1867. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



351 



^itbks' fetpitrtmcnt. 



DOMESTIC ECONOMY; 



HOW TO MAKE HOME PLEASANT. 



BY ANNE O. HALE. 



[Entered according to Act of CongreBS, in the year 

 18G6, by R. P. Eaton & Co., in the Clerk's Office of the 

 District Court for the District of Massachusetts.] 



CHAPTER V. 

 HOUSE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE. 

 Violet. — The name of this pretty little flower 

 is of Latin derivation, and refers to the ordinary 

 home of the plant, by the waj'side, whenec it is 

 frequently gathered in the country. It is found in 

 all countries of the temperates zones, and on the 

 mountains of the tropics. It has always been ad- 

 mired for its simple beauty and its fragrance. A 

 wine was made from the blossoms by the ancient 

 Homans ; and sherbet, the favorite beverage of the 

 Turks, is composed of a syrup of violets mingled 

 with water, and is said to be very delicious. A 

 Mohammedan tradition declares that "the excel- 

 lence of the violet is as the excellence of El Islam 

 above all other religions." The flower grows in 

 great beauty on the islands of the Mediterranean ; 

 and Pa^stum of the old time boasted of its violets, 

 which, according to Rogers, the English poet, 

 were as proverbial as their roses. 



The violet is one of our commonest, as well as 

 prettiest, wild flowers, — more than twenty differ- 

 ent species have been recognized in the flora of 

 North America. It is perhaps better known, and 

 more universally admired, than any other native 

 production ; and our poets have not been back- 

 ward in singing its praises. Alice Carey, in re- 

 counting "The verdurous season's cloud of wit- 

 nesses," includes "The buds that ease hearts love- 

 lorn ;" and compares the setting sun amid clouds 

 to 



"Yellow violets springing bright 



From furrows newly turned." 



Mrs. Sigourney speaks of 



"Tlie healthful odor 

 Of the bright eyed violets;" 

 and of 



"The bowed violet, that through chilling scenes 

 Turns to the sun that cheered it." 

 Street says — 



"The violet, nestling low. 



Casts back the white lid of its urn. 



Its purple streaks to show. 



Bryant calls it, as do many of the English, to 

 distinguish it from the heart's-ease, "the May vio- 

 let." He also terms it "That delicate forest flow- 

 er with scented breath, and look so like a smile." 

 And Whittier sings of "The violet sprinkled sod," 



and of "The amber violet's leaves." But, by far 

 the most beautiful tribute has been paid to the 

 flower in the verses of J. Russell Lowell, from 

 which I cannot forbear making the following ex- 

 tract : 



Violet I sweet violet I 

 Thine eyes are full of tears. 

 Are they wet 

 Even yet. 

 With the thought of other years ? 

 Or with gladness are they full, 

 For the night so beautiful, 

 And longing for those far-oflf spheres ? 



Thy little heart, that hath with love 

 Grown colored like the sky above, — 

 On which thou lookest ever, — 

 Can it know 

 All the woe 

 Of hope for what returneth never ? 

 All the sorrow and the longing 

 To these hearts of ours belonging? 



Out on it I no foolish pining 

 For the sky. 

 Dims thine eye. 

 Or for the stars so dimly shining. 

 Violet, dear violat, 

 Thy blue eyes are only wet 

 With joy and love of Him who sent thee. 

 Which make thee all that nature meant thee." 

 Anyof our violets— white, blue, or yellow— repay 

 transplanting to the garden, or cultivation in the 

 house, if set in soil of loam and leaf mould, and 

 kept cool and shady, except when near Ijlooming. 

 But the dark, purple English violet, which has 

 been frequently made to bear double flowers, is 

 most generally seen among parlor plants ; or the 

 Neapolitan violet, whose flowers are larger and 

 exceedingly fragrant, though of a light color. 

 These foreign flowers are raised from division of 

 the root, or cuttings taken in June, and covered 

 with a tumbler, and afterward set in a soil of sand, 

 loam, and decayed leaves or other vegetable mould. 

 The pots should be well drained with sherds. 

 They need water often, usually twice a day; but 

 very little at a time ; if the water is allowed to re- 

 main about their roots they will die. Our native 

 violets should be kept damp, always, also, but not 

 wet. 



Wall-flower, called also gilliflower, a connip- 

 tion of July flower, because the plant is generally 

 ready to bloom in that month when cultivated out- 

 of-doors. It gi-ows wild on the old ivied walls of 

 ruined castles, and on the chalky cliffs by the sea- 

 coast, in England,— hence it is called wall-flower, 

 and clifi-flower. In ancient times the English la- 

 dies, or dames, as they were then styled, took such 

 pleasure in cultivating this plant and in wearing 

 its blossoms as decorations, that the title of dame's 

 violet was given it. It was regarded by the trou- 

 badours as an emblem of faithfulness in its habit 

 of clinging amid ruin and desolation to the spot 

 that first tenderly cherished it, and it is often 

 mentioned in their madrigals and ballads. It also 

 grows wild in Arabia, and is greatly admired there. 



