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SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
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The "Couu^try Life" 
 
 Li'BRARY. 
 
 SWEET VIOLETS 
 AND PANSIES. 
 
 AND VIOLETS FROM 
 MOUNTAIN AND PLAIN. 
 
 WRITTEN BY SEVERAL AUTHORITIES 
 
 AND EDITED BY 
 
 E. T. COOK. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 "COUNTRY LIFE" GEORGE NEWNES, Ltd. 
 
 20, TAVISTOCK STREET, 7-12, SOUTHAMPTON STREET, 
 
 COVENT GARDEN, W.C. COVENT GARDEN, W.C. 
 
 1903. 
 
PRE FA C E 
 
 THIS little book is published 
 in response to many- 
 appeals from readers of 
 Country Life and The 
 Garden for practical in- 
 formation in a handy 
 form about the pansies 
 of the garden, sweet 
 violets, and the violets 
 from mountain and plain. 
 It is not the work of 
 an individual, but is 
 the outcome 
 of informa- 
 tion willingly 
 given bythose 
 mentioned in 
 this Preface, and of the 
 many articles that have ap- 
 peared in The Garden during 
 the past few years. The 
 show and fancy pansies have not been forgotten, and 
 our warmest thanks are tendered to that veteran 
 florist, Mr. Richard Dean, for so much practical and 
 historical information about a type, which still kindles 
 
vi PREFACE 
 
 in the minds of many, an enthusiastic desire to per- 
 petuate by raising new varieties, and by bringing 
 those in existence to perfection in agreement with 
 the laws that govern colouring and form according 
 to the adopted standards. 
 
 Although we have no sympathy with the show 
 pansy in its little box at the exhibition, we are not 
 unmindful that those who thus display them are 
 earnest workers in the field of horticulture, and the 
 Scotch growers in particular have accomplished 
 praiseworthy work in the past, a work that is being 
 continued with enthusiasm in the present. 
 
 Messrs. Dobbie & Co. of Rothesay, Mr. Wm. 
 Cuthbertson, Mr, Jas. Grieve, Mr. John Baxter, and 
 many others we think of in connection with the show 
 pansy, nor are we forgetful of the late Mr. William 
 Dean, whose knowledge of show pansies made his 
 communications to the periodicals of his day worthy 
 of permanent record. 
 
 But it is the tufted pansy, or viola, as it is still 
 foolishly called, that has coloured and scented the 
 gardens of England during recent years, flooding 
 flower-beds in park and private pleasure grounds with 
 colour from early summer until autumn. 
 
 When we write of the tufted pansy the great work 
 of Dr. Stuart of Chirnside is recalled, and this is 
 referred to in the chapters concerning the flowers he 
 cherished and so successfully crossed to gain new and 
 beautiful forms. But much of the present popularity 
 of the tufted pansy is due to Mr. William Robinson. 
 His unstinted praise of Dr. Stuart's work and en- 
 
PREFACE vii 
 
 couragement to all who have sought to improve the 
 habit and extend the colouring of the tufted pansy, 
 have strongly influenced the growing appreciation of 
 a beautiful hardy flower. 
 
 Many others have been filled with the same desire, 
 and we may especially mention Mr, D. B. Crane, 
 whose writings are well known, Mr. Sydenham of 
 Tamworth, Messrs. Dicksons of Edinburgh, Messrs. 
 Cheal of Crawley, and the Scotch firms already re- 
 ferred to. 
 
 Another interesting and welcome introduction is 
 the large-flowered sweet violet, which is the subject 
 of a special chapter. 
 
 The book is comprehensive. There are chapters 
 upon tufted pansies, and pansies of the show and 
 fancy forms, violets in winter, and the wild species. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 The Garden Pansy 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 English Show Pansies 
 
 PAGE 
 I 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Pansies at Shows in Paper Collars . , .22 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 The Tufted Pansy, Commonly Called Viola . 25 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 Violets of Mountain and, Plain . . . -57 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 Sweet Violets 83 
 
 INDEX 99 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Tufted Pansies in Simple Groups 
 
 Heart's-ease 
 
 Tufted Pansy, Devonshire Cream 
 
 „ „ Lavinia .... 
 
 „ „ Melampus 
 
 „ „ C. F. Gordon 
 
 Violet Seeding 
 
 Double White Violet Comte de Brazza 
 Single Violet, The Czar 
 Single Violet, Admiral Avellan 
 Single Violet, Princess of Wales 
 Double Violet, Marie Louise 
 Single Violet, La France . 
 
 Frontisp 
 
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 To face 
 
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SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 The Garden Pansy 
 
 THE majority of garden flowers 
 have reached their present per- 
 fection through years of con- 
 stant and unwearied efforts to improve 
 them in form, colour, and growth. We 
 have seen how the late Dr. Stuart of 
 Chirnside, by his zeal and patience, raised 
 up a new race which we call " tufted " in 
 recognition of the compact and vigorous 
 growth, against the somewhat unruly 
 
 A 
 
2 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 varieties of a previous age. It is always interesting 
 therefore to trace back the first beginnings of those 
 flowers which have been moulded into their present 
 forms by the hand of man, and looking back to the 
 origin of the garden pansy, we find that Lord Gambier 
 and his gardener Thompson began experiments with 
 the Viola tricolor of the fields as early as 1813-14, 
 and at the pretty village of Iver in Buckinghamshire, 
 W. Bridgewater Page of Southampton in his Pro- 
 dromus (18 17) mentions two varieties of V. tricolor, 
 namely, V. t. maculata major (the large Pied Heart's- 
 ease) and V. t. m. minor (the small Pied Heart's-ease), 
 which may be taken as a proof that the improve- 
 ments in the pansy had not up to that time reached 
 the South of England. It must not be supposed that 
 Lord Gambier was alone in taking an interest in the 
 improvements of the Heart's-ease, as mention is made 
 of two ladies who were also interested in the flower, 
 viz., Lady Mary Ben net and Lady Monke ; but it 
 is to Lord Gambier and Thompson that we are in- 
 debted for the first steps towards the perfection that 
 has been since reached. A very interesting and 
 now historical account of the early days of pansy 
 hybridisation is given by Thompson in the Flower 
 Gardener's Library and Floricultural Cabinet, published 
 in 1841. He wrote: "About seven or eight and 
 twenty years ago. Lord Gambier brought me a few 
 roots of the common yellow and white Heart's-ease, 
 which he had gathered in the grounds at Iver, and 
 requested that I would cultivate them. Always eager 
 to please my worthy and ever-to-be-lamented master 
 
THE GARDEN PANSY 3 
 
 I did so, sowed the seed, and found that they im- 
 proved far beyond my most sanguine expectations. 
 In consequence thereof, I collected all the varieties 
 that could be obtained. From Brown of Slough I 
 had the blue ; and from some other person, whose 
 name I do not now recollect, a darker sort, said to 
 have been imported from Russia. These additions 
 wonderfully improved my breeders. But still, though 
 the varieties I soon obtained were multitudinous, their 
 size was almost as diminutive as the originals. Never- 
 theless his lordship was pleased, and thus I was amply 
 rewarded. Up to this period, which was about four 
 years after my commencement, I began imperceptibly 
 to grow pleased with the pursuit, for all who saw my 
 collection declared themselves delighted therewith. 
 I then began to think that some of my sorts were 
 worthy of propagation ; and this circumstance led me 
 to give one, which took his lordship's fancy, a name. 
 This was entitled Lady Gambler, and as I struck 
 cuttings of it, they were given as presents by my 
 worthy employers to their numerous friends and ac- 
 quaintances. The character of this flower was so 
 very similar to that which was afterwards spread 
 about under the name of George the Fourth, that I 
 have no doubt but that variety was a seed therefrom. 
 Who raised it I could never ascertain. This, though 
 in comparison with the worst flower now grown, and 
 many even of the named varieties are still bad enough, 
 would even beside them be reckoned little better than 
 a weed. Still, Lady Gambler was the beauty of her 
 tribe, and won golden opinions from every beholder. 
 
4 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 It was, indeed, in shape little more symmetrical than 
 a child's windmill, but looked in size among the 
 sisterhood like a giant surrounded by dwarfs. But 
 the giant of those days would be a pigmy now, as 
 Lady Gambler herself appeared in comparison with 
 another flower, which I soon after raised and which, 
 on account of what I then considered its monstrous pro- 
 portions, I christened Ajax. This, I then thought, could 
 never be surpassed, and yet in shape it was as lengthy 
 as a horse's head. Still I had worked wonders, and I 
 resolved to persevere. I did so, and was at length 
 rewarded by producing rich colouring, large size, and 
 fine shape. The first large and good-shaped flower 
 that I raised was named Thompson's King. Still up 
 to this period, a dark eye, which is now considered 
 one of the chief requisites in a first-rate flower, had 
 never been seen. Indeed such a feature had never, 
 entered my imagination, nor can I take any merit to 
 myself for originating this peculiar property, for it 
 was entirely the offspring of chance. In looking one 
 morning over a collection of heaths, which had been 
 some time neglected, I was struck, to use a vulgar ex- 
 pression, all of a heap, by seeing what appeared to me 
 a miniature cat's face steadfastly gazing at me. It was 
 the flower of a Heart's-ease, self-sown and hitherto 
 left to waste its beauty far from mortal's eye. I 
 immediately took it up and gave it a local habitation 
 and a name ! This first child of the tribe I called 
 Madora, and from her bosom came the seed which, 
 after various generations, produced Victoria, who in 
 her turn became the mother of many even more 
 
■ HEART' S-EASE: 
 
THE GARDEN PANSY 5 
 
 beautiful than herself. Hitherto in the way of colour 
 nothing new had been introduced ; white, yellow, and 
 blue in their numerous shades seemed to be the only 
 colours which the Heart's-ease was capable of throw- 
 ing out, till about four years since, when I discovered 
 in my seedling-bed a dark-bronze flower, which I 
 immediately marked and baptized Flamium — from 
 which have sprung Tarton, Vivid, and the King of 
 Beauties, which only bloomed this spring, and is 
 decidedly the best flower of its kind that has ever 
 been submitted to public inspection." 
 
 About forty years ago Mr. John Fleming was 
 creating a sensation at Cliveden, Maidenhead, by 
 his huge beds of pansies. He told Mr. Richard 
 Dean that his Cliveden blue was a Russian variety, 
 and in all probability the one to which Thompson 
 alludes. 
 
 Now began a march of progress, and many varieties 
 were in existence in 1830, with new and beautiful 
 colourings, and beginning to approach to show 
 pansies of the future in shape. Apparently the desire 
 of the raisers was to obtain a perfect outline until 
 an almost perfect symmetrical form was gained. The 
 show pansy was regarded as one of the most in- 
 teresting of " florists' " flowers from the forties until 
 the early eighties, and are seen also at the present 
 day. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 ENGLISH SHOW PANSIES 
 Characteristics and Properties 
 
 THE varieties forming this section of cultivated 
 pansies are divided into three main divisions, viz., 
 yellow grounds, in which the ground colour is of 
 some shade of yellow, pale or deep, and uniform in 
 tint on the three lower segments or petals of the flower ; 
 white grounds, in which the ground is white or delicate 
 creamy white, and similarly uniform in tints on the 
 three lower segments ; and selfs, that is, self-coloured 
 flowers, such as white, cream, primrose, yellow, dark, 
 which may be of any uniform tint, from dark mul- 
 berry, claret, glossy black, and blue. 
 
 The marginal colours of the yellow ground flowers 
 vary from those which have white grounds. As- 
 sociated with yellow grounds are found shades of 
 bronze-crimson, puce, mulberry claret, and shades 
 of dark crimson. In the case of the white grounds, 
 the most esteemed marginal colours and shades are 
 blue, violet, and purple. There is no hard and fast 
 line drawn as to the particular shade, but from the 
 florist's point of view it is of great importance that 
 the marginal colour be of the same shade in the 
 two top petals and round the edges of the three 
 
 6 
 
ENGLISH SHOW PANSIES 7 
 
 lower ones in both the yellow and the white ground 
 varieties, and in the case of the last-named portion 
 of the flower, namely, the lower petals, the margin, 
 or "belting," as it is technically termed, should be 
 uniform in width, whether broad or narrow, without 
 pencillings or tongues breaking into the ground 
 colour. The dense solid blotch round the eye has 
 been the result of many years' selection, and it is 
 rightly held to be an important cardinal point in a 
 perfect flower. It should be uniform in tint, dense, . 
 well-defined, and especially without any sharp tongues 
 of colour running out from it and striking into the 
 ground. The eye, in which so much of the life and 
 expression of the flower centres, should be yellow 
 or orange, well-defined, and rayless. 
 
