HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



243 



VIN 



ceous perennials. The flowers are in axillary 

 clusters or terminal panicles, and mostly of a 

 yellow color. V. nymphoides, a native of Eng- 

 land, and one of the finest species, is an aquatic 

 of easy culture, and well adapted for the aqua- 

 rium. 



Vinca. Periwinkle, Creeping Myrtle. Probably 

 from vinculum, a band ; in allusion to the suit- 

 ableness of the shoots for making bands. Linn. 

 Pentandrla-Monogynia. Nat. Ord. Apocynacece. 



A well-known genus of hardy herbaceous, ever- 

 green, trailing plants, and green-house, low- 

 growing, woody herbs. V. major and V. minor 

 are respectively the Large-leaved Periwinkle and 

 the Cjmmon Periwinkle, known in cottage gar- 

 dens as Myrtles. They are natives of Europe, 

 and have long been in cultivation. They are 

 much used in cemeteries for covering graves, 

 the deep green of the leaves contrasting with 

 the delicate blue flowers. There are varieties 

 with gold and silver-edged leaves, not quite 

 hardy in the Northern States, but considerably 

 grown for basket plants and conservatory deco- 

 ration. V. rosea is a beautiful green-house 

 plant, with flowers pure white, white with rose 

 eye, and plain rose-colored. They grow from 

 twenty to thirty inches high, and are com- 

 pletely covered with flowers the entire sum- I 

 mer. They do quite as well planted in the 

 open border as when grown in the green-house. 

 They are natives of the East indies, and are, 

 consequently, tender, requiring nearly as high 

 a temperature as Coleus or Bouvardia. Intro- 

 duced in 1776. These plants may be grown 

 from cuttings or from seed, the latter being 

 preferable. The seed should be sown in the 

 hot-house or hot-bed about the first of January, 

 in an average temperature of not less than 70, 

 and grown on in the same manner, and planted 

 in the flower garden at the same time as other 

 tender bedding plants. Planted eighteen inch- 

 es apart each way, they completely cover the 

 ground. 



Vine. See VUis. 



Viola. Violet, Heartsease, Pansy. Latin name of 

 the flowers. Linn. Pentandria-Monogynia. Nat. ! 

 Ord. Violacece. 



This genus consists of more than one hundred 

 and fifty species, indigenous in North America, 

 Europe, Asia, China, and Japan. Some of the 

 species occupy a prominent position in the 

 flower garden and the commercial green-house. 

 The genus includes V. odorata, the well- 

 known hardy English Violet, and its many vari- 

 eties, so common in cultivation. This species, 

 by common consent called English Violet, is , 

 indigenous throughout Europe, parts of Asia, i 

 China, and Japan. It is unquestionably the j 

 Violet of the ancients, as it is correctly de- i 

 scribed by Dioscorides, who recommends it for 

 its medicinal virtues, as well as for its fragrance i 

 and beauty. Of this species there are many 

 varieties, and of these some are white, some ] 

 blue, some purple, light and dark, and both ; 

 single and double. The most interesting and 

 the most generally cultivated are the Neapolitan 

 and Russian Violets, and of each of these there 

 are varieties with distinctive names, and among 

 them the Maria Louise, a dark purple, is promi- 

 nent. (The Russian Violets are credited to the 

 species V. suavis by some writers. Loudon, 

 however, says they are varieties of V. odorata.) 

 The Neapolitan, light blue, and Maria Louise, 

 dark blue, are the Violets most generally culti- 

 vated, as they can be made to flower all the win- I 



VIR 



ter. They are grown in frames and in green- 

 houses with and without artificial heat. For- 

 merly they were more grown in cold frames than 

 in green-houses, but many of the growers have 

 abandoned frames, and grow them in small 

 houses, giving only sufficient heat to protect the 

 plants from frost. Some grow them in pots, 

 while others plant them out on the bench; 

 each way has its earnest advocates, and either 

 way will give good flowers, largely in propor- 

 tion to the care given; and there is no plant 

 grown that requires more, or will usually better 

 repay that which is given. The essential in 

 Violet culture is a strong calcareous soil, one 

 that will retain moisture without becoming sod- 

 dened; a low temperature (not to exceed 40 at 

 night or 60 during the day, ventilating when- 

 ever practicable) without bottom heat, the water 

 applied without wetting the foliage, and the 

 plants kept clean from decayed leaves and run- 

 ners. With these attentions, failures in Violet 

 culture will be rare; without them success will 

 be equally rare. Thus far there have been no 

 free-flowering double white varieties worthy of 

 cultivation. There are several of our native 

 species worthy of cultivation in the border, par- 

 ticularly where there is considerable shade; the 

 best of these is Viola pedata, or Bird's-foot Violet, 

 a species that abounds in many parts of the 

 country, but nowhere more plentifully than what 

 is termed the Plains of Long Island, where, in 

 early spring, may be seen acres of ground com- 

 pletely covered with these mauve-colored flow- 

 ers, sparingly mixed with its varieties, with pure 

 white, and light blue with purple striped flow- 

 ers. This species improves by cultivation, and 

 can be removed from its native home without the 

 slightest danger of failure. An important feat- 

 ure is that it will grow anywhere, in Bun or 

 shade, preferring a light sandy soil. In a favor- 

 able situation the flowers will be an inch across, 

 and produced in such abundance as to com- 

 pletely cover the bed. Where they can be used 

 as a border plant, they are very effective. The 

 species of the greatest importance as a florist's 

 or as a garden flower is V. tricolor, or Pansy, 

 which see. All of the species are interesting, 

 but too numerous to be specially noticed. 



Viper's Bugloss. See Echium. 



Virgilia. 1 ellow Wood. Lamarck dedicated this 

 genus to the poet Virgil, whose "Georgics" 

 contain many things interesting to botanists. 

 Linn. Decandria-Monogynia. Nat. Ord. FabacecK. 

 This genus includes several species, none of 

 which are of special interest excepting V. hitea, 

 a native species, indigenous in East Kentucky 

 and southward. It is a moderate-sized tree, 

 with a compact head, which usually has a ten- 

 dency to be heavier on one side than the other. 

 It has compound leaves, not unlike the Hickory, 

 though of a brighter color, which it retains un- 

 til frost. The flowers appear in May, in large 

 panicles or clusters, from six to eight inches 

 long, pure white, pea-shaped, and in such pro- 

 fusion as to almost clothe the tree, making it a 

 beautiful object for the lawn. A noticeable fea- 

 ture of this tree is, that it commences to flower 

 when only a small shrub, making it desirable 

 for the lawn. It seems to be perfectly hardy, 

 though in many places it does not thrive well; 

 but for that it would have few superiors for the 

 lawn. Recent botanists have transferred Virgilia 

 lutea to Uadrastift tindoria, a new genus. Propa- 

 gated from cuttings or from seed. 



Virginia Cowslip or Lungwort. The common 



