also. The warmth of the hand caused 

 them to exude a delicate fragrance. 

 The violets so used were not the wild 

 ones, which have no odour and are 

 scornfully called " dog-violets," but 

 the double sweet varieties. These are 

 now becoming acclimated in America, 

 and in many places have escaped gar- 

 den bounds and run wild. 



A violet, particularly a single wild 

 one, would seem a simple flower, yet 

 learned men have waged wordy battles 

 as to just why this flower has been 

 set on a long stem, why it has its 

 peculiar shape, why the pollen has 

 certain characteristics, and why the 

 flower has a curved horn. What we 

 so fondly call, in the first days of 

 spring, the flowers of the blue violet 

 are mere bits of prettiness, like a knot 

 of ribbon or a fall of lace upon the 

 costume of a charming girl, ornamental 

 but of small use. The real work of 

 5° 



