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PANSIES GALORE. 



have. They are good seed, rich ground and plenty of 

 water. 



The beauty of a pansy depends on its form, texture, 

 color and size, of which size is last. If a flower be cir- 

 cular, of a thick, velvety texture and of handsome color, 

 even though it be small, there is hope that by careful 

 cultivation it may become all that is desired ; but if it 

 be loose and uneven in shape, with the three smaller 

 petals narrow and pointed so as to give the flower an 

 elongated form, no amount of cultivation will make it 

 perfect. 



A light, mellow loam, well mixed with thoroughly de- 

 cayed cow manure, is perhaps the best soil, but the 

 pansy does not disdain any rich food. Success may be 

 obtained with the aid of super-phosphate, with hen ma- 

 nure, in trencties between the rows and covered ; or 

 with liquid manure, made by pouring water over com- 

 post. Apply weekly, but care must be taken not to 

 deluge the plants with too strong a decoction, else de- 

 struction may result. But in that event, the ground 

 may be raked over and new plants set. Sprinkling 

 weekly with a weak solution of nitrate of soda or of am- 

 monia water — a teaspoonful of ammonia in a gallon of 

 water — is also beneficial. 



The pansy does best where it is shaded from the sun 

 during the hottest part of the day. On the eastern side 

 of a house or a high wall is perhaps as good a place as 

 any, though the handsomest bed I ever had was under a 

 large pear tree. The ground was rich enough to feed the 

 tree and the pansies too, and although it was a very dry 

 season — one of the most unfavorable for pansies — the 

 ground did not dry up, owing to the partial shade. About 

 half of the bed came under the branches of the tree, and 

 the difference in the size of the flowers and growth of the 

 plants in the two ends of it was marked. 



For summer blooming, seeds may be started in March 

 or about April ist in this latitude (northern New Eng- 

 land), in a hot-bed or a window box. Cover the seeds 

 about their own depth and keep moist. A piece of 

 cloth thrown over the box may hasten growth, but must 

 be removed as soon as the plants start. Transplant 

 once before removing to the open ground. They will 

 begin blooming with hot weather, when no pansy can 

 do its best. Then it is well to pick the buds as fast as 

 they appear. This will make stronger plants, and as 

 soon as the first cool days come they will be ready to 

 burst into a profusion of bloom that will last until snow 

 comes. If one does not wish to wait until fall for flowers, 

 his best ally is water. Water the beds copiously every 

 night, and perhaps early every morning too, if in a pro- 

 longed drouth, and the size of the blossoms will well 

 repay you. For early spring blooming sow in late Au- 

 gust or September. Pansies are hardy and will stand 

 our cold northern winters with no other covering than 

 leaves or a little brush to keep on the snow, and if a 

 thaw comes in January or February it will be nothing 

 unusual if a few pansy blossoms also appear, smaller 

 than in summer it may be, but bright and courageous- 

 looking. 



The pansy has one great enemy — the pansy worm — 

 a loathsome looking creature a little over half an inch 

 long and of so near the same color and size as the 

 flower stalk that he, in company with half a dozen of 

 his cronies, will burrow at the centre of the plant and 

 defy the sharpest eyes, unless you know just where to 

 look for him. Hand picking is perhaps the surest rem- 

 edy, supplemented with a firm pressure of the invader 

 between the trowel and a rock, though repeated appli- 

 cations of white hellebore are discouraging to his worm- 

 ship, and wood ashes have been known to rout him — 

 and the plants too, if it is put on too lavishly ! The plant 

 is subject to the attacks of the cut worm and the grub 

 of the June beetle, and here again a personal encounter 

 with the enemy is the price of safety to the plants. 



If the plants that have bloomed in early summer be 

 cut back to within two inches of the ground they will 

 branch out and form compact plants for autumn and the 

 next spring. 



Propagation by cutting is the surest way of perpetu- 

 ating a favorite plant, and cuttings root very readily in 

 cool weather. — Dora Lawrence, Maine. 



Pansies Under the Snow, — About the year 1810 a 

 young English lady began making a collection of wild 

 violets of all kinds. Assisted by her father's gardener, 

 she cross-fertilized them successfully, and from the 

 seed of these plants originated our present strain of 

 pansies. They were soon grown extensively in Ger- 

 many, France and England. Finally American seeds- 

 men began growing their own seed and found they could 

 raise finer pansies from the home-grown than from the 

 imported seed, and this of course greatly reduced the 

 cost and has made this beautiful flower a universal fa- 

 vorite. 



At one time there was a double pansy, but the strain 

 has been lost. It was of no value except as a curiosity 

 our single ones being much handsomer. 



In the winter of i883-'84 the snow in our locality cov- 

 ered the ground to a considerable depth until the mid- 

 dle of February. Then there came a complete breakup, 

 and we enjoyed the luxury of a bouquet of fresh pan- 

 sies from the bed in the garden. Of course the snow 

 had kept the ground from freezing, and I have some- 

 times found a slight covering of straw, evergreen boughs 

 or leaves beneficial in the same way. Our pansies were 

 the wonder of all who saw them, for their immense size ; 

 and the sight of their bright faces was no very unusual 

 thing during a mild time in winter. The plan of culti- 

 vation we followed was so simple a child could compre- 

 hend it. 



The bed was situated on the north side of the house, 

 where the sun never shone except in the long summer 

 days at morning and evening. The ground was thus 

 protected from frequent freezing and thawing in winter 

 and from the excessive heat o'f summer. The soil is a 

 clayey loam, fertilized with plenty of well rotted manure 

 from the cow stable. The seed was sown in boxes about 

 February ist. The plants were transplanted into boxes 

 and were ready for the beds as soon as the soil could be 



