bcrt] THE BLUE VIOLET 203 



Dame Nature has evidently constructed these flowers after the 

 strictest economy. It is with seeds made in this way that our 

 blue violet maintains herself in so many lands and despite great 

 hardships. The little seed pods are three lobed, each one of these 

 lobes dividing lengthwise with a double row of seeds within. 

 To scatter the seeds each lobe curls back and expels her load. 



There are many different species of violets all belonging to the 

 same family Viola, and they frequent quite different locations, 

 short stemmed, long stemmed and sweet odored, all variations and 

 kinds. We would hardly recognize the blue violet's yellow and 

 white sisters as even being members of the same family except 

 for their general shape and parts. The long spurred violet is 

 very interesting, with faint, lavender colored petals which are 

 finely marked with dark, hair-like lines showing the bees where the 

 precious nectar is hidden. 



Every spring when I was a little girl I looked forward with 

 anticipation to a trip in my grandmother's orchard on the farm 

 where I could gather violets. These were the first flowers I 

 came to know and my heart was broken if this annual spring trip 

 was prevented. I always took large bunches home and had lots 

 of fun fixing them in bowls of water. The next dav at school 

 wa played "rooster" and often would be made to stay after school. 

 I hardly think our teacher could have heard of nature-study. 



In the winter one of our florist's choicest and most expensive 

 bouquets is of violets; and whose face doesn't beam when they 

 open a purple, square looking hat box and find a bunch of these 

 precious flowers, whether one is old or young! The florist some- 

 times places in the middle of this bouquet a tea rose or two, but 

 to me this always seemed superfluous — the violet needs no outside 

 adornment. 



By ancient writers, the violet is frequently mentioned, and 

 its name came to be applied indiscriminately to all sweet scented 

 blossoms. In eastern countries the violet is still a favorite flower 

 and a sherbet flavored with its blossoms is a common drink. 



It is said Mahomet preferred the flower to all others and once 

 remarked, "The excellence of the extract of violets above all 

 other extracts is as the excellence of me above all the rest of the 

 creation: it is cold in summer and hot in winter." 



At the floral games instituted at Toulouse in the early part of 

 the fourteenth century, the prize awarded to the author of the best 



