowers 

 of this old favourite, it should have reasonable care to do justice to 

 its great merits. 



A thick sowing is very liable to damp off : therefore sow thinly 

 either in pots or boxes in April. The thin sowing, moreover, 

 renders it possible to take out the forward plants without disturbing 

 the remainder. Make up the requisite number of pans, and in 

 a short time transfer the plants to some cool corner, where the 

 soil has been prepared with a heavy dressing of manure. When 

 they have become stocky, remove to beds or borders, with balls of 

 earth attached to the roots. Should the surrounding soil become 

 set by heavy rain or by watering, a slight stirring of the surface 

 will prove beneficial. 



The first flowers are not a criterion of the value of a Pansy, and 

 the plant should not be hastily cast aside because premature blossoms 

 are comparatively insignificant. Their removal will strengthen the 

 plant for better results a little later. 



Seed sown in the open ground during the summer months will 

 readily germinate, and the seedlings need no attention beyond thinning 

 to about six inches apart until they are ready for transferring to their 

 proper positions, where they will produce a mass of bloom in the 

 following spring. 



The Pansy puts forth its buds very early in the year. Whether 

 they are particularly tasty, or the scarcity of other young vegetable 

 growth gives them undue prominence, we know not, but certain it 

 is that sparrows show a marked partiality for them. And having 

 once acquired a taste for the plants, these impudent marauders will 