 The self pansy, of whatever tint of colour, should 
 be uniform throughout and unshaded, the eye as 
 perfect as possible, and the blotch dense and as 
 destitute of rays shooting out from it as one can 
 get it. The denser the blotch so much greater the 
 contrast between it and the surrounding colour. 
 
 Of great importance is the texture of the flower ; 
 it should be stout, and possess that attractive glossi- 
 ness which imparts so much finish. 
 
 Mr. R. Dean, in an article in The Garden, Oct. 11, 
 1902, " A Plea for the English Pansy," says : " Few 
 comparatively in the south now cultivate the English 
 pansies — the yellowgrounds, white grounds, and selfs. 
 There is a certain refinement about them of a very 
 attractive character. There is a winsomeness about 
 the refined white and yellow grounds which appeals 
 
8 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 to all who value the florist's quality in flowers. . . . 
 There is a persistency in many of them that I miss 
 in some of the newer Violas. 
 
 " The show pansy, in regard to raising new varieties 
 and cultivating them, is essentially a northern flower, 
 and it is always well when a collection is secured 
 for the south to have the plants from a northern 
 locality. If planted in the autumn the bed should 
 be a rich loam, with some grit mixed with it, and 
 the bed should be raised four inches above the ground 
 level to allow of drainage when drenching autumn 
 and winter rains fall. A few sprays of fir placed 
 on the windward side of the bed will be found a 
 great protection from wintry and March winds. 
 The finest blooms are obtained from well-established 
 plants put out in autumn. If it is advisable to hold 
 over the plants and plant out in spring it is well to 
 pot and winter them in a cold frame, planting them 
 out in March, and disturbing the roots as little as 
 possible. The cultivation of pansies in pots to secure 
 fine exhibition blooms, and also for show as pot 
 plants, was much followed fifty years ago, but is 
 now practically a lost art, and yet it is a process which 
 tests the skill of the cultivator to the utmost. 
 
 "... Red spider and aphides are troublesome at 
 times, and especially in periods of drought and 
 drying winds. The plants should be kept growing 
 as vigorously as possible, and a favourite insecticide 
 with some of the Scotch florists is Taddy's snuff, 
 which they sprinkle on the affected shoots. Mildew 
 is often very destructive to the pansy tribe, and 
 
ENGLISH SHOW PANSIES 9 
 
 sulphur, in the form of a fine powder thoroughly 
 dissolved in water and applied by means of a syringe, 
 is found a good remedy, though some apply the 
 powder in a dry state. 
 
 "... How very difficult it is to get a perfect flower 
 among seedlings is well known to those who raise them, 
 and it is this fact which accounts for the slow increase 
 of the named show varieties. I am bound to say that of 
 the named varieties I cultivate they are, on the whole, 
 of compact growth, free blooming, and continuous, 
 and last autumn, after the fancy pansies and Violas 
 had ceased blooming, the show pansies carried on the 
 floral succession to a much later period. A selection 
 of the best English show pansies will be found as 
 follows : — 
 
 " Yellow grounds. — James Craik, John Kirkwood, 
 Robert Strang, Busby Beauty, Dr. J. K. Campbell; 
 P. C. D. Boswell, and R. M. Wenley. 
 
 " White grounds. — ^Agnes Kay, J. McLellan, Jessie 
 Thomson, Mrs. Brown, Mrs. M. Stewart, and Mary 
 Steward. 
 
 '^ Dark selfs. — Leslie Melville, A. Lewis, Dr. Inch, 
 and William Fulton. 
 
 " White selfs. — Annie Muir, Bobby Harper, Busby 
 White, and Mrs. Gladstone. 
 
 "Primrose and cream, selfs. — Annie D. Lister, Mrs. 
 W. D. Crosbie, Allan Primrose, John Kidd, and May 
 Stewart. 
 
 " Yellow selfs. — John Henderson (extra fine), James 
 Bell, Busby Yellow, Maggie Milne, and Mrs. John 
 Hunter." 
 
lo SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 Planting out to Bloom 
 
 It was the practice of the old cultivators of the pansy 
 to plant out their seedlings in beds about four feet in 
 width and of convenient length. The ground was deeply 
 dug and well manured two or three weeks at least 
 previously. Four or five rows of plants were placed 
 lengthwise, with the tufts six to nine inches apart in 
 the rows according to their size. It is well to plant 
 thickly if inferior varieties are to be taken out as they 
 flower. As the pansy enjoys a firm root-run the soil 
 should be pressed about the roots and the plants put 
 in fairly deep. When the bed is planted a sprinkling 
 with water overhead through a rose watering-pot will 
 be found necessary, and frequent sprinklings should 
 be given when the weather is warm and dry. When 
 once established and watered at the root when 
 required the plants will quickly flower. Nothing 
 imparts such zest to gardening as watching a bed 
 of seedlings for the opening flowers. Inferior forms 
 must be expected, and there is always a tendency in 
 the pansy, as in many other flowers, to revert to 
 inferior characters. But although disappointments 
 will come, there are certain to be pleasant floral 
 surprises in the way of highly promising novelties. 
 
 The Fancy Pansy 
 
 Mr. R. Dean, an excellent florist, who knows as much 
 about show flowers as almost any living authority, con- 
 tributes to The Garden of July 5, 1902, a most interesting 
 and instructive article about the " Development of the 
 
ENGLISH SHOW PANSIES ii 
 
 Fancy Pansy " which we reproduce. He says: '"What 
 beautiful pansies ! ' was the general remark made by 
 visitors as they contemplated the fine varieties staged 
 in such highly developed character by Messrs. Dobbie 
 and Co., florists, Rothesay, at the Temple show. The 
 term ' fancy ' was applied many years ago to flowers 
 charming in themselves which could not be brought 
 into line with the yellow grounds, the white grounds, 
 and the self-coloured show varieties, which are all of 
 English production, flowers very beautiful in them- 
 selves and well worth of attention, but amenable to 
 certain properties set forth many years ago and 
 continued to the present day. They are so refined 
 and so distinct from the fancy type ; they are gener- 
 ally of vigorous growth and remarkably free-blooming, 
 so that it is not to be wondered at that they should be 
 rising in popular favour, though the large, gorgeously 
 blotched fancy varieties still dominate the gardens. 
 As they are not restricted as to character by a 
 schedule of arbitrary properties which govern the 
 English show varieties, anything which can lay claim 
 to form, size, stoutness of texture, and brilliancy of 
 marking, can be comprehended in the fancy section. 
 . . . The casual visitor, as might be expected, exhibits 
 floral ecstasies over the large fancy flowers, but as one 
 inheriting the floral traditions of half a century ago, 
 the refined show varieties have the greatest attractions 
 for me. 
 
 "The first beginnings of the fancy pansy date back 
 to the thirties, when so much was being done in 
 the direction of improving the English varieties. 
 
12 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 Among the many seedlings raised came a number 
 of striped and blotched flowers, actually nonde- 
 scripts, judged according to the grounds upon which 
 pansies were then being selected, and these found 
 favour with some. One man who took a deep 
 interest in them was the late Mr, John Salter, of 
 chrysanthemum renown, then an amateur residing 
 at Shepherd's Bush, and he raised seedlings and 
 improved them in every possible way. In 1843 he 
 went to Versailles, France, and established himself 
 in business there, naming and sending out fancy 
 pansies as well as other leading florists' flowers. 
 In 1848 the outbreak of the French Revolution, 
 which led to the abdication of the Orleans family, 
 caused him to leave France, and he came over 
 to England and established himself in business at 
 Hammersmith, and founded the Versailles Nursery, 
 retaining a good deal of his foreign connection, and 
 he grew and distributed his fancy pansies and other 
 flowers. I think it is probable that in the early 
 fifties some of these found their way into the hands 
 of M. Miellez, Lille, for about 1858 this gentleman 
 sent over to England — to Messrs. E. G. Henderson 
 and Son, then at the Wellington Road Nursery, St. 
 John's Wood (the site of which is now a portion 
 of Lord's Cricket Ground) — a batch of greatly im- 
 proved fancy pansies, and this firm, doubtful of 
 their ability to do them justice within the range of 
 London fogs and smoke, sent them to -my brother, 
 William Dean, then in business at the Bradford 
 Nursery, Shipley, Yorkshire, and in that cool and 
 
ENGLISH SHOW PANSIES 13 
 
 moist part of the country they were quite at home 
 and grew freely. As I spent one-half of 1859 and 
 the same of i860 at Shipley, I had something to do 
 with the culture and propagation of this very fine 
 and distinct strain. They were seeded from new 
 varieties raised and distributed, and, though the older 
 school of florists frowned upon them, they made 
 steady headway, especially in Scotland. Messrs. 
 Downie, Laird, & Laing went in strongly for their 
 culture, and they also raised and distributed many 
 fine varieties. I think it is possible that before M. 
 Miellez had sent his strain to this country, the late 
 Mr. John Downie was at work along much the same 
 lines as John Salter, and a variety named Dandie 
 Dinmont was one of the most distinguished of Mr. 
 Downie's productions. The point to which we have 
 now reached in the improvement of the flowers was 
 seen in the very fine varieties at the Temple show, 
 the productions of several raisers. It is not, there- 
 fore, to be wondered at that these gorgeous fancy 
 pansies are so much grown for market purposes. 
 They are found on the stalls of the hawkers, and 
 find a ready sale in the streets." 
 
 Mr, Dean then gives a selection of the finest 
 varieties shown by Messrs. Dobbie & Co. at the 
 show referred to ; they are as follows : — 
 
 Jeanie R. Kerr. — Brown, violet blotches ; upper 
 petals yellow, edged with white. A variety of very 
 fine quality. 
 
 Jeanie B. Smith. — A very fine pure white self, with 
 large dark central blotches. 
 
14 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 John Myles. — Laced with crimson and edged with 
 rosy white ; upper petals bright crimson, tinged rosy 
 white. 
 
 Mary Travis. — Laced creamy white, clear-cut crim- 
 son blotches ; top petals purple and white. 
 
 Mavourneen. — Dense violet blotches, edged with 
 brown and magenta ; upper petals lemon with purple 
 pencilling and heavily banded with magenta ; large 
 and stout. 
 
 Miss A. Brown Douglas. — A magnificent pansy, 
 dense black blotches, edged with rosy crimson and 
 white ; top petals magenta. A very large and per- 
 fectly formed flower, quite constant in character. 
 
 Mr. Charles Stirling. — A large deep yellow self, 
 with clean-cut circular black blotches. Blooms of 
 great size and perfect form. 
 
 Mr. B, Wellbourne. — Large clear brown - black 
 blotches, laced with primrose ; the upper of a bluish 
 drab. A very fine and striking flower. 
 
 Robert C. Allan. — Dense plum blotches, edged 
 crimson and sometimes white ; upper petals crimson, 
 tipped with white ; large and stout. 
 
 Robert White. — Glossy black blotches, laced with 
 bright yellow; the upper petals of the same colour; 
 a large and very fine yellow self. 
 
 Tom Waiters. — One of the very best; the dense 
 glossy blotches purple on a red ground, the red 
 showing in a glowing circle round the blotches; 
 the lacing rich yellow ; top petals banded with 
 bright maroon, shot with red. 
 
 Wm. H. Clarke. — Large glossy black blotches, laced 
 
ENGLISH SHOW PANSIES 15 
 
 with rich yellow; top petals yellow, banded with 
 apricot. 
 
