May 1, 1903; 
THE VIOLET. 
The present is a good time to make fresh’ 
plantations of this universally popular 
flower. When planted early they soon 
get established, and a fair crop of blooms 
may be expected in early spring. If fine 
flowers and plenty of them are wanted, the 
plants must be cultivated, and not neglec- 
ted, as they sometimes are. The violet de- 
lights in fresh soil; it will not thrive in 
sour or exhausted land. It revels in de- 
cayed leaf-mould; but this valuable plant- 
food cannot often be obtained. A sandy, 
turfy loam, with about one-fourth part of 
well-rotted cow manure mixed with it, 
makes an excellent compost. The plant is 
fond of lime, and if there be none in the 
soil a little should be added; it tends. to 
keep down worms and insects, to keeps the 
soil sweet, and helps to cause vigorous 
growth. Poor stunted growth causes the 
plants to become a prey to red spider; and 
this involves attention in the way of sul- 
phuring and syringing. If good soil and 
an abundance of water can be provided, 
almost any fairly open situation will suit, 
but a partial shade protection from north 
winds and: very hot suns is generally better. 
Division of the roots and by runners are 
the common methods of propagation, but 
cuttings taken off in the spring make plants 
less liable to form runners, which, of 
course, weakens the parent plant. 
Fragrance in the violet is of greater im- 
portance than even size or color.. Length 
of stem, its stiffness and suitability for 
working-up into bouquets, and: also freeness 
of blooming should be considered in select- 
ing varieties. The sweetness of the vio- 
let: is very evanescent, few flowers so much 
so. A bunch of blooms in twenty-fout 
hours after being gathered has already lost 
the best part of its perfume when two 
days old its smell is suspicious, and on thé’ 
third day it should be thrown away. Yet, 
if a box in which fresh violets have been 
packed be promptly closed up, the delicate 
violet fragrance may be detected there in 
all its purity many weeks after. 
Violets should be gathered as early in 
the morning as possible, and their stems'at 
once placed in water. If the flowers are 
to be sent away for some distance each 
bunch should be hooded over with a sheet 
of paraffin paper fori protection, and to con- - 
fine the fragrance. Our florists, when 
packing the flowers, usually lay the 
bunches close together in single layers on 
flats, which rest’ on cleats in the packing- 
boxes, but sometimes shelves are used in 
which round holes have been cut to hold 
one bunch each. 
The popularity of the violet is as old as 
is that of the daffodil or the rose. In 
ancient mythology it was dedicated to 
Venus. When Athens was at the height 
of her glory bunches of violets were ex- 
posed for sale in the market-place at all 
seasons of the year. From the days 
Homer’ the beauty and fragrance of the vio- 
let have furnished a favorite theme for 
poets. To Shakespeare it was a type of 
of’ 
modesty and maidenhood, and Scotland’s 
poet agreed with the Bard of Avon, for he 
also wrote: “The violet is for modesty.” 
Melbourne violet-growers cultivate a 
good number of varieties. In doubles, the 
old Marie Louise is perhaps the most popu- 
lar; its lavender and white flowers are 
very fragrant, and the perfume lasts 
longer than that of many others; it is a 
fine winter bloomer. Mrs. J. J. Astor 
has not, we think, yet been offered for 
sale in Melbourne, but English ladies pre- 
fer it to any other, because of the helio- 
trope scent and soft, mauve-shaded color; 
it'is a free flowerer, and of healthy growth. 
Lady Hume Camubell is a fine double 
hardy, and late in blooming. The old 
Neapolitan has plenty of admirers; _ its 
light, mauve-colored flowers are very sweet. 
Count Brazza or Swanley White is the 
best double white. Marguerite de Savoi 
is a large, deep blue; ai very free flowerer. 
Single violets are much more numerous 
than doubles. The Princess of Wales is 
by many considered to be the best; the 
rich violet-blue blossoms, borne on long, 
sturdy stalks, are very fragrant; the flow- 
ers are very large. La France is of the 
sume type as the Princess of Wales, with 
flowers as large as a florin; the habit of 
the plant is dwarf and compact. John 
Raddenberry is a slaty-blue, hardy, and 
very distinct. Sulphurea is a little gem, 
flowers small, when gathered very pleasing. 
