22 SWEET VIOLET. 



with susfar. In Palestine it blooms with the 

 Narcissus as early as the twentieth of January; 

 and it is in full flower during winter in the 

 palm groves of Barbary, and in Japan and 

 China. This flower was formerly cultivated, 

 for medicinal uses, in great quantities at 

 Stratford-upon-Avon, and the syrup of Violets 

 is still used by chemists to detect the presence 

 of an acid or alkali. The scentless species 

 called the Dog Violet has a much larger and 

 brighter flower, which grows on longer stalks, 

 so that, instead of hiding itself among the 

 leaves, it often renders the bank of a lilac tint 

 by its blossoms. It begins to bloom in March 

 or April, and remains in flower long after the 

 sweet species has disappeared. There are six 

 other kinds of Avild Violet, including the little 

 Pansy or Heartsease of our fields ; and so 

 numerous are Violets in other lands, that more 

 than a hundred species have been recorded. 

 Not one of them, however, has a sweeter scent 

 than the fragrant flower of our woodlands. 

 Besides the white variety of this Violet, we see 

 it of pale blue, lilac, or even red. 



