V'^iola tricolor. 95 



VIOLA TRICOLOR. 



The cultivation of the pansy has always been and still is a difficult 

 undertaking with most amateurs. For many years, I endeavored to obtain 

 and retain a good collection, but as often failed. When I purchased young 

 plants from a professional florist, they generally did well ; but the heart's- 

 ease is one of those delightful little creatures, like the busy bee, which 

 must be kept in swarms, else it seems unworthy of notice. We do not 

 want a few fine pansies ; we want them by the hundred, in every garden : 

 and it is my design in this article to give such instructions, that all who 

 read may find no difficulty in supplying their own wants in this particular. 



No doubt, those who have the convenience of greenhouses, hot-beds, 

 and garden-frames, will inveigh against my simple method of supplying the 

 wants of a longing public ; but, since it is known that the possession of one 

 flower begets a desire for the acquisition of others, professional gentlemen 

 can lose nothing by the dissemination of my practical knowledge. 



I have often read instructions like these : " The best soil is a mixture of 

 equal parts of sand, leaf mould, and loam, which should be thoroughly 

 mixed ; then fill your pots or bo.xes to within a half-inch of the rim ; press 

 the soil firmly and evenly in the pots, which can be done most conveniently 

 with the bottom of an empty flower-pot ; then sow your seed evenly over the 

 surface, and, with the addition of a little more sand in the same soil, cover 

 the seeds, say from an eighth to a quarter of an inch ; then press the soil 

 as before, even and firm with the bottom of a flower-pot ; water sparingly, 

 enough to keep the soil moist ; avoid either extreme. As soon as the 

 plants appear, they will require your careful attention, as the least over- 

 watering may cause them to 'damp off,' and suddenly destroy all your 

 hopes," &c. All which may be very good in its place, which is not in a coun- 

 try-garden, where plants should be grown by the hundred, in the simplest 

 possible way, if the rural districts are ever to enjoy this charming plant. 



Now, I will tell the reader how very fine pansies may be grown in such 

 quantity as may be desirable, and with almost no labor at all. Viola tri- 

 color is nearly as hardy a plant as the common red clover of our fields. 

 The seed will germinate wherever that of red clover could be expected to 