 William Maxwell. — Large circular blue blotches, 
 edged white, and rose on all petals alike. A very 
 fine and constant variety. 
 
 W. P. A. Smyth. — Immense bluish purple blotches, 
 edged pale yellow and tinged pinky rose ; upper 
 petals veined with bright purple and yellow. A per- 
 fectly formed flower. 
 
 Mr. Dean adds : " There are a large number of 
 varieties in cultivation, probably approaching two 
 hundred, as most growers in the trade send out 
 new varieties. The foregoing select collection is 
 chosen quite irrespective of the raisers, and because 
 they were exhibited in the finest character." 
 
 Properties of the Fancy Pansy 
 
 Few of the properties of the show pansy apply to 
 those of the fancy division. Mr. Alexander Lister, of 
 Rothesay, puts as necessary qualifications that " the 
 colours in fancy pansies may, in the top petals, run 
 into each other, and invariably do. The blotches should 
 be dense and solid, the margins of the under petals 
 should be regular and distinct, as also the margins of 
 the two side petals of the flower. The margins 
 of the three petals should all meet and form, as it 
 were, three parts of a circle. In size the flowers 
 should not be less than one and three-quarters of an 
 inch in diameter." There are very fine and striking 
 self flowers among the fancy pansies, and some 
 possess varied combinations of colours and shades : 
 
i6 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 in the case of a first-class fancy pansy the flower 
 should be of good shape and stout in texture. Some 
 of the most attractive are of the type of Colonel M. R. 
 G. Buchanan. This variety has a well-defined and 
 distinct band of white as a margin to the lower petals 
 which makes it highly attractive. The flowers are best 
 displayed when the growth is fairly short and tufted. 
 Some very fine varieties are apt to throw out long 
 rambling shoots, which give the plant a loose and 
 untidy look. Many of the newer varieties show 
 improvement in this respect. All the fancy varieties 
 are of stronger and freer growth than many of the 
 English show pansies. 
 
 Raising Seedling Pansies 
 
 No one variety of pansy, English or fancy, can be 
 depended upon to exactly reproduce itself from seed. 
 There may appear among the seedlings some that 
 approach the type, but some are certain to be inferior. 
 It is only, however, by raising seedlings that new 
 varieties can be obtained. Seed should, therefore, 
 only be taken from the finest varieties. The primary 
 object in raising seedlings is not merely to provide a 
 quantity of plants — though there might be occasions 
 when a lot of stock is desirable — but to obtain new and 
 improved forms. The seed-pods which droop from the 
 stem as soon as the petals of the flower are shed, 
 gradually straighten out as they mature till in a line 
 with the stem, when they begin to turn brown. Careful 
 watching is necessary, as the capsule will burst with 
 the sun's warmth and the seed grains get dispersed. 
 
ENGLISH SHOW PANSIES 17 
 
 The pods when gathered can be placed, for the sake 
 of safety, in a paper bag, and when thoroughly ripe 
 and of a ruddy brown colour the seeds can be sepa- 
 rated from the pods for sowing. The finest blooms 
 generally appear in May and June, and it is well to 
 make these the seed-bearers as far as possible. Many 
 of the finest flowers will not set seeds. The higher 
 the quality in the bloom, the less seed-producers are 
 there among them. The old florists would not allow 
 a plant to carry more than two or three pods of seeds, 
 and they would occasionally resort to artificial im- 
 pregnation to encourage such production : they 
 sowed their seed as soon as they could obtain it, and 
 in this way provided a succession of blooms, but any 
 seed they gathered after September they kept until 
 the spring following before they sowed it. 
 
 Time is gained by sowing the seed as soon as ripe, 
 say in August or September, but it can be kept until the 
 following February. The usual practice is to sow in 
 early spring in earthenware pans, or in wooden boxes 
 three to four inches deep, placing moss or pieces of 
 fibry turf at the bottom, and over this some coarse 
 soil. Fill up with finely sifted compost made up of 
 a good soft loam, turf mould, and sand mixed 
 together, filling the boxes almost to the brim. Then 
 gently press the surface level and scatter the seeds 
 thinly over it, adding a slight covering of fine sandy 
 compost. 
 
 If quick germination is required the box or pan 
 may be placed in a warm house, or if that is not 
 available, in a frame in which the box can be raised 
 
 B 
 
i8 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 up so as to be quite near the glass. Add some 
 covering to the frame in frosty weather. In the 
 absence of heat it would be wise to defer sowing until 
 the beginning of March, when there is increased 
 solar heat to assist germination. A slight surface 
 sprinkling of water must be given as required. 
 Pricking off is the next process, as soon as the seed- 
 lings have their second or third pair of leaves, and this 
 can be done into another box or pan, or into a well- 
 prepared bed, in a cold frame. Place the seedlings in 
 rows two to three inches apart, according to the size 
 of the plants, and place almost as far apart in the 
 lines. 
 
 When pricked out, sprinkle them gently and keep 
 the young plants close for a time. A slight bottom 
 heat is of great service at this stage, as it promotes 
 increased growth and therefore size. As soon as 
 growth gets active give air freely, and the boxes may 
 be placed in the open upon an ash bottom. This 
 would harden the growth and prepare the plants for 
 transference to the open ground to flower. 
 
 It is the custom of some raisers to make a second 
 sowing in July in much the same way. When the 
 seedlings are of sufficient size prick them out in a 
 prepared bed in a cold frame until April, when they 
 may be transferred to the open garden. This is a 
 course recommended to those who may not have the 
 means of using artificial warmth in which to raise 
 seedlings early in the year, and it might be possible 
 to sow seeds saved the same season from plants which 
 bloomed early. 
 
ENGLISH SHOW PANSIES 19 
 
 Propagation by Cuttings 
 
 It is possible to strike pansy cuttings at any 
 time of the year, but those taken in October will 
 root best in a greenhouse from which frost can 
 be excluded. Cuttings strike readily enough in 
 spring and in autumn, but not so well during the 
 summer unless they are closely watched. At what- 
 ever time cuttings are put in, they should be taken 
 only from varieties that it is desirable to preserve and 
 from healthy plants. The best cuttings are made 
 from the short, sturdy growths sent tip from the 
 plants at their base, but cuttings can be got some- 
 times from the points of the long outside shoots 
 when there has been little else to give a supply. 
 For autumn, winter, and spring striking the greatest 
 success is secured when the cuttings are placed in 
 pots in a sandy compost, which, with the cutting, is 
 pressed firmly against the sides of the pot. The pots 
 should be well drained, and failing a greenhouse in 
 which to place them, they can be stood in a cold 
 frame, and kept shaded from the sun on the one 
 hand, and protected from frost on the other. A 
 raised bed can also be made in a cold frame, and 
 be edged with boards on all sides to have the bed 
 six inches above the ground-level. The cutting-bed 
 can be formed of a compost made of finely sifted 
 garden soil and some grit, and the whole gently 
 pressed down somewhat firmly. The cuttings may 
 be four inches or so in length, cut through just below 
 a joint, and the leaves removed from the two joints 
 
20 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 above it. The bed and cuttings duly prepared, lines 
 can be marked out from back to front. One im- 
 portant point is to have the hole in which the cutting 
 is inserted made just the depth required and no more. 
 Mr. Richard Dean says : " I use a flat-handled dibber, 
 like a cedar pencil, and spread a quarter of an inch 
 of silver sand along the course of each line, some 
 grains of which are carried down to the bottom of 
 the hole. The heel of the cutting rests upon the 
 sand, the soil is gently pressed about it, and all made 
 firm. By making the hole in which the cutting is to 
 be placed deeper than is required a hollow space is 
 left below it, the cutting will either fade or root in- 
 differently, and the prospect of having a good plant 
 is spoiled. The cuttings may be two inches apart in 
 the lines, which should be three inches apart. The 
 bed filled, a good sprinkling may be given through 
 a fine rose watering-pot, the light shut down closely 
 and kept so for a few days, and shading provided as 
 required. In a fortnight the light may be raised a 
 little and some air admitted, and this may be done 
 night and day until there is danger from frost. In 
 this way a most valuable supply of plants may be 
 secured." 
 
 To have sufficient plants for autumn planting a 
 good batch of cuttings should be put in during June 
 or early in July. In the hot and dry districts of the 
 south it is usual to make a cutting-bed at the foot 
 of a shady border which is well drained, and so pre- 
 pared that worms cannot disturb the cuttings. Some 
 means are adopted to protect the cuttings from heavy 
 
ENGLISH SHOW PANSIES 21 
 
 rains and from exposure to the sun at midday, but 
 they should not be shaded closely, as there is a 
 danger of "damping off." Small frames and hand- 
 lights may be used for this purpose. In this way 
 excellent plants can be secured for planting out in 
 the open during the first week in September, and 
 there is this advantage about autumn planting, that 
 the plants put out in the open at that time of the year 
 are seldom affected by what is a very troublesome 
 pest — red spider. 
 
 Propagation by Division 
 
 This way of increase can be resorted to when 
 cuttings are scarce or when only a few plants 
 are required. During summer and early autumn 
 the plants throw up young growths from the 
 roots, more or less in quantity, and if they are 
 given an occasional top-dressing of fine soil the 
 young growths root into it, and by early autumn 
 division can take place. The plants so obtained, if 
 sufficiently rooted, may go out into the open or be 
 pricked off into prepared beds in a cold frame for 
 planting out in spring. In some of the colder districts 
 of the north, where pansies in the open suffer severely 
 from frost, storm, and wintry winds, it is customary to 
 lift the plants, divide them, and plant them out in a 
 frame to preserve the stock during the winter. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 PANSIES AT SHOWS IN PAPER COLLARS 
 
 PANSY shows are not the terrifying spectacles of 
 a former age, although there is something to be 
 said for the old-school florist who loved regularity 
 of form and flower-marking, but the petals in their 
 paper collars were grotesque. Such exhibitions 
 conveyed one lesson — " how not to show pansies." 
 It is interesting to notice in Wood and Garden, 
 p, 243, Miss Jekyll's opinion of a strange and un- 
 beautiful custom, which we well know applies also 
 to carnations and picotees in the present day. Miss 
 Jekyll writes : " Shows of carnations and pansies, 
 where the older rules prevail, are . . . misleading, 
 where the single flowers are arranged in a flat circle 
 of paper. As with the chrysanthemum, every sort 
 of trickery is allowed in arranging the petals of the 
 carnation blooms : petals are pulled out or stuck in, 
 and they are twisted about, and groomed and combed, 
 and manipulated with special tools — ' dressed,' as the 
 show-word has it — dressed so elaborately that the 
 dressing only stops short of applying actual paint and 
 perfumery. Already in the case of carnations a better 
 influence is being felt, and at the London shows there 
 are now classes for border carnations set up in long- 
 
PANSIES IN PAPER COLLARS 23 
 
 stalked bunches just as they grow. It is only like 
 this that their value as out-door plants can be tested j 
 for many of the show sorts have miserably weak stalks, 
 and a very poor, lanky habit of growth. 
 
 "Then the poor pansies have single blooms laid flat 
 on white papers, and are only approved if they will 
 lie quite flat and show an outline of a perfect circle. 
 All that is most beautiful in a Pansy, the wing-like 
 curves, the waved or slightly fluted radiations, the 
 scarcely perceptible undulation of surface that dis- 
 plays to perfection the admirable delicacy of velvety 
 texture ; all the little tender tricks and ways that make 
 the Pansy one of the best-loved of garden flowers ; 
 all this overlooked, and not only passively overlooked, 
 but overtly contemned. The show-pansy judge ap- 
 pears to have no eye, or brain, or heart, but to have 
 in their place a pair of compasses with which to 
 describe a circle ! All idea of garden delight seems 
 to be excluded, as this kind of judging appeals to 
 no recognition of beauty for beauty's sake, but to 
 hard systems of measurement and rigid arrangement 
 and computation that one would think more appli- 
 cable to astronomy or geometry than to any matter 
 relating to horticulture. 
 
 " I do most strongly urge that beauty of the highest 
 class should be the aim, and not anything of the 
 nature of fashion or ' fancy,' and that every effort 
 should be made towards the raising rather than the 
 lowering of the standard of taste. 
 
