54 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
Ia my opinion there is not a more useful structure in a garden than a good 
Mushroom-house, where a large establishment has to be supplied in the winter 
months, and where gardeners want to live on good terms with the cook. In 
general, back sheds, or stokeholes have to be used for such purposes, but the 
supplies can never be regulated so well as in houses built for the purpose, and 
properly heated. 
Welbeck. William Tillery. 
ON THE CULTURE OF THE NEAPOLITAN VIOLET. 
As winter flowers are so much sought after and esteemed, I venture to offer 
a few hints on the cultivation of the Neapolitan Violet, than which none is a 
greater favourite with the ladies; and with the exception, perhaps, of the 
Rose, none imparts a more delightful fragrance to the atmosphere of a room. 
It may be had in bloom from the first week in October to the last week in 
March, a period of six months ; and if Roses be supplied during the other six, 
few other flowers will be required for cutting for the drawing-room or boudoir; 
indeed it is upon these two that I mainly rely to meet the demands for that 
purpose. 
Writers in former Numbers of this periodical, have stated that the 
Neapolitan Violet may be grown in such places as turf pits, as recommended 
by Mr. Barnes, of Bicton ; but it should be borne in mind that here, as well as 
at other places forty miles east of London, we are not favoured with a 
Devonshire climate. Even in the neighbourhood of Newbury, in Berkshire, 
where I lived eighteen years ago, I found it requisite to grow this plant in a 
brick pit heated by hot dung. In Violet-growing, as in everything else in 
gardening, unless the heart is in the work, failure will be the result, and instead 
of an abundance of flowers there will only be leaves. 
My own mode of cultivation is as follows : About the first week in April I 
take the plants out of the pit, a common Melon pit, and cut the roots to pieces, 
avoiding any that are old and hard, as I prefer the young pieces that are 
rooted, for these make the best plants. I bed them out on a north border, in 
rows 15 inches apart, and the same distance from plant to plant in the row; 
this gives room for working the hoe between them, as well as for cutting off' 
the runners as fast as they are produced, with the view of keeping the plants 
to one crown. It is necessary to use the hoe among them several times in the 
course of the summer, to keep the soil sweet and free from weeds; and should 
the weather become very dry, water must be given, either with a rose watering- 
pot, or from the syringe—I prefer the latter—about twice a-week during the 
hot weather, as the Violet delights in moisture. Abundance of bloom in 
December and January are the reward of careful summer treatment, especially 
in respect to watering. 
For soil I prefer plenty of leaf mould, with the addition of a good proportion 
of road sand. I use about one barrowful of the latter to three of the former 
for growing them, both in the border and in the pit. 
I will suppose that the summer’s growth is completed, and that the plants 
are both large and full of flower-buds. About the first week in October, a pit 
is prepared as follows : Planks are laid crossways inside the pit, resting on the 
tops of the pigeon-holes, and on them is placed a single layer of faggots for 
drainage, and then just sufficient long dung to prevent the soil falling through. 
A depth of about 6 inches of soil will be found sufficient. The plants are then 
taken up, preserving a good ball to each, carried on a handbarrow to the pit, 
and planted in rows, in about 8 inches of soil, and with their tops about 
