Aagust 22,1896. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
811 
CARTERS BULBS 
FOR EARLY FORCING. 
White Roman Hyacinths, very large bulbs, price 21/- per ioo; 3/-per dozen. 
Large bulbs, price 14/- per ioo ; 2/- per dozen. 
Large Flowered White Narcissus “ Purity.”— The individual blossoms 
are half as large again as the ordinary Paper White. Largest 
bulbs, price 10/6 per ioo ; 1/6 per dozen. 
Double Roman Narcissus.— Largest bulbs, price 6/6 per ioo; 1/- per dozen. 
Easter Lily (Lilium Harrisi), magnificent bulbs, price 18/- per dozen ; 2/- 
each. Fine bulbs, price 10/6 per dozen ; 1/- each. 
All Carriage Free. Special Prices for Quantities. 
See CARTERS NEW BOOK on BULBS, a profusely Illustrated Guide, of 
which “ The Times ” speaks as follows :— “A special feature of the publication 
is a series of photographs showing their bulbs in flower in the Royal Parks and Gardens 
of London .... Provincial authorities might well turn their attention to what 
has been done in this direction to beautify Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, Victoria Park, 
and Battersea Park.” Gratis to Intending Customers. 
Seedsmen by Royal Warrants to H.M. THE QUEEN and H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES. 
237 & 238 & 97, HIGH HOLBORN, LONDON. 
For Index to Contents see page 823. 
Land for 
the People. 
Freehold five acre 
poultry farms in 
the United States 
only £20, conven¬ 
ient to Philadel¬ 
phia, close to 
Railway station. 
Adapted to rais¬ 
ing fruits, vege¬ 
tables, poultry, 
&e. To be sold by 
instalments of 4s 
cash and 4s. per 
week, if desired, 
Title insured. 
D. L. RISLEY, 
63, Chancery Lane, 
London. New settle¬ 
ment. Increasing 
population ! Capital 
investment. 
Better the Seeds 
Better the Crop! 
All Seeds for present sowing, new, own grown, and of 
the highest excellence. 
H. CANNELL & SONS 
Would be muoh pleased to send lists and full particulars. 
It should be remembered that our 
Defiance Cabbage 
Is certainly the best, and should be in every garden. Won 
numerous first prizes. 
BWANLiEY, KENT. 
“ Gardening is the purest of human pleasures, and the greatest 
refreshment to the spirit of man.” —Bacon. 
kf Chntil^i|ii|g IjlottliL 
Edited by J. FRASER F.L.S. 
SATURDAY, AUGUST 22nd, 1896. 
NEXT WEEK’S ENGAGEMENTS. 
Monday, August 24th.—Special un-reserved Sales of Bulbs by 
Messrs. Protheroe & Morris, at their Rooms, in Cheap- 
side. 
Tuesday, August 25th.—Barnsley and Brighton Shows. 
Royal Horticultural Society: Meeting of Committees at 
12 o'clock. 
Wednesday, August 26th.—Harpenden Show. 
Bath Autumn Show (2 days). 
Thursday, August 27th.—Special un-reserved Sales of Bulbs 
by Messrs. Protheroe & Morris at their rooms in Cheapside, 
Friday, August 28th.—Falkirk Show. 
Dunfermline Autumn Show (2 days). 
Sales of Imported and Established Orchids by Messrs. 
Protheroe & Morris, at 67, and 68, Cheapside, E.C. 
Saturday, August 29th.—Bucklyne Show. 
&HE GROWING POPULARITY OF VlOLAS.— 
That a trial of Violas extending over 
several years should have been conducted 
by the Royal Horticultural Society at 
Chiswick, that the Royal Botanic Society 
should place their gardens at the disposal 
of a committee of experts for the purpose 
of conducting a trial this season, that three 
conferences should have been solely devoted 
to the interest of this class of plants, and 
that a National Viola Society should exist 
to foster the same, are surely evidences of 
the growing importance of Violas for gar¬ 
den decoration. Judging by the facts just 
stated, Violas, as a class, are of more im¬ 
portance than show and fancy Pansies, put 
together, at least in the south. The 
numerous other strains of Pansies in culti¬ 
vation, are more or less extensively grown 
for garden decoration, and the secret of 
their popularity rests in the fact that they 
give their cultivators the least trouble in 
the way of attention. They have not been 
taken under the wing of the florist because 
they do not conform to the canons of that 
class of cultivators, nor of any others. 