 " The Societies which exist throughout the country 
 are well organised ; many have existed for a great 
 
24 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 number of years ; they are the local sources of horti- 
 cultural education, to which large circles of people 
 naturally look for guidance ; and though they produce 
 — especially at the Rose shows — quantities of beauti- 
 ful things, it cannot but be perceived by all who have 
 had the benefit of some refinement of education, that 
 in very many cases they either deliberately teach, or 
 at any rate allow to be seen with their sanction, what 
 cannot fail to be debasing to public taste." 
 
 Surely there is no reason why the " show " pansy as 
 well as the tufted varieties should not be shown in 
 little bowls or some simple receptacle that will keep 
 the flowers fresh and preserve both their colouring 
 and form. 
 
TUFTED 
 PANSY 
 
 DEVONSHIRE 
 CREAM. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE TUFTED PANSY, COMMONLY CALLED 
 VIOLA 
 
 WE cannot give a better definition of " tufted 
 pansy" than that in The Garden of i6th January 
 1892, at a time when this beautiful race was 
 having some influence on English gardening. The 
 note is as follows : " These are hybrids of pansies and 
 alpine violets. The term ' tufted ' has been very pro- 
 perly used to distinguish plants of a spreading habit, 
 like pinks, aubrietia, and alpine violets, from plants with 
 single erect stems like, say, the stock, lupine, and aster. 
 Sometimes the two forms of habit occur in the same 
 family ; for instance, there are violas that are tufted 
 and violas that are not — the German, French, and 
 other pansies in our gardens do not spread at the 
 root as the tufted pansies do. Plants of this ' tufted ' 
 habit are often a mass of delicate rootlets even above 
 the ground, so that they are easily increased. Hence 
 when older pansies die after flowering, those crossed 
 with the alpine species remain like true perennials, 
 and are easily increased. The term ' pansies ' is a 
 good one in all ways. Without an English name, we 
 shall always have confusion with the Latin name for 
 the name of wild species. To all of these belongs 
 the old Latin name of the genus Viola. It is now 
 
26 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 agreed by botanists that all cross-bred garden plants 
 — including tufted pansies, of course — should have 
 popular English not Latin names. ' Bedding violas ' 
 is a vulgar compound of bad English and bad Latin ; 
 whereas ' tufted pansies ' is a good English name 
 with a clear meaning." 
 
 Tufted Pansies in the Flower Garden 
 
 Since the late Dr. Stuart began his beautiful work 
 referred to elsewhere of raising tufted pansies the list 
 of varieties has increased enormously, but happily it 
 is possible to make a small selection to suit all gardens. 
 It is only the enthusiast in one particular flower that 
 requires every variety that has been cultivated set out 
 in rows in the garden, a sort of living history of the 
 plant he delights to honour. Tufted pansies or violas, 
 as some persist in calling them, have come to stay. 
 They are, as many declare, "indispensable" in the 
 garden, and may be grouped in various ways, some- 
 times with roses, in beds by themselves, among shrubs, 
 or as margins to borders. As pansies are frequently 
 recommended for grouping with roses it may be 
 helpful to point out the colours that may be associated 
 without fear of harsh contrasts. Roses with flowers 
 of clear pink colouring like Captain Christy, or palest 
 pink as in Viscountess Folkestone, must be associated 
 with white pansies, or only the daintiest of the pale 
 lavender shades. With white roses may go any pale 
 yellow, lilac, purple, or blue pansies ; with red roses, 
 such as the Duke of Edinburgh, put yellow or white 
 
TUFTED PANSY LAVINIA. 
 
THE TUFTED PANSY 27 
 
 pansies ; and with pale yellow roses, white, yellow, or 
 any Hlac or purple pansies. 
 
 The salmon-red and salmon-pink roses (some of 
 them are the most beautiful in themselves) are the 
 ones least suited for association with pansies, though 
 white and the very palest yellow pansies will go well 
 with almost any flowers. 
 
 In spring all flowers are so welcome that one is 
 glad to have beds of pansies, though as a rule they are 
 better for use as edgings, not formal edgings, but 
 informal, in-and-out edgings to beds and borders of 
 other shrubs or plants. Unlike the greater number 
 of our garden flowers which gain by association and 
 massing, in the case of the pansy each little face-like 
 flower is in itself so daring and interesting that one 
 wishes to treat them as individuals rather than as 
 atoms in a conglomerate. That is why, though they 
 can also be used as colour-masses, it is desirable to 
 have them in edgings. They are also delightful in a 
 Dutch kind of garden, where they would lie in long 
 narrow beds that would hold not more than three 
 rows of plants. We once planted in a bed of azaleas 
 the variety Blue Gown. The soil was surfaced with 
 these far into the autumn, and the bed was con- 
 sidered the prettiest in the garden. 
 
 A matter for rejoicing is that the tufted pansies 
 flower so well in the South of England. One reason 
 of the Scotchman's success in growing the florists' 
 pansies was the cool bracing climate, which is exactly 
 what the pansy desires, hence the reason that the 
 tufted varieties are a greater success in the north 
 
28 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 than even in the south. This, of course, suggests 
 that the cooler and shadier spots in the garden 
 are the most comforting to the pansies, but they 
 flower well even in full exposure to the sun, as we 
 have proved in the Thames valley, where pansies 
 have been planted in a warm forecourt garden with 
 the happiest results, except that the flowers are 
 more quickly over. Under these conditions it is wise 
 to pick the flowers before they have approached 
 the seeding stage, to throw all the plants' energies 
 into developing a sturdy or "stocky" growth, to use 
 a gardener's word, and stocky does mean something 
 very strong and stubby, able to give flowers from late 
 spring until autumn. 
 
 Propagation 
 
 Few plants are more easily propagated than the 
 tufted pansy. The cuttings may be struck at almost 
 any time during the autumn and winter when plants 
 are required to go out in spring. When the plants are 
 desired in spring strike the cuttings in September and 
 early October, and even later when the weather is 
 suitable. Propagation may even be done during a 
 mild winter, such as the one we have just passed 
 through. In the case of cuttings for spring planting 
 the beds should be made up in the warmer parts of 
 the garden, as full advantage must be taken of the 
 sun's influence during the duller months of the year. 
 When there is a choice of all aspects, choose one 
 facing south or south-west, and place round the 
 cutting-bed a rough framework of 8-inch or lo-inch 
 
THE TUFTED PANSY 
 
 29 
 
 boards, which will serve as a protection against strong 
 
 winds, which are frequently more harmful than frosts. 
 
 The bed for the cuttings must be carefully pre- 
 
 COABSE, HOLLOW-STEMMED GROWTH 
 
 (Useless for propagation) 
 
 GOOD TYPE OF CUTTING 
 
 (Should be cut through just below 
 a joint) 
 
 pared. Dig the ordinary soil of the garden deeply, 
 break it up well, and spread over it to a depth of six 
 inches to eight inches a compost made up of equal 
 parts of loam, turf mould, and spent mushroom bed 
 
30 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 manure. Add to this mixture another equal part of 
 coarse silver sand or road grit, and thoroughly mix 
 the preparation. Then pass the heap through a sieve 
 with a half-inch mesh, and afterwards spread it evenly 
 over the allotted space. Make the soil fairly firm with 
 boards or the back of a spade, and an hour or two 
 
 A FAIRLY GOOD CUTTING 
 
 DETACHED ROOTED SUCKER 
 
 before the cuttings are inserted thoroughly water the 
 bed with what is known as a fine-rosed can. We may 
 remark that " Haws' patent " is unequalled as a water- 
 ing-can. It distributes the water evenly, and without 
 running away or causing channels on the surface of 
 the soil. The holes in the rose are so small that the 
 water is distributed in the form of a spray, and such 
 a "rose" may be used to freshen the cuttings or 
 
THE TUFTED PANSY 31 
 
 plants in the evening of a hot summer day. It is of 
 the utmost importance to make a careful selection 
 of cuttings. They must be shoots of recent growth, 
 and not coarse and hollow stems, and their length 
 from two inches to three inches. Remove the two 
 lower leaves, and cut straight across immediately be- 
 
 CUTTING PROPERLY TRIMMED AND 
 READY FOR INSERTION 
 
 THE BEST CUTTING 
 
 low a joint, using a very sharp knife for the purpose. 
 If, when removing the cuttings from the old shoots, 
 any of them can be detached with small roots ad- 
 hering to them, so much the better. 
 
 The man is wise who propagates his pansies with 
 some system. Each variety should be dealt with 
 separately. First get the desired number of cuttings, 
 insert and label them clearly, and then proceed to 
 
32 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 the next variety. Put the cuttings in rows, and first 
 place at the head of the row the label with the name 
 of the kind and date of propagation. The rows may 
 be kept straight by the use of a narrow and straight 
 strip of wood, and dibble the cuttings in two inches 
 apart in the rows, press the soil firmly at the base, 
 and thus avoid what the gardener describes as hang- 
 ing, which simply means that the cuttings do not 
 rest on a basis of soil, but "hang," so to speak, in 
 the hole made by the dibble. When the soil is well 
 pressed at the base of the cutting this is avoided. 
 When the cuttings " hang " they usually die. The 
 distance between the rows should be two and a half 
 inches to three inches, according to the variety. 
 When the whole of the cuttings are inserted, water 
 them well with the fine-rosed can. Cuttings inserted 
 in autumn will naturally require a longer season for 
 rooting than those put in during spring, but generally 
 they will be quite sufficiently rooted to carry the 
 young plants through the winter with little risk of 
 failure. As a rule in about three weeks or a month 
 the cuttings will have rooted. 
 
 Many pansy growers strongly advocate the use of 
 cold frames, and we have propagated many thousands 
 in rough frames sheltered from north and east winds. 
 Pansies, however, it must ever be remembered, are 
 quite hardy, and therefore need no protection. So 
 easily are they increased that it is sometimes possible 
 to obtain all the cuttings required without cutting back 
 the plants or interfering with the flower display during 
 summer and autumn. When opportunities occur. 
 
THE TUFTED PANSY 33 
 
 detach young growths from the crowns of the plants. 
 When these are removed with care the flower display 
 will not be interfered with, and this operation may be 
 repeated until a sufficient quantity of cuttings of each 
 kind has been inserted. Those with small gardens, 
 as in the case of the suburbs of large cities, may 
 easily raise a few plants in wooden boxes three inches 
 or four inches deep, or strike the cuttings in pots. 
 Place them in quite a cool position and under a 
 south or south-west wall if propagation is done late 
 in the year. 
 
 When autumn planting is adopted, and perhaps 
 this is the better way of the two, take the cuttings in 
 July and insert them in a cool corner, say a north or 
 east aspect, anywhere away from the full force of 
 the sun. Such cuttings will be quite ready for trans- 
 ferring to the places they are to adorn in the follow- 
 ing autumn and bloom early, before those struck in 
 autumn and planted out in early March. There are 
 therefore two distinct seasons for planting, early 
 autumn and March, and it is seldom that failure can 
 be recorded. We planted last year (1902) tufted 
 pansies as late as May, and as buyers of plants are 
 aware the tufts were very small and poor owing to 
 the demand upon the stock, but with a little coaxing 
 and mulch they quickly got established. By the 
 summer they were in full bloom, and by the autumn 
 had met each other so as to form an almost solid sur- 
 face of flowers. The writer has propagated thousands 
 of pansies, and an invariable rule was to go over the 
 beds in summer and remove, with a few roots attached, 
 
 c 
 
34 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 the strong flowerless growths which were dibbled in 
 a cool border. The pansies were in a border by 
 themselves, and as a large number of varieties were 
 grown, they formed an interesting study during the 
 summer months. We are writing now of several 
 years ago when Vto/a cornuta, which has played so 
 large a part in the improvement of the pansy, and the 
 almost ever blooming and cheery blue-bell, which 
 still remains a flower of much garden importance, were 
 the favourites. 
 
