LILIES OF THE VALLEY AND VIOLETS 117 



almost incredible total of 3,000,000 Violets for 

 London alone. 



Try and imagine how many busy little fingers, 

 for the majority of them are gathered by children, 

 it must take to pick each one separately and make 

 them up into bunches. 



It is a matter of almost national regret that a 

 larger share of this beautiful industry is not retained 

 in our islands. In the Northern and Midland 

 counties of course violets cannot be grown during 

 many months of the year without protection, but 

 there are vast tracts of suitable land in Devonshire, 

 Cornwall, and Somersetshire eminently suited to 

 their cultivation, and in Ireland even better natural 

 conditions exist. It is the more regrettable when 

 consideration is given to the fact that well-grown 

 English Violets, owing to their being fresher and 

 thus more fragrant than the French ones, always 

 make double or even treble the price. 



On the day that this article is being written 

 I have paid as little as Is. 6d. a dozen bunches for 

 the finest quality French Violets, and 5s. 6d. per 

 dozen bunches for some which were grown near 

 Exeter ; and, by the way, it is well to mention here 

 the fact that there are never sufficient really good 

 English Violets to meet the demand, whereas the 



