98 
VIOLETS, THEIR CULTURE AND PROPERTIES. 
have spread so much as to fill the whole space 
of the bed, let them be forked up and divided. 
Let two or three inches of good cow- dung, 
well decomposed, be placed on the soil, and 
forked in, to mix it with nine inches of the other 
soil, clearing out all the roots and tui-ning the 
bottom well up among the dung on the surface; 
replant the same as before, six inches apart all 
over the beds, using the strongest and best- 
rooted plants. The surplus may be planted into 
fresh beds, or in any waste places, according 
as they are wanted. But there is another way 
of growing them in beds, to keep them for 
years without replanting. As soon as the 
plants have grown, after blooming, take away 
all superfluous offsets, keeping each plant 
handsome and bushy, and well stir the surface 
of the earth between ; but the second season, 
when the growth would fill up the space com- 
pletely, take away the ofl^sets as fast as they 
come, and keep them to the size of the plant, 
at the second season. Let them not spread 
out, but as the runners appear beyond the 
bushy plant, pull them off. Let the earth be 
stirred between the plants, and a top dressing 
of cow-dung, well decomposed, or of a decayed 
hot-bed which has roti'ed to mould, full two 
inches thick, be spread all over the surface 
between the plants, and be washed in by the 
rains from time to time. The plants may go 
on thus for several years, in beds, and only 
require to be reduced within ordinary limits, 
after the blooming is all over. This does not 
apply to one sort only, but all the hardy sorts, 
double and single. Though it is thought the 
double varieties are not as hardy as the single, 
we have had them all flowering in the same 
bed, and often seen them equally healthy under 
all circumstances. 
IN BORDERS. 
The culture is the same in borders as in 
beds, except that in borders the violet only 
forms one of many subjects, and therefore the 
choice of place is the first thing to consider. 
First, the violet being a low creeping, or 
rather spreading thing, must be near the fi'ont 
if not joining it. Next, as it loves the shade, 
such parts of the border as are partially or 
wholly shaded by trees, shrubs, buildings, or 
other objects, should be particularly selected 
for the plant. There may indeed be shady 
nooks in which the plant might be allowed to 
spread over the surface altogether; but among 
other subjects it must be kept forward, on 
account of its dwarf habit. They are most 
eflective in patches, not only on account of the 
increased odour, but also of tlfeir appearance; 
for the violet is insignificant when small, but 
in moderate-sized patches it is eflTective. They 
may be used with advantage as edgings to 
borders, in which case the border, for the 
width of one foot from the extreme edge, should 
be prepared with a good dressing, and dug up 
a foot or a spit deep; when levelled, a line 
should be drawn whei'e the edge is to be, and 
the plants in their small state should be planted 
out three inches apart, or rather three inches 
from centre to centre of the plant, — of course 
there is not above an inch or an inch and a 
half of actual vacancy. In one season they 
join and spread ; and it is quite suflacient to 
keep them in bounds by cutting them back 
each season to an even edge, inside and out. 
This may be done by chopping them with the 
spade. 
IN CLUMPS. 
In small clumps of trees and shrubs there is 
sure to be a natural shade, and under these 
the violet is sure to thrive ; but thei'e must be 
a sufficient depth of soil ; and if the clumps 
be planted in peat earth or bog, for the growth 
of American plants, remove it in the spots 
where the violets are to grow, to give them 
depth of proper loamy soil for their roots. 
Here they may be planted the same as in beds 
or borders; but it is not uncommon to let the 
violet cover a large space under trees and 
shrubs ; and few things look better, or do 
better, so that they have air and are not too 
much confined. They should be planted about 
six inches apart, all over the space to be 
covered, for they will soon spread and join 
each other. They must be well watered a 
few times, until their roots have taken hold 
well of the ground. It is a mistaken notion 
to plant large plants ; they will not root so 
well, nor spread so quickly, as small ones. 
IN POTS. 
The object of growing violets in pots is to 
be able to remove thein where we please. 
Nurserymen, therefore, keep all the leading 
sorts in pots, for the convenience of sale, that 
buyers may take them away. Many persons 
treat the double varieties as only half hardy; 
but they forget that all things in pots are more 
exposed to mischief in the ordinary way, and 
therefore require corresponding treatment. 
For instance, in pots, the fibres of the roots, 
which are by far the most tender poi'tion of 
the whole plant, are always close to the side of 
the pot, and frost penetrates through the side 
of the pot very rapidly ; so that one plant in 
the ground and another in a pot standing by 
it, are very differently circumstanced. A 
frost that would reach the fibres and destroy 
them through the side of the pot, would have 
no effect on the plant in the gi'ound, because 
it would not reach the fibres. Keeping this 
therefore in mind, all plants in pots ought to 
be plunged up to their rims in tan, earth, 
sawdust, gravel, ashes, or some other medium 
that will protect the sides of the pots from the 
