326 PENTANDRIA. MONOGYNIA. Viola. 
(E. Bot. 619. E.)— Curt. — Ludw. 175— Wale .— Woodv. 81— Kniph. 3— FI. 
Dan. 309— Renealm, 141. l—Blackw. 55—Sheldr. 17— -Dod. 156. \—Ger. 
Em. 850. 2— Pet. 37. 3—Ger. 699. 1 and 2—Lob. Ic. i. 608.2—Ger. Em. 
850. 1 —Pet. 37. 1—Matth. 1180— Lonic. i. 180. 1—Trag. 558. 1 and 2 — 
Fuchs. 311— J. B. iii. 542. 
Leaf-stalks nearly smooth. Fruit-stalks channelled on the the upper side 
above the floral-leaves. Flowers both with and without petals producing 
perfect seed. (The later flowers apetalous. E.) Blossom rich blue- 
purple, emitting a delicate odour. 
Sweet-scented Violet. (Irish : SailCovah. Welsh: Millyn gwyn; Crinllys. 
E.) Gaelic: Sail-chuach. E.) It is liable to change in the colour of the 
blossom from blue-purple to red-purple, pale flesh-colour, and white: 
(F. odorata (3. FI. Brit. E.) In the white specimens the lateral petals 
are sometimes without the hairs which grow on the inside claws in the 
purple kind, (and which would appear to afford a peculiar protection to 
the nectary; but the fragrance is the same. (A double purple variety 
of exquisite odour is frequently cultivated in gardens, flowering both in 
spring and autumn. The stalks of the late flowers are so short as 
scarcely to elevate the capsules above ground, and in such petals are 
often wanting. E.) Warm hedges and ditch banks, and in moist shel¬ 
tered lanes ; particularly in clay or marl. P. March—April.* 
(The white variety may be gathered in profusion on the banks of a lane 
leading out of the valley near Chewton, Keynsham, Somersetshire, over 
the bridge to the upper Burnet road, according to the observation of the 
Editor ; also between Dorking and Brockham, Surry; Mr. Winch: and 
in the brick-yard, Saltisford. Warwick. Perry. E.) 
* The flowers and seeds are said to be mildly laxative ; (also according to Bergius, 
slightly anodyne. E.) The powdered root, in doses from 40 to 80 grains, has a more 
violent effect. The petals give colour to the syrup of Violets, for which purpose they are 
cultivated in large quantity at Stratford-upon-Avon. (Mr. Purton, of Alcester, prepares 
20 to 30 gallons annually, for the use of the druggists : chiefly from the petals of the wild 
Violets. The flowers are gathered by women and children, and the petals carefully picked 
from the calyx. E.) This syrup is very useful in many chemical investigations, to detect an 
acid or an alkali, the former changing the blue colour to red, and the latter to green. Slips of 
white paper, stained with the juice of the petals, and kept from the air and light, answer the 
same purpose.— (Luxury and refinement, by introducing artificial wants and lowering the 
standard of good principle, seem to have familiarized the polite Romans with every species 
of fraud and artifice: and it appears that even this fit emblem of purity was subjected to 
such despicable purposes: for it is related in Pliny, lib.xxxiii. c. 13.) among various other 
mal-practices), that the peculiar and valuable mineral called Cceruleum , used by painters, was 
counterfeited by a preparation coloured with a decoction of dried Violets,” fraus viola arida 
decocta,” &c. Argynnis Aglaia feeds on this plant. The Turks make a Violet sugar 
from the flowers, and this dissolved in water, constitutes their favourite liquor, called 
Sorbet. Hasselquist. An infusion of Violets in goats’ milk was formerly a favourite cosme¬ 
tic with the Caledonian ladies, as recorded in certain Gaelic stanzas. From the most 
ancient times this lovely flower seems to have been appropriated to the fair: hence we find 
the complimentary epithet to@ke<poipos, (having violet eye-lids), alluding to a custom still 
prevalent in Greece, of colouring the eye-lids blue. (Vid. Chandler’s Travels). This fact 
affords the most probable solution of the Shakspearian passage, in which the Violet is de¬ 
scribed as 
“ Sweeter than the lids of Juno’s eyes 
Nor did Jezebel abstain from such mode of increasing her attractions, when (Kings I. ix. 
30.) she “ painted her face and tired her head—the former expression (by a more correct 
translation) meaning in the Hebrew, “imbued her eyes with paint,” possibly the stibium, 
an anthnonial preparation. Of such a practice various instances may be found recorded in 