 Tufted pansies are delightful flowers for the small 
 garden, and in many a cottage patch make little groups 
 of colour, bright and welcome from the time of the 
 wallflower until the Michaelmas daisy is a sea of purple 
 and blue. As children we remember the quaint 
 heart's-ease, big flowers that seemed to smile in the 
 sunlight, and sometimes to make grimaces as if to 
 show their dislike to our interference. But there is 
 a charm in the heart's-ease of the gardens of old, and a 
 fascination in the colour painting, sometimes dabbed 
 on the petals without restraint, and sometimes dis- 
 tributed with almost mathematical regularity. A 
 packet of seed will give a large variety, and it is 
 interesting to watch the seedlings opening their 
 flowers, as we in eager anticipation look for some 
 novelty that will excite the admiration of our friends. 
 
 Raising Seedlings. — Tufted pansies may be easily 
 raised from seed, and this is a fascinating pursuit, for 
 the good reason we know not what prize a packet may 
 contain. Those who have mastered the rudiments 
 of ordinary pansy raising will probably attempt to 
 
THE TUFTED PANSY 35 
 
 hybridise certain varieties or species, and there is 
 much to accomplish in this direction, species that ap- 
 parently suggest possible new groups never yet having 
 received attention. This is not, however, a matter 
 that comes within the scope of this treatise. It is for 
 the individual to work out his or her own methods, 
 and by diligence and perseverance to attain the object 
 in view. The hybridist should always work with a 
 certain purpose, thinking out the probable results 
 from crossing two species, and in this way achieving 
 a break away from existing types. Haphazard cross- 
 ing seldom results in flower prizes, although, of 
 course, not a few of the finest flowers of to-day 
 have been chance seedlings, crossings effected by the 
 agency of birds or wind. 
 
 Of first importance is to purchase seed collected 
 from the finest varieties. If there are no prizes 
 amongst the seedlings, it is interesting to see the great 
 differences in colour, and the flowers may be used for 
 cutting or to give to friends. As the years roll on 
 it becomes more and more difficult to raise new and 
 beautiful pansies, through the field having been well 
 occupied by previous generations, and that is the 
 reason for leaving beaten tracks and choosing species 
 that have been hitherto unused as parents in the 
 work of hybridisation. The seed may be sown as 
 soon as ripe, and if very choice and the garden is 
 small, it is wise to sow in shallow boxes, slightly 
 drained and filled with light soil. Over the layer of 
 crocks in the bottom put in a little flaky turf mould, 
 and fill up with any light compost, such as would 
 
36 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 result from mixing together loam, turf mould, and sharp 
 silver sand. The seed may also be sown outdoors 
 in a shady part of the garden, but no matter which 
 way is decided upon, cover it with the finer particles 
 of the compost, and when of a size convenient to 
 handle, prick out the seedlings in October into a 
 well-prepared bed. When this is done flowers will 
 appear in the following spring. When spring sowing 
 is decided upon artificial warmth is necessary, and 
 shallow boxes must be used for the purpose, the 
 seedlings being then transferred to other boxes, and 
 finally into the positions they are to adorn. 
 
 An Appreciation of the Tufted Pansy 
 
 One of our best horticulturists writes as follows 
 about the tufted pansy: " It is a question whether in the 
 whole range of hardy plants used for the decoration 
 of the flower garden we have a more useful or more 
 beautiful plant than the tufted pansy (viola). For 
 long blooming (if treated previously in the way of 
 right cultivation), it gives a return in length of time 
 it is in bloom and in the quantity of flowers it pro- 
 duces, sufficient to satisfy even the most avaricious 
 in this respect. Coming into bloom early in April, 
 it continues to flower in abundance to the end of 
 summer. In varieties and in shades of colour the 
 pansy is the most generous of plants. You may have 
 it in all shades of blue, from the darkest to the 
 lightest of mauve, from the richest of yellows in 
 graduated shades to the softest of primrose. In a 
 
TUFTED 
 
 PANSY 
 
 MELAMPUS. 
 
THE TUFTED PANSY 37 
 
 small way it can be had in crimson and purple, and 
 with regard to white, it can be had in all shades, from 
 cream to snow-white, while it is deliciously sweet, 
 and of free and easy growth. Its dwarf habit limits 
 its use in the garden to those positions in the fore- 
 front of flower borders or shrubberies, where it will 
 be found invaluable in broad bands or lines of colour 
 as a margin next to the turf. Where distinct colour 
 effect in beds on grass is desired, planted in bold 
 masses in this way no flower that I know of can give 
 a more pleasing or beautiful effect, certainly not in 
 blue, yellow, or white colours. As a plant for carpet- 
 ing beds, as a base for taller things to spring out of, 
 it is indispensable, and to plant in combination with 
 silver -variegated geraniums the effect is lovely. I 
 remember one season it was planted in this way on 
 the East Terrace garden at Windsor Castle. The 
 varieties were bright-star silver-variegated geranium 
 and pansy bluebell. The effect was most pleasing, 
 and no beds in the garden that season were so much 
 admired. The foregoing are only a few of the posi- 
 tions the pansy will adorn. Many others will suggest 
 themselves. From the middle of September to the 
 middle of October is the best time to propagate, and 
 the best way is by cuttings and divisions. Cuttings 
 should not be taken from flowering shoots. They 
 will not give the same return in the number of flowers 
 which results from small cuttings emanating from the 
 centre of the plants, and if these are not to be had in 
 plenty from plants in the beds, a few should be planted 
 in the reserve garden, and kept especially for propa- 
 
38 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 gating. All the flowering growths should be cut off 
 early in August, when an abundance of sturdy cuttings 
 will result, and be available at propagating time in 
 September. 
 
 It is also grown from seed, but the varieties cannot 
 be depended upon to come true to name and colour 
 in this way. The seed should be sown in April on 
 light, well prepared soil, with a west or east aspect. 
 The young seedlings will be large enough to transplant 
 in June, about ten inches apart. The position selected 
 should be north or north-east, as the young plants will 
 succeed better during summer in partial shade than 
 when fully exposed to the sun. The yoimg seedlings 
 will be ready for planting in their permanent quarters 
 any time during autumn or the following spring. By 
 sowing the seed in beds under glass early in March 
 plants may be had ready to go out in May, from 
 which a fine show may be obtained the same 
 summer. 
 
 No doubt the tufted pansy succeeds better in the 
 cooler and moister atmosphere of the north than in 
 the south. At the same time with a little special 
 attention it succeeds admirably in southern counties. 
 This special attention consists in planting in well 
 manured and well cultivated soil, which must not be 
 too light, and the manure should be short, well 
 decayed, and fairly rich. A free application of water 
 in dry weather and timely attention in picking off dead 
 blooms to prevent seeding, and lastly a light mulching 
 of short manure and road scrapings in equal pro- 
 portions applied at the time of planting. To secure 
 
TUFTED PANSY MRS. C. F. GORDON. 
 
THE TUFTED PANSY 39 
 
 the best results in propagating the cuttings should be 
 inserted in cold pits or frames at distances of about 
 two inches apart, so that a small frame will hold a 
 large number of plants. They are quite hardy, but 
 better results are obtained with this slight protection 
 during winter, and in the case of severe frost they 
 should be covered over with some protecting material. 
 Of varieties there are far too many. I have found 
 the following excellent for bedding : White, Blanche, 
 creamy white ; Seagull, pure white, rayless ; White 
 Beauty, one of the best for bedding ; yellow, Ardwell 
 Gem, Bullion, and Nellie Riding ; blue, A. W. Parker, 
 light ; Councillor Waters, dark ; Abbess, light ; and 
 Duncan, dark mauve. Of crimson bedding pansies 
 the best is Firefly. 
 
 Pansies as Cut Flowers 
 
 Miss Jekyll, in " Wood and Garden," p. 57, writes : 
 "... There are Pansies, delightful things in a room, 
 but they should be cut in whole bunches of leafy stem 
 and flower and bud. At first the growths are short 
 and only suit shallow dishes, but as the season goes 
 on they grow longer and bolder, and graduate first 
 into bowls and then into upright glasses. I think 
 Pansies are always best without mixture of other 
 flowers, and in separate colours, or only in such 
 varied tints as make harmonies of one class of colour 
 at a time." At many of the summer shows prizes 
 are now offered for tufted pansies, and the result is 
 a very pretty display, the flowers embracing a variety 
 of beautiful shades. Small bowls filled with flowers 
 
40 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 of one colour are a relief from hot-house blossoms ; 
 and the faint fragrance of the pansy is agreeable, a 
 fresh, wholesome smell, without the almost disagree- 
 able sweetness of the violet. Cutting the flowers of 
 the pansy is a blessing. It prevents seed-pods forming, 
 for the good gardener knows that once a plant is 
 allowed to bear the double burden of flower and 
 seed producing it becomes weakened and eventually 
 gives up the task as beyond its powers. A well-known 
 gardener writes: ''Those who have not used these 
 flowers for cutting have lost sight of one of their best 
 virtues. When cut they are not often used in pri- 
 vate gardens. They have little or no value when the 
 flowers are picked off singly, all the natural beauty 
 of the flower is lost. But when the shoots with 
 flower and foliage are cut of sufficient length they are 
 very beautiful. ... I grow them in self-colours prin- 
 cipally, as these are far more effective. Recently I 
 noticed some vases and big bowls in a drawing-room. 
 There was a fringe of greenery outside the bowl. The 
 pansies were cut with long stems and arranged lightly, 
 one colour in each receptacle. Although there were 
 cut flowers of many kinds, both from stoves and the 
 open garden, there was nothing to equal the tufted 
 pansies. In low glasses arranged with a little light 
 greenery, one colour in each, I find them most useful 
 for placing on the dinner-table. Another recommen- 
 dation is the time they last. I have had them stand 
 in a vase from ten to twelve days by giving them 
 fresh water occasionally. They will stand a week 
 and even look well in a warm room." Another lover 
 
THE TUFTED PANSY 41 
 
 of tufted pansies for dinner-table decoration writes : 
 " Very rarely are tufted pansies used for dinner-table 
 decoration, and yet few flowers compare with them 
 for use in this way. Shallow bowls should be used, 
 and the dainty little hand-baskets now frequently seen 
 may be also filled with the flowers. These baskets are 
 usually fitted with shallow metal or earthenware basins, 
 which should be filled with green moss, and a further 
 supply of water added. In these the flowers may be 
 simply and prettily arranged. They need not be 
 regularly arranged, and their arrangement is very 
 easy, without any wire support. If each receptacle 
 is partially filled with green moss as suggested, the 
 flower stems may be stuck into it, and only the 
 foliage of the pansy should be used. It is wise to 
 put the foliage in the receptacles first, as this makes 
 the arrangement of the flowers more effective. Some 
 may prefer to use other foliage. When this is the 
 case, the bright green fronds of the Davallia and 
 Maidenhair in variety but of the lightest shade of 
 green, are useful. Some of the rayless tufted pansies 
 are seen to advantage when used for this purpose, and 
 on one occasion the result was most happy, yellow 
 'associated with soft cream. Another pretty arrange- 
 ment would be that of different shades of yellow. 
 In this way primrose, pale yellow, clear yellow, rich 
 and deep yellow, would be harmonious. The con- 
 trast of the pale green foliage with these flowers 
 would also be most effective. I have seen an arrange- 
 ment of yellow pansies in which the flowers of a 
 fine blue variety were associated. Under artificial 
 
42 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 light these colourings were very effective. It is 
 always best to use the self-coloured flowers for this 
 purpose." 
 
 Pansies in Summer 
 
 Much depends upon the character of the summer 
 whether pansies will flower persistently or dry up 
 during a period of hot and dry weather. Artificial 
 watering is seldom helpful, as the pansy requires 
 a moist atmosphere as well as a cool soil about the 
 roots. During the hottest summers, however, much 
 may be done to alleviate conditions distressing to the 
 plants by sprinkling them with water in the evening 
 and by mulchings. It is in July that the plants seem 
 to succumb, the flowers gradually becoming smaller, 
 and shrivelling before they have half expanded. The 
 pansy appreciates moisture so much that when damp 
 weather occurs after days of hot sun it begins to pick 
 up immediately, untilit is once again in normal con- 
 dition, flowering as profusely as in the days of May and 
 June. As we have previously mentioned, the summer 
 work amongst pansies consists also in removing spent 
 flowers and seed-pods in process of formation. 
 
