THE VIOLET. $5 



should bo taken off and three or four inches of compost, 

 composed of three parts of rotten sods and one part of 

 decomposed cow manure, added. 



While one strong plant in a place will generally 

 make a good clump, some growers use two or three. 

 About once a week or ten days the surface of the bed 

 should be loosened and all runners should be pinched 

 off. In four or five months after the plants were set, 

 strong plants will be formed and flowers will show. As 

 the weather gets colder, and before severe frosts come, 

 the sash should be placed on the house, but the arrange- 

 ments for thorough ventilation should be anrple, and it 

 should at no time be neglected. 



Care should be taken to regulate the time of water- 

 ing, to permit the plants to dry off before night. If 

 they are syringed, it should be only early in the morn- 

 ing of bright days, and, so far as possible, the water 

 should not be allowed to fall upon the leaves when it is 

 applied to the soil. As eub-irrigation not only admits of 

 applying the water without wetting the surface soil, but 

 aids in keeping the foliage dry, it is especially desirable 

 for this crop. 



For several years many growers have experienced 

 considerable loss from what is known as the "violet dis- 

 ease." Really, there are a half dozen diseases that 

 attack the violet, any one of which may practically ruin 

 the crop. The "eel-worms" {Nematodes) also work 

 havoc, particularly in poorly drained soil, by causing 

 galls upon the roots. 



The violet diseases are, undoubtedly, one and all, 

 invited by unfavorable conditions of growth or sur- 

 roundings. A superabundance of fresh stable manure 

 might cause a soft watery growth; a high temperature 

 and long continued forcing would also weaken their 

 vitality and render them easy victims. The real cause 

 is that the spores (seeds) of the different diseases find 



