SWEET VIOLETS 135 



not suitable for the plants under notice. Whatever dressing 

 is used should be dug into the ground deeply some time before 

 the plants are put out. 



Position of Beds. In summer while the plants are making 

 their growth a shady spot is best, or partially so, as the 

 foliage, being so liable to the attacks of red spider, is more 

 likely to become infested in a hot, dry position than if the 

 plants are grown in a cool and shady one. North or east 

 borders should be selected, or the shady side of a hedge, 

 between fruit trees and bushes, or any position where the 

 plants will receive shade during the heat of summer. In 

 such places, too, the plants often produce an abundance of 

 flowers in autumn, and give a wealth of bloom in spring ; but 

 to maintain a continuous supply throughout the winter the 

 plants must be lifted in September and planted in the warmest 

 and most sunny spot in the garden, such as at the foot of a 

 south wall, or in frames. Thus while the plants require shade 

 and moisture during summer, all the sun possible should 

 reach them throughout the winter months. 



Raising Young Plants. Violets should be propagated annu- 

 ally. It is natural for the plants to increase rapidly, the same 

 as the strawberry, by means of runners. When strawberry 

 plants grow at will, the beds the second year are one mass of 

 foliage crowded together, so thickly do the runners appear and 

 spread, and there is little or no fruit. So it is with Violets, 

 and instead of the beds being an entangled mass of side shoots, 

 each plant should be grown separately and quite a foot or 

 more apart. Then by nipping off the runners during summer 

 strong individual crowns or clumps are formed, which not 

 only produce fine flowers abundantly and on long stems, but 

 which are more valuable for arrangement when cut. A limited 

 number of the plants, however, should be reserved for stock 

 purposes, allowing these to form runners, which become rooted 

 in the ground. The desired number should be severed from 

 the parent plants, with a lot of roots attached, and transplanted 

 in properly prepared beds. If these are to flower in the open, 

 plant fifteen inches apart each way. Water and syringe 

 frequently if the weather is dry after planting. Keep the soil 

 hoed, and then they will soon become established. 



New plantations should be made in autumn for the follow- 

 ing reasons : First, the plants are more easily and quickly 

 established in September than is possible say in March, when 

 there are often trying winds and a bright sun. Then, again, the 

 plants should be in full flower in the latter month, and one is 

 reluctant to disturb them for increasing the stock ; while if 



