THE PANSY. 
247 
planting out cuttings as they strike ; and the 
brilliancy of a garden may be greatly increased 
by having plenty of the brighter varieties all 
about tiie borders, or in the compartments of 
Dutch or geometrical gardens, or in the clumps 
about a grass plot or lawn. In other matters, 
look to the previous remarks. 
August. — This month is perhaps the worst 
for blooming the Pansy ; not but that young 
plants, seedlings, and well-established ones not 
bloomed before, may come out well in shady 
places where the soil has some strength in it, 
but that generally, in exposed situations, they 
go off flowering altogether, especially if the 
cutting off the decaying blooms to prevent 
seeding, has not been well attended to. We 
have already said these plants should be dis- 
posed of in one of three ways — either by laying 
down the shoots and covering all but the ends, 
by cutting off all the old growth close to the 
roots, or by taking them up and tearing them 
to pieces, so that the rooted portions may be 
re-planted to grow ; and if any of these rooted 
pieces are too long for general use, they should 
be shortened to two inches or so, otherwise 
they would continue to grow long, and never 
make good plants. The fragments should be 
sorted, that those fit for cuttings may be used, 
and those not good for anything may be thrown 
away. The watering of each bed as it comes 
forward to bloom, with manure water, about 
twice, or if the soil be not pretty good, about 
three times — a good week between each water- 
ing, and in the intermediate period with rain 
or other soft water — will be found beneficial ; 
but the time to do the manure watering is 
when they are coming into flower. The plants 
which have been flowering in pots may be 
cut back, to induce a growth of small shoots 
for cuttings, or may be laid down and earthed, 
or turned out altogether, and parted, as those 
in beds are, to plant the rooted portions, and 
strike the best of the others. Attend to 
the seedling beds, as before directed; planting 
out those which are ready among the various 
pans and patches of seedlings must go on, 
but it is well to keep a supply to fill the 
vacancies made by those which are cast out as 
they prove worthless. This month great at- 
tention must be paid to watering, as the earth 
generally dries up fast, and these plants, which 
hare their fibres all near the surface, soon 
exhibit the ill effects of parching weather, 
unless the ground be well and frequently 
saturated. 
SEPTEMBER. — This month is favourable 
for striking rather a large quantity of cuttings 
for potting off to protect in frames, and for 
storing in beds. For blooming in pots you 
should select the short side-shoots, as they 
make the best plants, and any that are at all 
scarce, will be worth hastening a little by 
slight bottom heat, though in a general way 
they will strike in the common border. It is, 
however, a convenient, and generally speaking 
the best way at this time of year, to strike 
each of the best or choice sorts in separate 
pots under bell-glasses, for the purpose of 
potting off each sort as soon as they strike, 
as there will often be two or three weeks 
difference between the first and last ; and also 
for the facility with which they are protected 
against sun, rain, and frost in common frames, 
and removed, if necessary, frqm place to 
place ; besides, as some varieties are tardy 
strikers, it is well to be able to remove them 
in case of necessity to a slight bottom heat. 
Plant out in store beds, or in regular blooming 
beds, all struck cuttings, unless they are re- 
quired in pots, and pot such as are to be in 
frames all the winter. The great object in 
the culture of the Pansy is to keep a constant 
succession of plants raised from cuttings, on 
account of their always blooming best while 
young, and actually dwindling if left to them- 
selves and allowed to grow rambling. Weed 
all the beds, and still water in dry hot weather. 
The practice of last month may be adopted in 
all cases, and with regard to seedlings, all the 
spring and later sown ones will be rapidly com- 
ing into flower until cut off by the frost. 
Persevere in examining the beds almost daily, 
and throwing away all those which cannot, 
from their roughness, flimsiness, bad shape, 
or from crumpling or curling, be of the least 
use, and fill up their places. The marking of 
flowers may be very much out of character, and 
apparently not worth keeping, but if good in 
form, texture, and thickness, will be well 
worth continuing in the bed for further trial. 
October. — This month, in most seasons, 
is a continuation of the same kind of weather 
as that which is experienced through most 
Septembers, and there is rarely any frost 
sufficiently hard to injure plants of this tribe. 
Unless plants are required of particular sorts, 
the cuttings put in to strike this month may 
be confined to those which make the best 
plants. Cuttings that have struck and begun 
to grow may be put into small pots, one in a 
pot, to be placed in frames for the winter, and 
eitlier shifted from time to time to larger pots to 
bloom, or kept as store plants. The blooming 
of seedlings and the planting out to fill the 
vacancies of those thrown away, may go on 
as usual, but the greatest care must be taken 
as to littering them of a night as soon as the 
frosts threaten, for otherwise some of the best 
may, in their young state, perish ; but when 
the seedlings are too weak to be trusted out of 
doors, it is better to keep them in their pans, 
unless they are drawn up weakly through being 
too thick, in which case they should be pricked 
out into pans or pots, an inch apart, so as to 
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