 Treatment of Pansies received by Post 
 
 Although pansies are as vigorous as the majority 
 of hardy plants, it is needful to give them every en- 
 couragement if a sturdy growth is desired, and it is 
 only those varieties of the true tufted habit that flower 
 more or less continuously from April until autumn. 
 As many receive their plants through the post, it may 
 
THE TUFTED PANSY 43 
 
 be useful to remember that, as there is generally little 
 or no soil at the roots, timely attention to a few 
 details will be necessary. When shrivelled, stand 
 the packets in flower-pots with, of course, the leaves 
 uppermost, and sprinkle with water. This, and a 
 place in a shady corner, has the effect of quickly 
 restoring the tufts to a fresh and healthy condition. 
 
 Violets and Tufted Pansy in Rock and Wall 
 
 The species of viola, that is, the violets from the 
 mountain and plain, are available for rock or wall 
 garden, always remembering the advice, repeatedly 
 given, that full sun is not congenial to the little 
 flowers. It is also possible to grow pansies in the 
 wall, especially the sweet-smelling Violetta type, which 
 are as small and as pretty as the alpine species, and 
 grow perfectly in cool shady niches between stones. 
 The violets add a fresh joy to rock gardening, and, 
 though apparently not plants for such positions, are 
 quite happy in mossy chinks. Ariel, Blue Cloud, 
 Blue Gown, and those of quite compact growth 
 should be chosen. We have seen also the large 
 single violets of the type of Princess of Wales and 
 Calfornia grown in well-built wall gardens with 
 success, although they were out of place amidst 
 the Arenarias, Arabis, and the hundred little jewels 
 which gem the wall surface. We well remember 
 a pergola walk, or, as it is described in "Wall and 
 Water Gardens," a half-sunk garden passage, lead- 
 ing on a gentle uphill slope from house to stables. 
 
44 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 "The walls are of blocks of stone with Wide joints, 
 all laid a little sloping back, so that the whole face 
 of the two walls lies back. The wall was planted, 
 both as it was built, and afterwards, with quantities 
 of spring-flowering plants — Arabis, Aubrietias, Violets, 
 Pinks, Cerastiums, and others of early bloom. The 
 crowning pergola, on which grow vines only (late- 
 leafing in England), does not over-shade the early 
 flowers when they are in bloom, while later it rather 
 gives them comfort by sheltering them from the 
 summer sun-heat. The path is paved with flags so 
 that it neither wants weeding nor repair from being 
 washed out, whilst the very easiest sweeping keeps 
 it clean." We simply quote this to show that the 
 species of violet and the tufted pansies, especially the 
 pretty miniature flowered type represented by violetta, 
 may be planted upon walls. Writing of flowers for 
 walls the author says : " By always thinking and try- 
 ing and combining ideas, the plainest wall can, in a 
 couple of years, be so pleasantly transformed that 
 it is turned into a thing of flowery beauty. There 
 is no wall with exposure so hot or so cold that has 
 not a plant waiting for just the conditions that it has 
 to offer, and there will be no well-directed attempt 
 to convert mural ugliness into beauty whose result 
 will not be an encouragement to go on and do still 
 better." 
 
 Pansies in Town and Suburban Gardens 
 The pansy is an excellent town or suburban flower. 
 The writer has enjoyed in quite a small garden not 
 
THE TUFTED PANSY 45 
 
 many miles from Charing Cross many beds of these 
 flowers, and this in a south aspect and enclosed by 
 fences, a sun trap in which the Alstroemerias delight 
 and the pansies flag. It is astonishing, however, the 
 good result which comes from painstaking endeavours 
 to give the plants the necessary requirements. Early 
 in the morning the plants are well watered, and dead 
 and decaying flowers are scrupulously removed, and 
 seed-pods also, and the soil is stirred up occasionally 
 to enable the water given to well moisten the roots. 
 After a hot and dry day the bed is gently syringed, 
 slugs are trapped, and in this way the pansies last 
 until the end of summer. We find that much good 
 comes from cutting away long and straggling shoots, 
 which are generally pithy and flowerless. A bed of 
 seedlings is a rare delight in a town garden, but some- 
 times and generally we think it is necessary to have 
 varieties of a certain colour to fit in with some design. 
 Where a shady border exists, not absolutely sunless 
 but in which day lilies, primroses, Spanish scillas, and 
 other shade-loving plants flourish, we should plant 
 pansies, running them in and out of other things and 
 not setting them out as a hard and formal edging. 
 The tufts will remain from year to year, the only 
 alteration necessary being in the spring, when the prac- 
 tice of the writer is to cut off all straggling growths 
 and leave the crown of the plant to break into fresh 
 and unfettered shoots. 
 
 A Small Selection of Tufted Pansies 
 Beginners in gardening, or those who wish for only 
 a few varieties, are frequently puzzled when a long 
 
46 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 list of acknowledged favourites is presented for their 
 choice. There is a small multitude of tufted pansies, 
 all of considerable merit, but it is a certainly perplex- 
 ing task to choose the finest from this dense throng. 
 We have chosen the rayless types or pure selfs as 
 more effective for bedding than those with streaks 
 radiating from the centre of the flower, and have not 
 forgotten that exquisite class known as the miniature 
 flowered, which the late Dr. Stuart of Chirnside origi- 
 nated. We well remember the beautiful little flowers 
 he was wont to send to The Garden office, flowers 
 with the fragrance of the violet of the field, and so 
 dainty that we used the plants for the rock and wall 
 garden and to dibble in between the old flagstone 
 paving in pergola and forecourt. The best 
 
 Twelve Rayless Pansies 
 are the following. There may be differences of 
 opinion about the list, but each variety recommended 
 has been thoroughly proved, and is among the most 
 popular flowers of the garden. Taking the twelve 
 selected in alphabetical order, the first is 
 
 Blanche, which is also known as White Empress. 
 Mr. Crane, writing in The Garden of February 7, 1903, 
 says : " There is considerable doubt as to which is the 
 proper name, and the same variety is frequently met 
 with as often under one name as the other. The 
 flowers are large, of good form and substance, and 
 the colour may be described as pale creamy white, 
 with a yellow eye. Good habit, robust growth, and 
 free flowering." 
 
THE TUFTED PANSY 47 
 
 Blue Gown. — A lovely variety and more planted 
 perhaps than any other. Dr. Stuart never raised a 
 prettier or more popular pansy than this, and we 
 have planted it largely in conspicuous beds in the 
 flower garden. The growth of the plant is quite 
 tufted, no straggling, bloomless stems, but neat and 
 compact. The flowers are pale blue with a shade of 
 mauve in it, and the eye or centre is yellow. 
 
 Devonshire Cream. — This is a great favourite and 
 happily named, the colouring suggesting the famous 
 cream of the south. The plant is of excellent habit 
 of growth, and the well-shaped flowers in the full 
 blossoming season almost hide it. It blooms freely 
 over a long season. 
 
 Florizel. — A beautiful rayless pansy, with oval-shaped 
 flowers of a colour best described as blush-lilac. The 
 growth is kept well within bounds, and the flowers 
 appear in profusion. 
 
 La Vierge. — ^A pretty flower of rounded form and 
 rayless. The plant blooms with great freedom, and 
 the white petals seem whiter still against the neat 
 yellow eye. 
 
 Leda. — Many admire this pretty pansy. Its flowers 
 are edged, that is, there is a margin of colour to the 
 petals, in this case delicate purplish blue against 
 creamy white. 
 
 King of the Blues. — Mr. Crane, who has had much 
 experience with tufted pansies, says: "There is no 
 better blue pansy in cultivation than this. The flowers 
 are not large, and grow out freely. The colour is deep 
 blue with yellow eye; good compact habit. Un- 
 
48 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 fortunately the stock is difficult to obtain, so few 
 specialists possessing it." 
 
 Melampus. — The flower of this variety is almost 
 circular, and its deep yellow colouring is pretty. 
 Each bloom is borne well above the compact and 
 robust growth upon a sturdy stem. 
 
 Pembroke. — Few rayless yellow-flowered pansies are 
 better than this. We have planted it largely, and admire 
 the colour, so pure and clear. This is deeper upon the 
 lower petal than upon the upper one. Its growth is 
 almost too vigorous, and apt to get coarse as summer 
 advances. 
 
 Queenie. — ^Thiswasverycharmingwithuslastsummer. 
 It is a pretty name for a pretty flower which has a 
 ground of creamy white, and is edged and streaked 
 with lavender. We planted it near some bay trees, 
 and the result was a bright picture of colour through 
 the summer months. It has the true tufted growth of 
 its race, and the flowers stand well up. Late in the year 
 its colouring gets confused, but even with its altered 
 complexion it is winsome. 
 
 Rosea Pallida. — ^This is a well-known pansy for the 
 flower garden, with rose-like flowers. The growth is 
 very dwarf and compact. 
 
 Sweet Lavender. — A lavender-coloured self, with 
 flowers of good shape, and produced in profusion from 
 early spring until late in the year. It is not quite so 
 tufted in growth as some, but the flowers are so pure 
 in colour that we can forgive a somewhat unruly 
 habit. 
 
THE TUFTED PANSY 49 
 
 Miniature-Flowered Rayless Pansies 
 
 These are of greater use in the rock and wall garden 
 or for putting between flagstones than those already 
 mentioned. They are quite alpine flowers, so to say, 
 with small fragrant flowers of dainty colouring. The 
 most precious of all is 
 
 Violetta, which was raised by Dr. Stuart. It is the 
 foundation of the group, and still remains one of the 
 most popular. The flowers are very fragrant, i J inches 
 to \\ inches across, and have long stems, and the 
 growth is quite compact. 
 
 Forget-me-not. — A very dainty flower, rayless and 
 white with an edge of bluish lavender. The plant 
 grows and flowers profusely, and its growth is perfect. 
 
 Pigmy. — This variety should be valued as a margin 
 to a large bed or border. Its growth is free, and the 
 flowers appear profusely and persistently, while their 
 deep purplish colouring and yellow eye are clear and 
 distinct. 
 
 Robin. — A very distinct pansy, dwarf and compact, 
 and having flowers of rosy colouring. It blooms for 
 many months. 
 
 Tw^elve Rayed Pansies. 
 
 A rayed pansy is not exactly a self in the same way 
 as such varieties as Blue Gown, for the good reason the 
 flower has rays in the centre, that is, lines of colour 
 coming from the centre. Of these one of the best 
 known is 
 
 Ardwell Gem. — This is one of the most popular 
 
 D 
 
50 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 pansies in existence. It is planted largely in parks and 
 pleasure grounds, and last year we considered it one 
 of the best of the yellow pansies. It has not deterior- 
 ated in the least, notwithstanding that it is one of the 
 oldest pansies in English gardens. It is interesting to 
 refer to a copy of the report of the Viola Conference 
 of 1894, held at the Botanical Gardens, Edgbaston, 
 Birmingham, in August of that year. On that occasion, 
 as the results of the votes of those present, Ardwell 
 Gem was placed first in order of merit under the head- 
 ing of those of a pale yellow colour. Two years later, 
 at the trial of violas at the Royal Botanic Gardens, 
 Regent's Park, this variety, with a limited number of 
 others, was awarded high marks and was again placed 
 in the premier position among bedding varieties. It 
 seems to stand drought better than others, and con- 
 tinues to flower late in the season. Owing to its 
 creeping growth it quickly covers the ground, and the 
 flowers stand well above the foliage. There are few 
 parks and open spaces in which it is not planted in 
 brave masses. 
 
 Bullion. — This is also a rich yellow pansy, with 
 heavy pencilling or rays early in the season. Although 
 its appearance is somewhat frail, it is really a strong 
 and compact grower, very free and bright during 
 the summer months. 
 
 Councillor IV. Waters. — A crimson-purple flower 
 and very free, excellent habit of growth, robust ; 
 continues long in bloom, 
 
 William Neil is a well-known variety, with pale 
 rosy- pink flowers. 
 
