VIOLET. 



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VIOLET. 



the garden beyond ; and with its 

 beautiful leaves looking almost. trans- 

 parent in the morning sun. A Vine 

 also looks very well when suffered to 

 grow naturally among the tall trees of 

 a lawn or shrubbery, as it hangs itself 

 from branch to branch in a manner 

 more graceful than any art can hope 

 to imitate. A Vine thus treated 

 would have a very good effect in the 

 grounds of an Italian villa. The 

 three American species, V. labrusca, 

 or the Wild Vine, V. vulpina, or 

 the Fox Grape, and V. riparia, or 

 the Sweet-scented Vine, the flowers 

 of which smell like Mignionette, are 

 all very suitable for growing in the 

 open air, from their extreme hardi- 

 ness. All Vines like a very rich and 

 somewhat moist soil, and thrive best 

 when their roots can get access to a 

 drain, sewer, or muddy pond. 



Vi*ola. — Violacece. — Beautiful 

 perennial dwarf plants, natives of 

 Europe and North America, and 

 growing generally in moist shady 

 banks in woods. There are nearly 

 150 kinds grown in British gardens, 

 but the most common are V. odorata 

 (see Violet), and V. tricolor (see 

 Heart's-ease). The shrubby or 

 Tree Violet ( V. palmaensis), a 

 native of one of the Canary Isles, 

 is a very handsome plant, growing 

 about two feet high, with a shrubby 

 stem, and large purplish-blue flowers; 

 it is usually kept in a greenhouse in 

 England, where it flowers from May 

 to July. The Fan-leaved Violet 

 (V. flabellata), and the Hollow- 

 leaved Violet (V. cucullata), are 

 both American species, with large and 

 handsome flowers. All the species 

 should be grown in peat and loam 

 kept moist, and they* all thrive best 

 In a shady situation. 



Violet. — The common sweet- 

 scented Violet (V. odorata) is a 

 British plant which grows in woods 

 or on and under banks. The white 



Violets are found generally in cal- 

 careous soils ; and the sweetest lever 

 smelt, were, I think, those I have 

 gathered growing among the limestone 

 rocks in the woods of Dudley Castle. 

 In garden culture, however, what are 

 called the Neapolitan and Russian 

 Violets are the most useful, as they 

 flower during the winter months ; 

 and of these the Neapolitan are the 

 sweetest. These delightful Violets, 

 which flower from October to April 

 or May, should be grown in pots or 

 boxes, where they can be covered 

 with a hand-glass, in case of severe 

 frost. They should be propagated by 

 cuttings taken off in May, and struck 

 in sand under a glass ; when the 

 young plants have taken root they 

 should be transplanted into other 

 pots filled with light rich soil ; and 

 finally, in August, they should be 

 removed to the pots or boxes in 

 which they are to flower. These 

 pots or boxes should be well drained 

 by having a layer of potsherds at 

 the bottom of considerable thickness ; 

 and they should be filled up with a 

 compost made of two-fourths of ve- 

 getable-mould, one of loam, and one 

 of silver-sand. They should be 

 covered with a hand-glass during 

 heavy rains, or in frosty weather ; 

 and if the frost is very severe a mat 

 should be put over the glass. When 

 the pots or boxes are introduced into 

 a sitting-room, they should be 

 watered twice a day, but once will be 

 sufficient if the plants are grown in 

 the open air. It must be observed 

 that plants in a sitting-room, where a 

 constant fire is kept, are generally in ' 

 an equal degree of heat to a hot- 

 house at 65° ; only the air of the 

 living-room is much drier than that 

 of the stove, and to counteract this, 

 additional watering is required. The 

 common Violets only require planting 

 on a sloping bank in a shady place, 

 in a peaty soil, where they will hav e 