The committee of investigation has made 
a selection of something like fifty-nine 
varieties, representing those of all the lead¬ 
ing colours in dwarf and tall-growing sorts, 
that might reasonably be expected to satisfy 
any cultivator for mere garden decoration. 
The most important result, probably, of 
this investigation and selection, will be to 
afford a guide to those intending to com¬ 
mence the cultivation of Violas. The 
specialist will not confine himself to that 
list; and what is of more importance, culti¬ 
vators in different localities and under 
different conditions as to soil and rainfall, 
shelter and exposure, will soon find that 
several of the sorts may refuse to take 
kindly to locality and treatment. These, of 
course, are matters relating purely to indi¬ 
vidual experience, and do not affect the list 
which, in our opinion, has been very 
judiciously made, for the varieties in ques- 
generally respond to fair treatment. Some 
beautiful favourites have been left out, but 
certain of them are too closely related to 
others mentioned to be considered essential 
to so short a list. Had the latter been 
increased to a hundred, the uninitiated 
would be in as great a fix as ever to reduce 
the list to their o vn requirements. Some 
of the varieties more or less extensively 
cultivated in the London parks and else¬ 
where, do not seem to have been mentioned 
at all, so that useful sorts may be ignored 
on the plea that they are behind the day, 
either in size, colour, or habit. The latter, 
however, is a point that is often ignored in 
the selection of new varieties, that may 
otherwise be very perfect in the form and 
colour of the flower. On the other hand, a 
number of those selected are really more 
related to the Pansy than to the Viola proper 
as derived from Viola cornuta. They have 
been improved in habit, inasmuch as they 
produce suckers from the base much more 
freely than the true Pansy type ; and as a 
consequence they flower more continuously 
and profusely. In these two respects they 
may be indebted to Viola cornuta, or what 
is more likely, to the effect of the strictly 
perennial forms or sub-species of Viola 
tricolor upon the race. If the end in view 
is secured, it seems to matter little whether 
the resulting forms owe their parentage 
mostly to V. tricolor, V. t. lutea, V. cornuta, 
or others of the known or supposed 
originals. 
In making selections of superior new 
varieties it would be important to reject 
those that show a tendency to contract 
mildew, and thereby get more extensively 
destroyed in August and September than 
others. Those having thick, watery, soft 
stems and leaves are more prone to this 
mishap than wiry-stemmed varieties with 
relatively thin but leathery leaves. Facts 
relating to individual varieties and their 
liability to contract disease or otherwise, 
may be observed in beds where numerous 
varieties are grown together. One variety 
may be completely destroyed for the season, 
while another in contact with it will entirely 
escape the malady. At the conference in 
Regent’s Park, great delight was expressed 
at the mere mention of Viola Bluebell, which 
is extensively cultivated in several of the 
London parks, and in many cottage 
gardens. It is indeed a, cottage garden 
variety by reason of its determined efforts 
to live in spite of neglect, poor treatment, 
and the ordinary let^lone principle. The 
number of flowers produced, and their con¬ 
tinuity, are redeeming features of the variety 
to place in the balance against their small 
size, poor colour, and lack of refinement. 
True Blue may be placed in the same cate¬ 
gory, and though more liable to die out 
under adverse conditions, it is vastly 
superior in other respects to Bluebell. The 
flowering tops of True Blue, and several 
others, when utilised as cuttings, readily 
produce roots and make good plants, 
although the reverse is true with regard to 
Violas in general. 
One of the issues raised at the conference 
was the necessity of changing the situation 
or site of the Viola beds every year. A 
