2 4 o THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK 



season. By varying the time of sowing the seed, the period 

 of greatest production of blossoms is easily regulated, so that 

 one can very readily have plants in full flower any time dur- 

 ing the season. 



The pansy is believed to have originated many centuries 

 ago from a wild European violet called the three-colored 

 violet, Viola tricolor. This wild type was somewhat modified 

 by pansy lovers in Great Britain, who paid much attention to 

 the cultivation of the flower, increasing the size of the blos- 

 soms and varying the coloration of the petals. Toward the 

 close of the nineteenth century certain French specialists, 

 especially three men by the names of Bugnot, Gassier, and 

 Trimardeau, made a specialty of bringing the pansy flowers 

 to larger size and greater beauty, and they succeeded in a 

 most wonderful way, giving to the world new types of pansies 

 which are commonly named after these three Frenchmen, 

 and which form the prevailing types of these flowers as they 

 are grown to-day. 



Pansies do best in regions where there is abundance of 

 moisture and where the summers are not too hot and dry. 

 In most American localities the plants are likely to die during 

 the summer if they are exposed to the full heat of the sun and 

 do not receive artificial watering. In such regions it is best 

 to depend upon seed sown late in summer or early in autumn 

 for an abundant supply of flowers through the spring and 

 early summer, and upon seed sown in spring for a similar 

 supply of flowers through the autumn months. Where the 

 protection of a cold-frame can be given, the blossoming 

 period of the pansies through the late autumn and early 

 spring may be greatly increased. In the selection of a loca- 

 tion for the pansy bed it is desirable to choose a place which 



