178 



CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



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THE CULTIVATION OF THE PANSY. 



V 10 r A Tricolor, the pansy, 

 or heart's ease is very abundant 

 in fields, meadows, woods, etc., in Great 

 Britain and in most parts of Europe ; 

 it is also found in North America, al- 

 though probably introduced there from 

 the Old World. It is a very variable 

 plant, its flowers differing much in size 

 and colour. 



H. Simmers, Toronto. 



violet relapse to their wild forms, 



beautiful 

 garden pan 

 ' e s , the 

 varieties of 

 wliicharein- 

 numerable, 



The pan- 

 sy, French 

 pens^, pro- 

 bably from 

 the drooping 

 suggestive of 

 of the finest 

 no flower has been 

 cultivation. 



The finest garden pansies are not 

 preserved or propagated without great 

 difficulty, and require most careful cul- 

 tivation, without which they quickly 



Fig (,3 - Cas 



attitude of the ffower 



thoughtfulness, is one 



of florists' flowers, and 



more improved by 



for which 

 reason they are usually grown from seed. 

 Florists demand that a pansy shall 

 have a round, flat and very smooth 

 edge, the petals thick and velvety, the 

 three lower petals alike in their ground 

 colour, the lines or pencillings in the 

 centre bright and distinct, the two upper 

 petals( which 

 nlwaysdifter 

 olor from 

 tlic others) 

 p (' r f e ctly 

 uniform, the 

 w er mea- 

 ^mlng one- 

 .md-a-halfto 

 two inches 

 i< loss. The 

 1 I ri;est flow- 

 ers generally 

 are liked for 

 open air cul- 

 ture, which, 

 however, re- 

 uce in size 

 luch more 

 quickly than 

 the smaller 

 varieties. In 

 view of hav- 

 goneinto 

 the general 

 history of 

 the pansy, we mention tlie different 

 classes : — Cassier's five blotched pansy ; 

 Trimardeau, extra large flowering 

 pansy, and common German mixed 

 pansy. Other classes could be men- 

 tioned, but these three are best for 

 general cultivation. Cassier's, five- 

 blotched pansy is the handsomest and 

 most perfect large flowering variety in 



