86 THE FLOWER GARDEN COMPANION. 



ART. 7. On the Culture of the Pansy, or Heartsease. 



The Pansy having become so favorite a plant in the flower 

 garden, I shall devote a small space to remarks on its culture. 

 To obtain new varieties, the same process as with other 

 flowers must be resorted to, namely, selecting out the best 

 kinds, and impregnating one with the other, in order to mix 

 the colors, and obtain those which are considered by florists 

 the best marked flowers ; which are those with a clear, dark 

 ground, and well shaped petals, that are regularly margined 

 or laced, either with white or yellow : but white is the most 

 delicate, and is considered the best. 



Having procured the seed, it may be sown immediately, or 

 saved until spring, when it may be sown either in a pot of 

 light, rich earth, or in a frame. As soon the plants are grown 

 to a moderate size, they are to be pricked out, either into 

 beds or borders, of rich earth, of a moist, loamy nature ; in 

 many cases, they are planted as a bordering for flower bor- 

 ders ; and when they are of a good width, they have a very 

 pretty effect in the flowering season. But the more proper 

 way is to plant them in four-feet beds, and if a little shaded 

 from the noon-day sun the better. 



The Pansy is, in most cases, hardy ; however, if the 

 choice and tender kinds are a little protected in the winter, 

 they will flower much better in the spring following. The 

 general manner of planting the Pansy, is to prepare a piece 

 of ground in the usual way for planting, and divide it into four- 

 feet beds, with eighteen-inch alleys, and plant the seedlings 

 across the beds, about a foot apart each way ; and they are to 

 be in every way treated as other flowers. When the plants 

 are fully grown, or fit for transplanting, they may be mixed 

 with other flowers in the borders for flowering, and a little 

 shaded from the mid-day sun, which generally runs the deli- 

 cate colors off them. 



The choice kinds may be potted and protected in frames 

 during winter, or they may be planted in the soil in frames, 

 and covered ; and, indeed, the more choice kinds may be with 