THE TUFTED PANSY 51 
 
 Maggie has also flowers of a rose-pink shade. It 
 blossoms profusely ; the flowers open deep rose, but 
 get clearer with age. 
 
 Mrs. A. H. Beadles.— Fure white. 
 
 Endymion. — Soft yellow ; very vigorous. 
 
 /. B. Riding. — Deep mauve. 
 
 Kitty Bell. — Lavender, with a bluish shade in it. 
 
 Stephen. — Deep yellow. 
 
 True Blue. — Imperial blue. 
 
 Lord Salisbury. — Soft primrose. 
 
 Margined Flowers 
 
 These are very pretty, but our experience is that 
 the colouring runs towards the end of the summer or 
 before, and the clear and true markings become 
 indistinct and blurred. Perhaps the most popular 
 of this group are : — 
 
 Blue Cloud. — A delicately coloured flower, margined 
 with a bluish shade, the other portiori of the petals 
 soft yellow. 
 
 Border Witch has an edging of blue ; it is a ray- 
 less variety with a yellow eye, and in cool summers 
 flowers freely over a long season ; but when the 
 weather is hot and dry, the colour goes until little 
 of the marginal colouring is visible. 
 
 Duchess of Fife is another well-known edged flower ; 
 the principal colouring is primrose, set off with a 
 margin of blue. 
 
 Mrs. C. F. Gordon is alternately blotched with 
 purple-violet and white. 
 
52 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 Acme is purple-crimson, a warm and effective 
 shade. 
 
 Cottage Maid. — Blotched with violet and white. 
 
 Stobhill Gem. — Of this the lower petals are violet 
 and the upper ones bluish-white. 
 
 Lark is white with a margin of blue. 
 
 Mrs. H. J. Jones. — Blue shading on white ground. 
 
 Older Varieties. — All the pansies we have mentioned 
 possess strong claims, otherwise they would not have 
 been included in this list ; but in spite of the tre- 
 mendous progress that has been made of late years in 
 acquiring new varieties of tufted growth and beautiful 
 flower colouring, a few of the older pansies should not 
 be ignored. The dark-blue Archie Grant, grown in 
 large quantities for the markets, is still popular. Its 
 growth is not perfect, but the flowers are of wonder- 
 ful colouring, an intense purple, and in the full 
 summer time the whole plant seems blue with the 
 wealth of flowers. Ardwell Gem has been already 
 praised, and we still plant it largely for its brave show 
 of rich yellow, and among the white varieties there 
 still remain the beautiful Countess of Hopetoun and 
 Countess of Wharncliffe, the former in particular 
 being frequently sold in the markets. Of lavender- 
 coloured varieties there is Duchess of Sutherland, 
 which is most appreciated for its delicate and pretty 
 colouring, and both Countess of Kintore and The 
 Mearns 'must be included. The former has purple 
 and white flowers, and in the latter they are of a 
 warm purple shade ; but in the South of England these 
 colours are apt to run or in a way disappear — the air 
 
THE TUFTED PANSY 53 
 
 is too dry to preserve their characteristic beauty. 
 Another pansy seen occasionally in gardens and parks 
 is Bluebell, which we well remember as a gay long- 
 flowering pansy in the Chiswick Gardens of the Royal 
 Horticultural Society. It is without the creeping 
 tufted growth of the pansy of to-day, but the pure 
 blue flowers came forth abundantly, and made bright 
 breaks of colour for many weeks. This variety 
 originated in Mr. R. Dean's garden at West Ealing 
 in 1871. Writing of the Chiswick Gardens also re- 
 minds the pansy-lover of Viola cornuta, which Mr. 
 Barron, at that time the superintendent, planted with 
 happy effect as a margin to large beds, and to run in 
 and out of shrubby borders. It is interesting to know 
 that Dr. Stuart, in a note to "The English Flower 
 Garden," says : " Botanically, violets, pansies, and 
 heart's-ease are all the same. Tufted pansies are 
 crosses from the garden pansy and Viola cornuta, the 
 latter being the seed-bearer. Pollen from V. cornuta 
 applied to the pansy produces a common enough 
 form of bedding pansy — never the tufty root-growth 
 obtained when the cross is the other way. I have 
 proved this by actual hand-crossing. Most strains of 
 tufted pansies are bred the wrong way, and in con- 
 sequence lack the fibrous tufty root which makes the 
 Violetta strain perennial." So the English garden is 
 indebted to V. cornuta for much beauty. 
 
 Fertilisation and Seeding of Violets 
 This is an interesting question to many amateurs, 
 and is best explained in the following notes by 
 
54 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 Professor Henslow, taken from The Garden of May i8, 
 1901. It formed one of a series of "Short Studies on 
 Plant Life." Professor Henslow writes : " Hooker 
 in his ' Student's Flora ' recognises seven species of 
 viola, the seventh being the pansy ( V. tricolor), and of 
 the other six the dog (here illustrated) and the wood 
 violet have varieties. 
 
 "Unlike the sweet violet, the dog and the wood 
 violet have no runners, and should be regarded as the 
 same species. This difference is correlated with the 
 fact that the white V. odorata bears its cleisto-gamous ^ 
 buds on the runners below the leaves, the others have 
 them, especially the wood violet, all over the plant. 
 
 " The ordinary flowers, at least of V. odorata, rarely 
 set seed in this country ; but I have known the 
 white violet do so by self-fertilisation. The stigma 
 is strongly curved upwards (as the flower is inverted), 
 so the pollen falls directly on to the stigmatic orifice. 
 The unopened buds, which appear after the usual 
 flowers are over, set an abundance of seed by self- 
 fertilisation. 
 
 " These little buds consist of a calyx usually without 
 any corolla, or at least only rudiments of petals, five 
 perfect stamens, and a pistil. The five anthers are 
 pressed down upon the stigma, and the pollen tubes 
 enter it while the pollen grains remain within the 
 anther cells. These do not open by slits, but the 
 tubes issue by boring through the end of the anther 
 cell, enter the stigma, and so fertilise the ovules within 
 the ovary. 
 
 ' The word " cleistogamous " means concealed unions. 
 
VIOLET SEEDING. 
 
THE TUFTED PANSY 55 
 
 " The presence of cleistogamous buds is not confined 
 to England, for they occur on North American species, 
 so that it must be a very ancient contrivance, estab- 
 Hshed before the genus Viola had differentiated into 
 species and become spread over the world. Climate 
 acts upon these buds, for in warmer regions not only 
 do the ordinary flowers of the violet set seed, as in 
 Italy, but the buds, which are cleistogamous here, 
 often become perfect flowers in South Europe. I 
 collected them, e.g., in Malta. 
 
 " That the perfect flowers of violets, though specially 
 adapted to receive the visits of insects, should fail to 
 set seed is nothing uncommon, the reader has but 
 to think of orchids. By far the majority of these can- 
 not possibly set any seed without the aid of insects. 
 It is the self-fertilising Bee Ophrys and some cleisto- 
 gamous species only which set seed in profusion. The 
 details of adaptation in violets consist of an irregular 
 corolla, the front petal being spurred for collecting 
 the honey secreted by two tail-like appendages to the 
 front stamens, the three posterior stamens having 
 none. The purple petals are ornamented with golden 
 streaks or guides to show the way to the honey. The 
 stigma resembles a bird's beak, so situated as to pick 
 up the pollen deposited on a bee, which has already 
 collected it from a previously visited flower. Yet, 
 for all this elaborate machinery, no result usually 
 follows. The setting of seed is deputed to the self- 
 fertilising buds, which attract no insects whatever. 
 
 " The pansy has no cleistogamous buds, but several 
 varieties with very small, pale-coloured flowers are but 
 
56 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 little attractive and have got over certain difficulties 
 of structure, which exist in the larger flowered kinds, 
 preventing a flower from fertilising itself ; so that the 
 smaller-flowered sorts are able to set plenty of seed, 
 without calling in the aid of insects to help them." 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 VIOLETS OF MOUNTAIN AND PLAIN 
 
 T" 
 
 ^HE violets are the sweetest of 
 alpine flowers ; not the violet 
 of the frame, in single and 
 double varieties that fill the house 
 with fragrance, but the mountain 
 species which delight in the rock 
 or wall garden. As is so well ex- 
 pressed in the " English Flower 
 Garden," p. 805 : " Some Violets are 
 among the most beautiful orna- 
 ments which bedeck the alpine 
 turf ; and even the common 
 Violet itself may almost be 
 claimed as an alpine plant, for 
 it wanders along hedgerow and 
 hillside, along copses and thin 
 woods, all the way to Sweden. 
 From all kinds of Violets the world 
 of wild-flowers derives a precious 
 treasure of beauty and delicate frag- 
 rance ; and no family has given our gardens anything 
 more precious than the numerous races of Pansies 
 and the various kinds of large, showy, sweet-scented 
 Violets. Far above the faint blue carpets of the 
 
58 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 various scentless wild Violets in our woods and 
 heaths, our thickets and bogs, and above the 
 miniature Pansies that find their home among our 
 lowland field-weeds ; far above the larger Pansy-like 
 Violas (varieties of V. lutea), which flower so richly in 
 the mountain pastures of northern England and even 
 on the tops of stone walls ; above the large, free- 
 growing Violets of the American heaths and thickets, 
 we have the true alpine Violets, such as the yellow 
 two-fiowered Violet ( V. biflora), and large blue Violets, 
 such as V. calcarata and V. cornuta. It would be 
 difficult to exaggerate the beauty of these alpine 
 Violets. They grow in a turf of high alpine plants 
 not more than an inch or so in height. The leaves 
 do not show above this densely-matted turf, but the 
 flowers start up, waving everywhere thousands of little 
 banners. Violets are of the easiest culture ; even the 
 highest alpine kinds thrive with little care, and V. 
 cornuta and V. calcarata of the Alps and Pyrenees 
 thrive even more freely than in their native uplands, 
 the foliage and the stems being much stronger. Some 
 of the many stronger varieties of the sweet Violet 
 might be naturalised with advantage. Slow-growing, 
 compact kinds, like the American Bird's-foot Violet, 
 enjoy, from their stature and their comparative slow- 
 ness of growth, a position in the rock garden or in the 
 choice border, and in such a position they are of easy 
 culture in moist sandy soil. Violets of all kinds are 
 easily increased by cuttings from short stout runners." 
 It must be admitted that the violets in general are 
 either unknown or unheeded, and the hybridist seems 
 
VIOLETS OF MOUNTAIN AND PLAIN 59 
 
 to ignore the great possibilities of creating a new race 
 by crossing one or more of the species from the 
 mountains of Europe, perhaps with the effect of 
 obtaining flowers as useful and as beautiful as the 
 violets of our gardens, the Princess of Wales, Marie 
 Louise, and those of that fragrant class. The material 
 is here for some zealous worker to take in hand and 
 give to the gardens of generations to come floral joy 
 and comfort, more so even than from those who have 
 worked diligently in the past. The following are some 
 of the most beautiful species for the rock garden, wall, 
 or border, and they may all be increased by seed, 
 division of the root, or by runners. Some of these 
 may not be obtainable in all English nurseries, but are 
 generally to be got from foreign nurserymen. The 
 species are put into a roughly alphabetical order, and 
 may be therefore readily referred to : — 
 
 F. alpina, Jacq. (Alpine Violet). This is quite a 
 diminutive species, growing on the summits of high 
 mountain ranges in Austria and the Carpathians. It 
 may be recognised by its dark blue flowers with even 
 darker stripes ; the stem is very short, the leaves 
 heart-shaped, on long petioles, and notched. The 
 plant is distinctly tufted. 
 
 V. arenaria, D.C. This pretty violet is found in 
 sandy places, generally in Vallais, Provence, the Alps 
 of Piedmont, and the Caucasus generally. It is distinctly 
 glaucous and somewhat pubescent, the leaves roundly 
 cordate and serrated ; the sepals are oblong lanceo- 
 late, acutely pointed, and the light-blue flowers 
 appear in May and June. 
 
