VIOLETS AND THEIR CULTIVATION. 
*7 
was the Russian form of odorata, afterwards called ' The Czar.' About 
i860 or 1870 a man named Geo. Lee, who lived at Clevedon, in Somerset, 
sent out a Violet which he called ' Victoria Regina. * He said that he 
believed the mice had sown the seed. ' Victoria Regina ' was a distinct 
advance on ' The Czar.' It was more highly developed in form, 
better in colour, and flowered freely in autumn. For several years Lee 
made a practice of sending a big bunch of ' Victoria Regina ' to her 
Majesty Queen Victoria at Balmoral, and these gifts were always 
acknowledged. I think Lee also gave us odoratissima. The old man 
died a few years ago at the age of ninety-seven. I never met him, 
but he used to send his good wishes to me as being a kindred spirit 
in some ways. 
Wellsiana made its appearance shortly after * Victoria Regina,' 
which it somewhat resembled. Its chief merit, however, is to be found 
in the fact that it begins to flower quite early in the autumn. 
1 Marie Louise ' has been known under many names on the Con- 
tinent of Europe for sixty years. Schuer of Heidelberg advertised 
it as the best Violet of the Parma class. 
There is a note in the Gardeners' Chronicle for 1884 respecting 
'Lady Hume Campbell.' It was stated that the Violet had been 
brought from abroad several years earlier by Lady H. Campbell and 
planted in her garden at Highgrove. Mr. Turner noticed it there, 
and, I believe, purchased the stock. 
A great stimulus was given to Violet culture by the appearance 
of 'California,' an American introduction, the first of the giant 
Violets. This was followed quickly by ' Princess of Wales,' which 
appeared from several sources under several different names. 
I think that is quite enough about the early history of Violets, 
the rest is probably within your memory. 
There are a few flowers which will probably command undying 
popularity. The number is strictly limited, but the Violet holds a 
prominent place amongst the favoured few. A handful of ' La 
France ' Violets, grown to their fullest capacity, will probably hold 
its own with anything which can be produced in the stove or the 
orchid-house. The form of a well-grown, highly developed single 
Violet is exceedingly beautiful ; the season at which Violets naturally 
bloom is the season when flowers are most highly prized ; but the 
outstanding charm of the Violet is its incomparable fragrance. The 
sweetest -scented Violets in my judgment are argentiflora, semper - 
florens (or ' Quatre Saisons '), ' Neapolitan,' and ' Mrs. J. J. Astor.' 
The complaint is often made that the giant Violets are not so 
highly fragrant as the smaller varieties. I think people say this 
for the same reason that they say " It's too good to be true." It 
may be- — but I am not sure of it — that what we have gained in size 
and form we have lost in perfume. This thought is an old one with 
many of us. In strawberries we gained in flavour in ' Dr. Hogg ' 
and ' British Queen/ but we lost in beauty of berry and vigour of 
plant. The same thing is true in apples. ' Ribston Pippin ' and 
vo*, xmii, e 
