SWEET VIOLETS. 279 



Pinks are mostly propagated by pipings in slight hot- 

 beds or under hand-glasses ; and when proper attention is 

 given to the due admission of air, they generally succeed. 

 Occasionally rare sorts, which are scantily furnished with 

 grass, are propagated by layers. This flower does not re- 

 quire such elaborate composts as some others, but it likes 

 fresh light soils, well manured with decayed cow- dung. 

 Not more than two years of blooms should be taken from 

 the same bed, and it is the practice of most florists to have 

 a new bed every year. The flower-stalks are supported by 

 small sticks. As in the carnation, ligatures of bast-mat- 

 ting, or collars of card, are sometimes applied to the caly- 

 ces of the flowers : but this practice, however it may be 

 followed by those who judge according to the technical 

 " criteria of a fine flower," will scarcely be adopted by any 

 who have an eye for natural beauty. 



Sweet Violets, including varieties of Viola odorata and 

 the Neapolitan and Russian violets, are very desirable 

 ornaments in the spring months : and the fragrance of 

 their flowers is delightful when strewed on any kind of 

 server in the boudoir. To have them in perfection, a 

 new plantation should be made every year as soon as they 

 are done flowering, generally towards the middle or end 

 of May, preferring damp or cloudy weather for the opera- 

 tion. 



The genus Lobelia may now be regarded as affording a 

 group of florists' flowers. The leading species are L. car- 

 dinalis, fulgens, splendens, and syphilitica ; but there are 

 several hybrids of merit. The cardinal flower, of a fine 

 scarlet color, has long been a valued plant. It is propa- 

 gated either by seed or by offsets. L. fulgens, of a rich 

 crimson, is a still more showy species, forming a magnifi- 

 cent plant. A lobelia bed, consisting of these species and 



