6 
THE HARDENING WORLD, 
January 7. 1905. 
Favourite Violets. 
The greatest favourites amongst Violets at the present day 
would scarcely be recognised as belonging to the modest Sweet 
Violet which grows wild in chalky districts chiefly. Some¬ 
times it may be found in heavy clay soils, but in such instances 
seems to have escaped from neighbouring gardens, as it seldom 
occurs far from a garden, even if only a cottage garden, where 
it may have crept through the hedge, as Violets will do in 
neglected gardens. In chalky districts it is always most plen¬ 
tiful under the hedges or sheltered by the hedgebanks more or 
less. In other cases it runs rampant in thickets or in old 
woods that are not too dense overhead to prevent a free play 
of light upon the foliage, even though little or no direct sun¬ 
shine can penetrate, except in spring before'the leaves of the 
trees come out. T mention these facts because it seems that 
even the hardy wild Violet loves shelter as much as its more 
princely relatives of the garden. Very frequently in March 
we get dry, cutting east winds which greatly punish plantations 
in the garden when we should be reaping a rich harvest of 
flowers. This visitation came in April in 1903, and "\ iolets 
in the open were badly scorched, except in sheltered places. 
In mild winters flowers make their appearance at any time 
from late autumn to March, and may even be jrlentiful at 
Christmas, especially in the neighbourhood of the sea and in 
mild southern districts; but the stalks are short compared 
with those grown under glass, and that is a great drawback to 
their usefulness in private places, and would make them useless 
for market purposes in face of foreign competition. During 
some winters I have seen them plentiful in the open, but for 
the reasons stated they are difficult to gather into bunches that 
may be carried in the hand. There are exceptions, but that is 
due to mild seasons, the absence of wind of any duration, and 
the amount of genial sunshine we get. No reliance can be 
placed upon the supply in any given season. 
For some years past private gardeners have adopted a method 
of cultivation in pots, or more often planted out in frames and 
stimulated by the mild heat of fermenting leaves alone ox- 
mixed with dung from the stable yard. As the method of 
growing them for this purpose has recently been detailed in 
The Gardening World it need not be repeated here, suffice to 
say that the plan pursued for preparing the young plants for 
fram£ culture is much the same as would be employed by those 
who still depend upon the open garden for their supply. Every 
gardener has a pet plan of his own and follows it upon lines by 
which he has previously succeeded, but after all the diffei'ence 
is only one of detail, the chief being that one may break up 
old plants while another takes young crowns only when making 
a fresh plantation. The main thing is to secure vigorous 
young crowns which will make strong growth when planted 
out in spring. On the whole, I think that runners make the 
best plants, as most gardeners aim at securing them. 
When the intention is to get early flowei's out of doors, a 
rather light and friable soil should be selected for the planta¬ 
tion, where the plants will get the full benefit of the sun, while 
sheltered from the north and east. Even if the ground is 
raised in ridges facing the south it ivould be worth the extra 
labour to procure a supply in advance of those from the level 
ground. In such situations the soil would soon get dried out, 
especially if of a sandy nature, but after the others come into 
full bearing the giving out of the early plot would be of small 
consequence. 
Marie Louise is the most general favourite, and for general 
purposes in private establishments is hard to beat. The flowers 
are often small, but when generously treated little need be 
said against it on the score of size. The clear and even deep 
blue flowers are double and sweetly scented. Out of water they 
are relatively durable, as the numerous petals prevent them 
from presenting a shrivelled appearance so soon as large, limp 
single varieties would. 
Victoria, now regarded as an old variety, is still cherished 
for its dark violet flowers and the numbers in which they are 
pi’oduced. It cannot be regarded as an early sort, but is use¬ 
ful in prolonging the season. 
California first came as a surprise on account of its large 
size, but it proved only a forerunner to several varieties of 
handsome proportions, recalling some of the small Violas 
rather than a Violet. The stalks are of great length, even 
when the conditions under which it is grown are not of the 
best. The petals are of great length, though moderate in 
width, and of a much lighter shade of violet than Victoria. 
The leaves are rather bulky, with long stalks like the flowers, 
the one being a complement of the other. For this reason it 
requires plenty of space to do well; and to avoid coarseness as 
far as possible, it should not be planted on ovei'-rich soil, nor 
too heavy. 
La France also produces large flowei's, but they are of an 
intense violet, and the habit of the plant is much dwarfer than 
California, it flowers freely and early, the long stems carry¬ 
ing: the flowei's well above the soil. For these reasons it is 
largely grown for market, though it is worthy of extended cul¬ 
tivation in private establishments. 
Princess Beatrice also created some surprise when it came 
before the public of this country on account of its huge leaves, 
which some compared to a Hollyhock, though that was some¬ 
what exaggerated. The flowei’s are of large size, but the petals 
are broad rather than lengthy. They are also of a rich violet 
colour and the plant of vigorous growth and easy culture, 
though space must always be considered when planting it in 
frames. 
Princess of Wales ranks first in size, when properly grown, 
the large, light violet, sweetly scented flowers being of great 
size and carried well up on stout stalks. Where large Violets 
are preferred this should have the first place, at all events in 
gardens where the soil is to its liking. Like California, it 
must not be planted in heavy soils if the best results are ex¬ 
pected. On fairly rich and light soils it is an acquisition for 
cut-flower purposes on account of : ts long stalks. 
Wellsiana is also a 'arge-flowering variety with rich violet 
flowers and well-rounded petals, but the stalks are short. In 
ether respects it is a grand variety, flowering freely and con- 
tinously over a long period. It is also a winter bloomer if 
the outside conditions are favourable. 
Czar is well known and frequently included in quite small 
collections. Its merits are early and long-continued flowering, 
even on fairly heavy soil. It is also sweetly scented, so that 
gardeners and employers are still fairly enamoured of it. 
Being one of the earliest, it readily blooms in autumn. 
Amiral Avellan is valued chiefly for the sake of its un¬ 
common colour, the flowers being of a dull but distinct red- 
purple colour. It may be described as a fancy flower among 
Violets, if such a term be admissible. Like Czar, it is very 
hardy, succeeding on quite heavy soils. 
Odorata rubra has small rosy flowers, and amongst Violets 
may also be teimed a fancy amongst colours. The blooms are 
small but sweetly scented and worthy of some attention. Very 
similar or identical shades of colour may sometimes be found 
amongst Violets in a wild state. 
Odorata sulpliurea is another rare shade of colour, even 
more rare than white, rose or purple, the flowers being of the 
colour indicated by the name. As yet it does not seem to be 
very plentiful, having only come before the public in recent 
years. The most suitable place for it would be the rockery, 
where the unusual shade of colour would be appreciated if 
seen in a good tuft. Like other small-flowering varieties, it 
is sweet scented. 
Within recent years the older varieties with the exceptions 
aboA r e named have become more or less neglected. Preference 
is being given to size, more especially if the sweet scent is 
retained, though some of the newer sorts are not altogether 
so decided in this respect as cculd be desired. D. V . 
Demand for Forest Trees.- It would seem that a great re¬ 
vival of the desire for -planting trees is responsible for the de¬ 
mand for various forest trees at the present time. Amongst 
those most in demand are the Scotch and Corsican Firs, 
Douglas Fir, Japanese Larch. Sycamore, and Ash. 
