THE VIOLET 
71 
ing; the pale primrose with dark blue veins — the two 
latter are remarkable for the luxuriance and size of their 
leaves — the flowers spring in bunches, several from each 
joint, and are succeeded by large capsules, covered with 
thick white cottony down. There is a species of violet 
that grows in the woods, the leaves of which are exceed- 
ingly large, so are the seed-vessels; but the flower is so 
small and insignificant, that it is only to be observed by 
a close examination of the plant ; this has given rise to 
the vague belief that it blooms underground. The flowers 
are of a pale yellow.’’ 
In our English meadows it is very common for the same 
root which supplied us with the spring violet, to blossom 
again in winter, and it will sometimes yield a fine but less 
scented flower at Christmas. Besides the sweet purple 
violet (Viola odorata) and its white variety, there are 
five native species. The common dog violet (Viola ca- 
nina) often gives a blue or lilac colour to the spot of 
rugged rock where it hangs its cheerful clusters. It may 
be seen in the midst of summer, when the fragrant violet 
has left us, enlivening the moist bank, and flourishing 
under the shady hedge, or on the chalky m.oor, where 
nothing else mingles with the short grass but the stunted 
daisy and the little eyebright, or the wild thyme. Tike 
our wild briar or dog-rose, it probably received its spe- 
cific name to mark its inferiority to the scented kind. 
The latter flower has not, however, lost much by ex- 
changing its old for its modern appellation, for it was 
formerly called canker, and we have in Shakespeare, 
“ I would rather be a canker in a hedge than a rose to 
his grace.” 
Several very beautiful violets are reared in our gardens. 
The double purple violet (Viola purpurea plena), and 
the softly tinged Neapolitan violet (Viola pallida plena), 
with its pleasant odour, are among the most generally 
cultured kinds. 
In the neighbourhood of Stratford-upon-Avon there 
are some extensive grounds upon which the violet is 
reared, for the purposes of the chemist. Like the la- 
vender and rose grounds of Surrey, these spots, though 
fragrant, are not beautiful ; and the flower loses from its 
associations, much of the loveliness which belongs to it 
in its native woodlands. 
