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VIOLETS 
The earlist mention of the violet is 
found in an ancient legend, which 
tells us that the Princess Io, a maid 
beloved of Jupiter, was changed by 
him for a time into the form of a cow 
in order to protect her from the anger 
of Juno. And to provide Io with fitting 
food, Jupiter caused myriads of violets 
to spring up in the’ surrounding 
bausture. 
And today, too, violets seem to rad- 
iate romance. They vie with faded old 
love letters in their ability to bring 
back fond and loving memories of 
years gone by, turning back the pages 
of Time itself, recalling events that 
through the haze of years seem half 
forgotten. 
The culture of violets has been con- 
tinuous for centuries; so it is no wonder 
they are sometimes refered to as “old 
fashioned flowers”, for many of the 
varieties have been in existence for a 
long period of time. However, many of 
these have been vastly improved in 
recent years; and today some of the 
new creations bear little resemblance 
to their ancestors, being larger in 
blossom and larger and sturdier stem- 
med. Various new shadings and mark- 
ings have been created which, to 
lovers of violets are intensely interest- 
ing. 
It is a thrilling hobby to try to find 
the eighty or more species that are 
native to North America north of Mex- 
ico, and occasionally add one of the 
300 species distributed in the Old 
World and the New. To the vast major- 
ity the violet is pictured as an insig- 
nificant small purple flower with a sort 
of heart-shaped leaf. But amazingly 
there are some for almost every color 
of the spectrum—white, orchid, laven- 
der, mauve, lilac, blue shades from 
light silvery through sky-blue to in- 
digo, pink, rose, cerise, maroon, many 
shades of yellow, deep purple; some 
two-tones of red and white, gold and 
brown, two shades of lavender, or 
yellow and lavender. And there is 
every conceivable shaped leaf of dif- 
ferent shades, texture and size. There 
are round leaves, saw-edged, leaves 
cut or cleft into from three to five parts 
The methods of propagation are a 
study of deep interest. Some grow from 
seeds formed from the large maturing 
blossoms; some from seeds from small 
flowers that never open and are self 
polinating; some are formed from run- 
ners; some from joints; divisions; and 
root sections; and some grow from 
a leat. 
For centuries it has played a part 
in the ancient folklore and medical 
tradition of many peoples. 
“The leaves and flowers can be 
used both as emollients and as a 
restorative.” 
“The flowers are employed for all 
sorts of internal inflammation.” 
‘Dried violets are useful as a tonic.” 
“Violet leaves taken as a salad 
make a good stomachic.” 
The leaves may be used as an out- 
ward application for inflammation of 
the eyes.” 
Violets have been used for genera- 
tions in the expression of love and 
gentleness. In a corsage they have 
enhanced the beauty of many a bright 
eyed young daughter at graduation 
exercises, parties, and weddings. 
Nothing expresses more love and sym- 
pathy to a “shut-in” than a bouquet 
of violets. They are used profusely as 
a last tribute to many a loved one; 
and many a hand forever stilled has 
been born to its final resting place 
holding a bouquet of violets. Their use 
is legion, and no flower is so adapt- 
able to the many forms of floral ex- 
pression as the violet. 
DON’T WORRY if the first blossoms 
are small. Pull them off; and the second 
will be large. In the fall seed pods 
come up out of the ground. 
In the second season after the plants 
get well established, you will be a- 
mazed at what they really can do. 
If you plant a number of varieties, 
you can have violets blooming all 
through the year. 
