212 A GUIDE TO FLORICULTURE. 



them air and water ; when the leaves are dry cover them 

 again, or the plants will damp off In six weeks you will 

 begin to perceive them growing, and if inclined to run up 

 tall, pinch off the tops. Sometimes your plants will grow 

 tall without having any roots, but pinching off the top will 

 make them throw out root fibres. Pansies propagated in 

 this manner, seldom seed well ; but that is of no conse- 

 quence, as you can get the finest flowers by cuttings, and 

 seed can be always purchased at seed stores. 



Pansies are sometimes propagated by layering, but this 

 is done chiefly with the common varieties, the cultivation 

 of which is hardly worth the trouble bestowed on them, 

 while we have such fine varieties. The large Pansy does 

 not seed so freely as the common kind, and the plants will 

 have to be watched closely when you discover seed pods, 

 for it is difficult to collect them. The seed pod generally 

 hangs down, as if to guard the vessel from rain, and dew 

 at night ; but the day before the seed is discharged, the 

 capsules will be reversed by holding themselves up : when 

 you find this to be the case, you may pinch them off and 

 keep them in a glass to dry and open, and the seed may be 

 sown soon, as directed above. 



Whenever you find your plants surrounded with ants, 

 take the roots up, wash them with soap suds, and plant 

 them in another situation, or they will be destroyed by the 

 aphides at the root. Should you discover the ants at a time 

 the roots could not be removed with safety, take some suds 

 made from whale oil soap, and water them two or three 

 times ; this will destroy the aphides at the roots, and the 

 ants will soon disappear. The Pansy delights in the 



