YIO 
YIS 
dred species, without reckoning varieties 
of any kind, all or nearly all of them 
hardy herbaceous perennials, and mostly 
possessing a fragrance pleasing to every 
one. All violets naturally love a shaded 
moist situation, though cultivation has 
altered some of their habits. V. odor at a, 
the common Yiolet, when treated as 
border plants, merely require to be 
planted in a shaded place, and will do 
under trees or shrubs that do not branch 
too near the ground; these and the 
double varieties are frequently grown for 
forcing, and, when treated in this way, 
should be prepared from cuttings taken 
in July, struck under a hand light, and 
planted on a bed composed of light rich 
earth in August, so as to be ready for pot¬ 
ting or planting out in October; if placed 
in pots they should have a rich friable 
loam to grow in; though it is preferable 
to devote a frame entirely to them in 
the following manner : collect a suffici¬ 
ency of fresh leaves to form a bed about 
two or three feet deep, on this place the 
frame, and fill half its depth with turfy 
loam and leaf-mould, and, when the heat 
becomes regular, plant out the violets at 
about a foot from each other; keep the 
lights off in fine weather until the plants 
are well established, which the gentle 
heat beneath them will accelerate, so 
that by the end of November the actual 
forcing may commence by gradually 
keeping them closer, to induce a new 
growth, which will be followed by the 
flowers in December, and onwards 
through the spring, if attention is given 
to keep the plants in a healthy active 
state, by means of additional linings 
of prepared fresh dung on the out¬ 
side of the bed and frame. A tempera¬ 
ture of from 50 to 55 degrees is most 
appropriate. 
V. tricolor , or Heartsease, has for 
several years been a great favorite, and 
is the easiest managed of the group of 
plants called “ florists’ flowers.” As the 
great object of all growers is to origi¬ 
nate new and superior varieties, we will 
begin our remarks under that head: they 
are obtained from seed selected from 
only the best current kinds. A good 
Pansy should be perfectly round in its 
outline, the petals radiating equally on 
all sides from the eye, which should be 
exactly in the centre of the flower; 
round it should be a clear band of colour, 
next it another band of what is called 
the ground-colour, this should be either 
a pure white or yellow, the whole belted 
by a margin of some rich, deep, and 
uniform shade. Pansies are divided, by 
florists, into three classes : the white 
ground, yellow ground, and self, accord¬ 
ing as that portion of the flower beyond 
the eye is either white or yellow, or of 
the same shade as all the other parts. 
The seed should be sown at three dif¬ 
ferent times : the first in March, the 
next in May, and last in September ; a 
strong, rich, and yet friable soil should 
be selected for them, and the young 
plants thinned out as they may require, 
though it is better to sow rather thin, 
as seedling plants do not generally bear 
removal well; the first sowing will bloom 
about the time of sowing the second lot, 
and that from August onwards through 
the autumn, while the last will produce 
the greatest number of flowers in the 
following spring. Established varieties 
are propagated from cuttings, dibbled 
into a bed prepared in a shaded spot, 
and covered with a hand-glass; the ope¬ 
ration should be repeated at the times 
recommended for sowing, as it is neces¬ 
sary to keep up a succession of young 
growing plants, for the old ones seldom 
bloom finely ; those produced from the 
last, or autumn batch of cuttings, should 
be potted and preserved through the 
winter in a frame, to be planted out 
again in the month of March. The re¬ 
maining portion of the genus are usually 
treated in the manner of alpines, to 
which they make a very interesting 
addition. 
YISCAEIA (Roehlek.) Nat. Ord. 
Silenacece. These are pretty hardy an¬ 
nuals, particularly V. oculata, whose 
pretty pink and purple flowers are very 
pleasing; they make the best appear¬ 
ance when sown in masses, which may 
be done in March and May, to afford a 
display through the whole of the summer 
months. 
