October  19,  lfc>99. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
337 
VIOLET  PRINCESS  OF  WALES. 
I  have  recently  placed  my  first  plants  into  frames,  and  will 
endeavour  to  give  to  the  readers  of  the  Journal  my  details  of 
management.  In  April  or  early  May  I  select  a  piece  of  ground 
facing  due  east,  and  partially  ^'shaded  from  the  south  and  west. 
This  is  thoroughly  worked  two  spits  deep,  and  a  liberal  amount  of 
■decayed  manure  placed  in  the  bottom  trench.  The  surface  is  trodden 
to  make  it  firm  and  even,  and  with  a  rake  over,  the  ground  is 
ready  for  planting.  In  dividing  the  old  plants  as  many  roots  are 
spade  as  much  soil  is  retained  with  each  plant  as  a  man  can  jog  along 
with  comfortably  to  the  frames.  Deep  planting  is  the  rule,  the  plantB 
being  disposed  a  foot  apart,  and  the  soil  is  made  very  firm  around 
them.  A  thorough  root-reaching  watering  is  given,  and  syringing 
practised  as  often  as  required  for  keeping  the  foliage  fresh.  The 
lights  are  allowed  to  remain  off  for  about  three  weeks,  after  which 
they  are  placed  on,  keeping  every  other  light  half  way  up,  and  down, 
except  in  showery  weather,  when  they  are  tilted  at  the  top  for 
ventilation,  for  the  Violet  detests  a  stagnant  atmosphere.  The  require¬ 
ments  to  keep  in  view  for  the  well-being  of  the  Violet  are  a  deep, 
rich,  and  moderately  dry,  not  wet,  rooting  medium,  with  partial 
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Fig.  66. — VIOLET  PRINCESS  OF  WALES. 
secured  to  the  offsets  as  possible.  These  are  planted  with  a  trowel, 
the  roots  being  placed  straight  down,  and  the  plants  a  foot  asunder. 
A  thorough  watering  is  given  to  settle  the  soil  about  the  roots,  and 
the  foliage  is  syringed  every  afternoon  throughout  the  season.  I 
generally0 find  that  by  syringing  the  plants  daily  they  seldom  require 
water  at  the  roots.  The  next  important  point  is  to  keep  all  runners 
as  they  appear  cut  from  the  plants,  for  which  purpose  they  are  looked 
over  every  week.  Strong  crowns  are  thus  produced  which  yield 
excellent  blooms. 
During  the  first  week  in  October  frames  are  placed  in  a  position 
facing  due  south,  and  as  near  as  possible  to  the  bed  of  plants.  The 
ground  is  dug  inside  the  frames,  then  a  layer  of  decayed  manure 
and  soil  spread  alternately  until  the  frame  is  filled  to  within  9  inches 
from  the  top,  the  soil  being  made  firm  and  even.  In  lifting  with  a 
shade  throughout  the  summer  months.  Under  the  simple  treatment 
described  satisfactory  results  are  obtained. 
I  send  a  few  leaves  of  Princess  of  Wales  so  that  you,  Mr.  Editor, 
may  judge  for  yourself  as  to  the  health  ot  the  plants.  I  also  enclose 
a  sketch  of  a  leaf  and  flower  of  the  same  variety.  Almost  every  leaf 
in  the  bed  is  equal  in  size,  and  many  are  larger  than  the  one  depicted. 
The  flower  is  one  of  the  first  few  produced,  and  I  hope  before  long  to 
be  able  to  send  you  a  few  better  blooms.  I  trust  the  size  of  the 
sketch  may  assist  to  hide  its  defects. — H.  Mitchell. 
[Sometimes  the  larger  the  sketch  the  more  visible  the  defects.  We  can 
only  say  that  the  handiwork  of  our  correspondent  required  little  or  no 
improvement  by  our  artist  in  the  process  of  reproduction.  The  deep  green 
leaves  received  are  of  great  substance,  and  the  plants  have  evidently 
enjoyed  the  treatment  which  has  been  accorded  them  by  the  cultivator.] 
