Part II. . VIOLA. 359 



to require praise, but it is very seldom used in the best way. 

 The Sweet Violet and most of its varieties may be used in many 

 places where few other things but weeds succeed ; it will form 

 carpets for open groves or the fringes of woods, or in open parts 

 of copses, or on hedgebanks, demanding in such positions no 

 care, and rewarding the planter by filling the cold March air 

 with unrivalled sweetness ; and in the garden, instead of confining 

 it to a solitary bed for cutting from, as is often the case, it should 

 be permitted to fringe the margins of shrubberies, or the margins 

 of rockwork, or ferneries, or any like places where it may be 

 allowed to exist and take care of itself. It will grow in almost 

 any soil, but succeeds best in free sandy loams, and should be 

 put in such when there is any choice. It is well to naturalise 

 the plant on sunny banks, and fringes of woods, and on the 

 warmer sides of bushy places, to encourage a very early bloom. 



The cultivation of the Sweet Violet in gardens is of great 

 importance, not only for the supply of private wants,"but also for 

 the vast supply required in large cities. About Paris the culti- 

 vation of the Violet for the markets is carried on to a great 

 extent, and in some places near that city three or four acres may 

 be seen covered with them, all in the possession of one culti- 

 vator, the ground being well exposed to the mid-day sun and of 

 a rich, free, and warm nature, the plantations being made in 

 spring, and those required during winter being grown in frames. 

 The most successful cultivation of Violets I have observed in 

 this country was at Bicton, carried out by Mr. Barnes. The 

 plants, raised from seed, and having passed the summer in 

 a slightly shady position, were transferred in early autumn to 

 a little temporary border on the sunny side of a long glass-house, 

 sheltered also by other structures near at hand ; the border was 

 formed of a few inches of fibrous loam on a row of flag-stones 

 enclosed by an edging of brick, and was made every year afresh. 

 The additional warmth and perfect drainage obtained in this 

 position caused the plants to flowfer throughout the autumn, 

 winter, and early spring months, and doubtless a similar plan 

 would be very desirable in milder parts of the country. In cold 

 dry parts and gardens in which Violets do not succeed well, 

 and where they are required in mid-winter, it is better to raise 

 a number of healthy plants every year and put them in a light 

 frame in a sunny position in autumn. It is almost needless to 

 say that they may be propagated to any extent by division, but 