Luxonne is a violet-blue, large, admired 
for its graceful bearing, and valued for its 
lengthened season of bloom. Admiral 
Avellan is very distinct in color, not par- 
ticularly attractive on the plant, but when 
gathered its reddish;purple blossoms are 
conspicuous when placed alongside the 
darker purple sorts. Princess de Sumonto 
is a blend of clear blue and white. St. 
Anne’s Pink is a curiosity; its name gives 
the color. Parma Perfection is a very 
early bloomer ; a favorite in England. The 
three kinds last named have not yet been 
circulated with us. White Czar is pure 
white, but it becomes a nuisance from its 
seeding so freely. California is a very 
large purple, of great fragrance, very free 
blooming, and a vigorous grower. Italia, 
a violet purple, large and robust. Well- 
siana’ and Lee’s Odoratissima are also fa- 
vorite violets with some growers.—“Aus- 
tralasian.” 
~eeccsese + 
EVERLASTING _ PEAS. 
For the covering of walls and trellises 
for entrances to gardens, for edging flower 
borders, for divisions between the vege- 
table and flower garden, for covering’ rus- 
tic arbors and porches, and for forming ex- 
cellent floral backgrounds, very tew her- 
baceous plants are more beautiful or more 
useful than the Everlasting Peas. A mix- 
ture of pure white, blush; pale rose, crim- 
son, and jpink trained to poles 3 feet high, 
and fastened at the top, form, during tne 
summer and autumn months, a picture dif- 
ficult to surpass. Delighting in a rich, 
deeply worked soil and sunny positions, 
they grow luxuriantly from seed sown in 
the early spring in the open, while the best 
white and pink varieties are easily propa- 
gated from cuttings taken in April, or as 
soon as growth appears above the ground. 
Slips 3 or 4 inches long, with-a heel of 
the underground rhizome, quickly roots in 
pots of moist sand if kept in a close cold 
frame. Everlasting Peas are not so fra- 
grant as the annual varieties, but they 
occupy permanent beds, and give no fur- 
ther trouble beyond a yearly mulching. 
When cut and arranged with an abun- 
dance of leafy foliage, they form a picture 
equal to any made from the annuals. __ 
The new white Everlasting Pea is a dis- 
tinct advance, and every garden should 
have a clump or two. R. Evans. 
+6bEsSstst+ 
DECORATIVE SHRUBS. 
Too many of the plants in our shrubber- 
ies can scarcely be called decorative, for 
they produce no flowers worthy of the 
name, and yet there are so many beautiful 
flowering shrubs that this state of things 
cught not to be tolerated by those who 
love their gardens. | Every autumn a few 
good plants might be selected, placed in 
positions in which they will do well, when 
the whole aspect of our shrubberies will 
gradually change from monotonous green 
to a really beautiful group of rich coloring, 
constantly changing with the season, as 
each shrub blossoms, whilst some of taem 
finish off by changing the color of their 
foliage into brilliant scarlet and yellow in 
the late autumn. One of the best is 
THE Douste Devrzia Crenara, 
which produces in the spring the neatest 
little rosettes of pure white blossom, al-, 
most covering the long sprays of light foli- 
age; and then, again, in the autumn the 
leaves change to many shades of red; pur- 
ple, and yellow, so that the plant has two 
distinct seasons of singular beauty each 
year. It grows into a neat, compact bush, 
about five feet in height, and its graceful 
foliage is always pleasing to the eye. 
BuppLEIA GLOBOSA, - 
too (the Golden Ball of Japan), is a hand- 
some and distinct shrub with foliage unlike 
anything else, lined with silvery-white, 
and a mass of singular ball-like blooms,in 
May, giving the plant) a bright and decgna- 
tive effect. This ;plant grows to the height 
of six or seven feet in-a warm, sheltered 
corner, and becomes broad in proportion. 
Even if cut back by a more than ordinarily 
severe winter, it will shoot again from the 
base, and quickly make up for lost time if 
well supported. Then 
Tue Sincie JAPANESE Rosz, 
Ross rugosa, when grown as a shrub, is 
very handsome, not only when in bloom, 
but also in the autumn, when covered with 
large, scarlet berries; it should not be 
pruned too severely, merely cutting out the 
older wood in the autumn, and reserving - 
