210 A GUIDE TO FLORICULTURE. 



French fashions in almost every thing, this pretty plant 

 has taken the cognomen of Pensee or Pansy, hy which it 

 is generally known in Europe and America. It has 

 grown much into repute, of late years, with florists. 

 Twenty years ago, its size did not exceed a ten cent 

 piece, though even then attractive to the eye of every 

 person who had the least pretension to taste, or love for 

 flowers. I have seen children sit in a garden and look at 

 it with admiration for a long time, as if conscious of its 

 surpassing beauty. By means of hybridizing this splendid 

 variety of violets, the florist has brought them to the ne 

 plus ultra of perfection, and we now see them of enormous 

 size, over two inches in diameter. It is extremely variable 

 in size and in the color of the flowers ; the stem is angular 

 and branching ; the leaves oblong, crenate ; stipules lyrate, 

 pinnatified ; petioles somewhat longer than the calyx, and 

 stand well, presenting a majestic loftiness. The color of 

 the petals is beautifully contrasted, and the eye distinctly 

 pencilled. These beautiful flowers should encourage a 

 refined taste, among the ladies in particular, as they are 

 well adapted for their culture, and are easily managed. 

 When planted in a border, in their tasteful style, what can 

 be more attractive ? The unbounded and endless variety 

 of colors possessed by this flower, convinces me it is des- 

 tined to be a favorite. No department in Flora's whole 

 catalogue could be more congenial to the refinement of 

 ladies than this unsurpassable plant ; and to enable them 

 to cultivate it with the greatest ease, I will lay down such 

 instruction as will give them the least embarrassment. 



The seed should be sown in pans, in the middle of Feb- 

 ruary and March, and again in August and September, in 



