VIOLET 



1943 



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crop to grow. This is true only of blooms o£ ordinary 

 quality and only as regards the total amount of work 

 required per year as compared with a crop of roses, car- 

 nations or chrysanthemums. The best Violets are pro- 

 duced only under the best conditions, and it is a singu- 

 lar fact that many persons who have thought they had 

 mastered Violet culture after a few years' success have 

 failed subsequently. The Violet is still everywhere 

 grown by local florists, but good Violet culture has been 

 the latest to attain a high degree of specialization. The 

 present status of the subject is admirably presented in 

 Galloway's Commercial Violet Culture, New York, 



Varieties. — From Viola odorata, a species indigenous 

 to Europe, parts of Asia and Japan, many cultivated 

 sorts, both single and double, and of different colors 

 have been derived. The varieties most highly prized 

 and of the greatest commercial value to American flor 

 ists are, in the order named: of the double varieties 

 Marie Louise (Pig. 2G88), Farquhar, Imperial, New York 

 (Fig. 2690), and King of Violets, dark blue flowers ; Lady 

 Hume Camnbell, Neapolitan (Pig. 2689) and De Parme 

 light blue; Swanley White (Fig. 2691), Queen of Vio 

 lets and Belle de Chatenay, white, and Madame Millet, 

 Odorata Rubra and Double Red, red or pink. Of the 

 single sort the varieties most highly prized are, in the 

 order named: California, Princesse de Galles, Luxonne 

 and La Prance, purple; White Czar and Rawson's 

 White, white, and single red or pink. 



Propagation. — In commercial Violet growing, plants 

 are propagated chiefly in four ways; (1) By cuttings 3 

 or 4 in. long, made from well-developed runners and 

 rooted in clean, sharp sand; (2) by divisions, made by 

 taking up the old plants, usually after flowering has 

 ceased, and separating them, all divisions with old roots 

 and hard woody stems being discarded, and the young, 

 well-rooted ones transplanted 3 or 4 in. apart each way, 

 and watered and shaded for a few days, until they are 

 well established, when they can be lifted with a ball of 

 earth and set where desireil; (:i| by cuttinjrs made from 

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JSoil. — As ;i rule. X'iolets do well in an}' good, well- 

 enrichud soil. The best results, however, are obtained 

 from soil prepared from sod taken from a rather heavy, 

 sandy loam that is well drained and capable of retaining 

 and giving up an abundance of moisture at all times. 

 The soil to be used in the Violet house, stationary frame, 

 or in pots, should be prepared the previous fall. Prom 

 a suitable loam, strip off the sod to a depth of 3 or 4 in.; 

 compost this with well-rotted manure, preferably cow 

 manure, and pile in alternate layers of from 6 to 8 in. 

 of sod and 2 to 3 inches of manure. In this condition 



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I. Viola blanda (x 1). 



2687. Viola pubescens (X %). 



let it stand exposed to the weather until spring, and 

 then, just before it is to be used, chop down and add 

 pure bonemeal at the rate of 27 ounces per cubic yard of 

 soil, after which work over several times, or until the 

 whole is thoroughly pulverized and mixed, when it is 

 ready for use. For movable frame culture, scatter from 

 1 to 2 in. of well-rotted manure over the sod in the fall, 

 then turn under by spading or deep plowing, and in 

 that condition let it stand exposed to the action of the 

 weather until spring. Just before planting time plow 

 again, top-dress with pure bonemeal at the rate of 6 

 ounces per square yard of soil, and harrow or work over. 



Methods of Culture. — Among American florists four 

 methods of growing Violets are in common use; viz., 

 field and house culture, house culture, frame culture 

 with or without artificial heat, and pot culture, the extent 

 to which they are used being in the order named. 



Field and house culture : Early in the spring the young 

 plants are set in the field and cultivated during the sum- 

 mer. Some time in September or October they are lifted 

 with a hall of earth and transplanted into beds or benches 

 in the house, where they bloom during the winter. 



House culture: The plants are grown under glass, 

 either on benches or in solid beds, during the entire 

 season. This method should take the place of all 

 others, for with it the very best conditions and closest 

 attention can be given the plants at all times, and as 



