a 
Britain, and the rest have been collected from al- 
-mostall partsand latitudes of the north temperate 
zone, as well as from some subtropical countries, 
in both the eastern and the western hemisphere. 
All deserve to be cultivated, either for their 
beauty or for their perfume. The small peren- 
nial kinds do best in pots, in a mixture of peat, 
loam, and sand; and the larger and hardier peren- 
nial kinds, as also the few annual kinds, do well 
either in rock-work or in the front of flower- 
borders. The American species thrive best in 
| peat or vegetable mould, and may be propagated 
|| either from seeds or by division of the root; the 
greenhouse and stove species generally grow best 
in a mixture of loam and peat, and are propa- 
gated variously by layers, cuttings, and divisions 
according to their respective nature; and the 
hardy perennial kinds, for the most part, love a 
soil of peaty loam, and are most readily propa- 
gated by radical division. 
The sweet-scented violet, Viola odorata, is an 
indigen of shady places in Britain. It is a low 
creeping evergreen, sending out runners which 
root at small intervals, and throwing up tufts of 
leaves and flowers. Its roots are fibrous; its 
| leaves stand on slender footstalks, and are heart- 
| is given to infants. 
_shaped and crenated, and have a lively green 
colour on the upper surface, anda paler colour and 
downy appearance on the under; its floral foot- 
stalks are quadrangular, channelled, delicate, and 
_about two inches long; and its flowers have a 
| green five-sepalled calyx and a deep violet co- 
loured corolla, with a large spur protruding from 
one of the petals, and bloom from March till 
May, and emit a most delightful fragrance. 
Seven very distinct varieties, with respectively 
purple, white, blue, double purple, double white, 
double blue, and double pale flowers, are culti- 
vated in flower-gardens; and the normal plant 
is extensively cultivated, for the use of apothe- 
| caries and city herbalists, in the neighbourhood 
of Stratford-on-Avon and in some parts of Kent. 
An alkaloid, called violine, exists as a malate in 
the root, stem, leaves, and flowers, and has simi- 
lar properties to emetine, and acts as a strong 
poison. The petals have a place in the HKdin- 
burgh and Dublin pharmacopceias; and were for- 
merly regarded as anodyne and pectoral; but are 
now used in pharmacy only for preparing a sy- 
rup, which has gently purgative properties, and 
They have a very slightly 
bitter taste, and, when chewed, give a blue tinge 
to the saliva. The infusion of them, and also 
the syrup, serve in chemistry as useful and deli- 
cate tests of the presence of uncombined acids 
and alkalies, an acid changing their blue colour 
to a red, and an alkali changing it toa green. 
The other indigenous species are the dog’s vio- 
let, V. canina, a perennial-rooted, deciduous, blue- 
flowered creeper, about 3 inches high, inhabiting 
the heaths of Britain, and blooming from April 
till June; the three coloured violet, or fancy vio- 
let, or heart’s ease, V. tricolor, an upright, yel- 
595 
low and purple-flowered annual, about 6 inches 
high, inhabiting the corn-fields of Britain, and 
blooming from April till September; the corn- 
field violet, V. arvensis, an annual, very similar to 
the preceding; the yellow flowered violet, or 
mountain yellow violet, or true wild pansy, V. 
lutea, an upright, annual-stemmed, yellow-flower- 
ed perennial, about 3 inches high, inhabiting 
the meadows and pastures of Britain, and bloom- 
ing from May till August; the marsh violet, 
V. palustris, an upright, annual-stemmed, blue- 
flowered perennial, about 3 inches high, inha- 
biting the mossy bogs of Britain, and blooming 
in May and June; the hairy violet, V. hirta, an 
upright, annual-stemmed, blue-flowered peren- 
nial, about 6 inches high, inhabiting the chalky 
soils of England, and blooming in April and May; 
the milk-coloured or cream-coloured violet, V. 
lactea, an upright, annual-stemmed, crimson- 
flowered perennial, about 6 inches high, inha- 
biting the moist heaths of England, and blooming 
in May; and the pleasing violet, V. amewna, an 
upright, annual-stemmed, purple-flowered peren- 
nial, about 3 inches high, inhabiting the moun- 
tains of Scotland, and blooming in June and 
July. 
Some of the most interesting of the introduced 
exotic species are the sweet or fragrant, V. swavis, 
a hardy, evergreen, pale blue-flowered, sweet- 
scented creeper, about 3 inches high, introduced 
from the Ukraine in 1823, and blooming in Sep- 
tember; the palmate, V. palmata, a hardy, erect, 
annual-stemmed, purple-flowered perennial, about 
6 inches high, introduced from North America in 
1752, blooming in May and June, and comprising 
a variety with variegated white and purple 
flowers; the pedate, V. pedata, a hardy, erect, 
annual-stemmed, blue-flowered perennial, about 
6 inches high, introduced from North America 
in 1759, blooming in May and June, and com- 
prising a variety with fan leaves and light pur- 
ple flowers; the winged-leaved, V. pinnata, a 
hardy, erect, annual-stemmed, violet-flowered 
perennial, about 6 inches high, introduced from 
the South of Europe in 1752, and blooming in 
May and June; the hooded, V. cucullata, a hardy, 
erect, annual-stemmed, blue-flowered perennial, 
about 3 inches high, introduced from North 
America in 1772, and blooming from May till 
July; the butterfly, V. papelionacea, a hardy, 
erect, annual-stemmed, blue-flowered perennial, 
about 3 inches high, introduced from North Ame- 
rica in 1800, and blooming in May and June; 
the clandestine, V. clandestina, a hardy, erect, 
annual-stemmed, brown-flowered perennial, about 
3 inches high, introduced from North America 
in 1800, and blooming in May; the Japan, V. Ja- 
ponica, a hardy, creeping, blue-flowered, fragrant 
evergreen, about 6 inches high, introduced from 
Japan in 1818, and blooming from April till June; 
the mountain, V. montana, a hardy, erect, annual- 
stemmed, light blue flowered perennial, about a 
foot high, introduced from Switzerland in 1683, 