6o SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 V. altaica (Altaian), A showy violet from the 
 Altaian Mountains. It has large yellow flowers of 
 much beauty, and therefore worthy of the attention 
 of both gardener and hybridist. The plant is rather 
 tender and of creeping growth, the leaves oval, stipules 
 cuneate, with sharp teeth. It flowers in April and 
 May. There is a showy variety with large purple 
 flowers called V. a. purpurea, but is sometimes 
 labelled in gardens with the specific name only, but 
 except in the important colour difference the variety is 
 the same as the type. Both are about four inches 
 high. 
 
 V. biflora (Two-flowered Violet). This pretty violet 
 rarely exceeds three to four inches high, and two of 
 the small yellow flowers are produced on each stalk. 
 The root is creeping, stem erect, and the flowers 
 small, yellow, and lined with darker stripes ; the leaves 
 are kidney-shaped, serrated and smooth, while the spur 
 is very short. The roundly oval seeds are brownish 
 in colour and obscurely dotted. This interesting 
 species is freely distributed throughout Europe, 
 Siberia, and the north-west of America, frequently 
 on humid mountains. It flowers in April and May. 
 A note in the " English Flower Garden," p. 806, is as 
 follows : " This bright little violet is a lovely ornament 
 on the Alps, and in many parts it densely clothes every 
 chink between the moist rocks. It even crawls under 
 great boulders and rocks, and lines shallow caves with 
 its fresh verdure and its little golden stars. . . . V. 
 biflora is especially useful in large rock-gardens where 
 rude flights of stone are constructed to give winding 
 
VIOLETS OF MOUNTAIN AND PLAIN 6i 
 
 pathways over the mass. It will run through every 
 chink between the steps, and tend to make the stair 
 replete with life and interest. If obtained in a small 
 or weak condition it may seem difficult to establish, 
 but this is by no means the case ; for, once fairly 
 started in a moist and half-shady spot, it soon begins 
 to creep about rapidly, and may then be readily 
 increased by division. When well established in 
 a suitable rock-garden it is able to take care of 
 itself." 
 
 V. blanda (Nutt). A pretty small-flowered violet, 
 very delicately fragrant, and with white flowers faintly 
 lined with blue. The roots are jointed, and the leaves 
 press close to the ground ; they are somewhat pubes- 
 cent on the under surface, and kidney-shaped. It is a 
 native of wet and boggy meadows from New York to 
 Carolina, and flowers in May and June. Mrs. Danske 
 Dandridge, writing to The Garden in August lo, 1901, 
 about wild violets of Virginia, says : " Most of our 
 American violets lack the great charm of fragrance, 
 but the pretty little V. blanda, with its small flowers, 
 which have blue veined lower and lateral petals, and 
 rounded or reniform crenate leaves, possesses the 
 distinction of a faint, sweet perfume, and is prized on 
 that account by all lovers of wild flowers. It is not 
 uncommon in this neighbourhood (West Virginia), and 
 is easy to naturalise in half shady moist places. One 
 of the earliest to bloom, it likes swampy ground, and 
 does not do very well in a dry situation." 
 
 V. calcarata (Lin.). — ^The spurred violet, as it is called, 
 is very variable and native of high mountain pastures 
 
62 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 from Austria to Provence. The flowers are blue or 
 white, the stem short, the leaves roundly spathiilate, 
 elongated and crenate. The root is fibrous. Of this 
 species there are several recognised varieties, namely, 
 V. c. Halleri, with large blue flowers, and V. c. Bertolonii, 
 which is found in the Apennines. This has large 
 purplish flowers which appear from April to June. 
 The plant is from four to six inches high. To quote 
 the "English Flower Garden," this plant resembles 
 the well-known V. cornuta in flower and spur, but 
 instead of forming leafy tufts, it increases itself by 
 runners under the soil, somewhat after the manner of 
 Campanula pulla. V. calcarata is as charming in the 
 rock garden as in its native wilds. " G. J.," writing in 
 The Garden from Rochers de Naye, Aug. 9, 1902, p. 98, 
 says : " The steep grassy slope that faces the south is 
 thickly studded with the bright deep purple bloom 
 of the scentless Viola calcarata. It has something in 
 common with Viola cornuta, as it has the long spur 
 that is one of the characters of the latter, but this is a 
 plant of the Pyrenees. In this handsome alpine violet 
 the colour sometimes varies to a bright red purple 
 such as one sees in some of the varieties of English 
 iris, but as a rule there is very little variation to the 
 paler shades. The foliage is small and mostly hidden 
 in the grass." 
 
 V. canadensis {lln.). — When seen close to the eye this 
 is a species of dainty beauty ; the flowers are purplish 
 blue on the outside, but white and beautifully veined 
 within. The leaves are ovate cordate and acuminate. 
 It is a native of North America in shady woods, and 
 
VIOLETS OF MOUNTAIN AND PLAIN 63 
 
 is sweet-scented. It grows a foot or more high and 
 flowers in early summer. A pure white variety of it is 
 called V. c. albiflora. Mrs. Dandridge writes : " One 
 of our mountain violets is V. canadensis, which I some- 
 times find on cliffs and rocky heights along the river 
 bank. Some people have claimed fragrance for this 
 species, as well as for Viola blanda, but I have not 
 been able to detect it as it grows here. It is a tall 
 violet, often a foot in height, with leafy stems, the 
 leaves often ovate cordate, but sometimes orbicular, 
 and with finely serrated margins. The flowers are 
 small, only about half an inch broad, and white or 
 nearly so, purplish sometimes on the outside, and 
 veined with purple." 
 
 V. canina (Dog Violet). — This pretty violet of hedge- 
 row and ditch is widely distributed through Europe 
 and North America ; it is also found in Persia, Japan, 
 and other parts. A species so well known to all who 
 have gathered wayside flowers needs no description. 
 The white variety is perhaps more distinctly British 
 than the other. There are many forms. 
 
 V. cenisia (Mt. Cenis Violet). — A pretty dwarf violet 
 freely distributed throughout the Alps of Switzerland, 
 Piedmont, and Provence. It is only three inches or 
 so high, of semi-procumbent growth, and has ovate 
 spathulate and entire leaves. The flowers are blue, 
 and appear in May and June. Distinct varieties of 
 this are V. c. ovalifolia and c. diversifolia. 
 
 V. cornuta (Horned Violet). — Among violets which in 
 the past have played a somewhat prominent part in 
 the adornment of British gardens, this is one of the 
 
64 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 more notable. This is not so true perhaps of the 
 typical plant as of its progeny, and it is still valuable 
 to those who are working on sound lines because of 
 its tufted growth. The plant is fibrous rooted and 
 has pale blue flowers, much longer than those of 
 many species and with awl-shaped sepals. It is six 
 inches high, and flowers from May to July, Native 
 of the Pyrenees and Switzerland, and also on Mount 
 Atlas. Better in moist soils than in dry and warm 
 ones. 
 
 V. cucullata (Hooded-leaved Violet). — This is a valu- 
 able and interesting species, very hardy, with large 
 flowers, and is most happy in wet or half boggy places, 
 where in its North American home it is usually found. 
 It varies, but the form usually seen in gardens has 
 blue flowers, streaked with white, and sometimes almost 
 white at the base. The flowers usually appear in May 
 onwards. It is figured in the Botanical Magazine, t. 
 1795. Some recognised forms are V. c. glaberrima 
 and V. c. hispidula. There is also a form with varie- 
 gated leaves. V. c. laciniata has finely cut foliage, but 
 the flowers are the same as those of the type. Mrs. 
 Dandridge writes ; " If any violet deserves the name 
 of blue, perhaps it is Viola cucullata in some of its 
 many forms. This violet is very abundant in the 
 Eastern States of America, so much so that it is known 
 as the Common Blue Violet. It will flourish in sun or 
 shade, but prefers the latter. Its flowers are finer and 
 their colouring richer in deep and somewhat moist 
 soil than in dry situations, but it is found in wood, 
 marsh, pasture field, and dry uplands, and also near 
 
VIOLETS OF MOUNTAIN AND PLAIN 65 
 
 the sunniest of our mountains, 5000 feet above the 
 level of the sea. It may be known by its large bright 
 green, ovate or sometimes reniform leaves, which push 
 up early in spring, the sides rolled inward when 
 young." And in Miss Jekyll's " Home and Garden " 
 occurs this passage, p. loi : " In one corner of the 
 rock garden are two kinds of Violet, both good and 
 worthy of their place, though both without scent. 
 One is a white Dog- Violet, the white strikingly pure 
 and bright. The leaves are of a very dark green, 
 sometimes with a tinge of blackish bronze : two rather 
 narrow upright petals stand up in a way that always 
 reminds me of a frightened rabbit. The other is the 
 splendid North American Viola cucullata. Its large 
 round flowers, of a strong pure purple colour, nearly 
 an inch and a half across, are on purplish stems from 
 nine inches to a foot long. Where the lower petal 
 leaves the small white eye there is a sharply-distinct 
 veining of still darker purple. The size of the flower 
 is all the more remarkable because it is a true 
 Violet ; there is nothing of the Pansy about it. Pansy 
 and Violet are, of course, closely related, but their 
 characters are quite distinct ; and though, as a rule, 
 Pansy is large and Violet small, yet there are many 
 small true Pansies, and in this case there is one very 
 large Violet." 
 
 V. gracilis (Sibth. and Smith). — This is a slender 
 and graceful violet with creeping roots and rather 
 crowded leaves. The flowers are similar in size to 
 those of V. lutea, and usually of a purplish blue 
 colour, though sometimes yellow. It is a native of 
 
 E 
 
66 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 Mount Etna, and flowers in midsummer. Height 
 about six inches. 
 
 V. hastata (Mich.) (Halberd-leaved Violet). — ^This 
 species may sometimes be recognised by dots or 
 blotches on the leaves, which are halberd-shaped and 
 smooth. The flowers are yellow, with a purplish tinge 
 on the under side. It is found in North America. 
 A variety called V. h. glaberrima is found in the woods 
 and on hills in North Carolina, and flowers in May 
 and June. Height four inches. Mrs. Dandridge 
 writes from West Virginia : " Viola hastata is the 
 halberd-leaved violet, one of our not uncommon 
 yellow violets, often found side by side with Viola 
 rotundifolia on hilly and rocky slopes. The simple 
 erect stem of this viola is sometimes a foot in height, 
 with the stem-leaves high in the air. Sometimes these 
 halberd-shaped leaves are truncate at the base ; some- 
 times the basal leaves are cordate. This species has 
 small yellow flowers, which have the lateral petals 
 bearded." 
 
 V. hederacea (syn. Erpetion reniforme) (Ivy - leaved 
 Violet). — This is one of the most minute species, 
 but none the less interesting for this reason. It 
 must be remembered that the plant occasionally 
 suffers in very severe weather, especially when ex- 
 posed, but with frame protection it is usually content. 
 It is perhaps better known as Erpetion reniforme, and 
 is distinctly tufted in growth, slightly stoloniferous, 
 and with a very short stem. The leaves are crowded, 
 often into a mound-like tuft, or again, where greater 
 freedom obtains, they are more spreading, kidney- 
 
VIOLETS OF MOUNTAIN AND PLAIN 67 
 
 shaped, and roundish. The flowers are blue and 
 white, and poised on frail stems two or three inches 
 long. It is a native of Australia, and sometimes 
 called the "New Holland Violet," being found near 
 Port Jackson. A little gem. 
 
 V. kirta (Hairy Violet). — This is a widely-spread 
 British species, found chiefly in woods and thickets, 
 on chalk and limestone. The flowers are greyish- 
 blue, with dark streaks or lines, and almost scentless. 
 The scapes, which are taller than the leaves, are 
 furnished with two narrow opposite bracts about the 
 centre. In some respects this species resembles 
 V. odorata, but the foliage generally is more tri- 
 angular. There are several varieties, and the plant 
 also varies according to the soil and position in 
 which it is growing. It blooms in April and May, 
 and is four inches to six inches high. 
 
 V. lactea (Milky Violet). — A distinct species found 
 in but not confined to Britain, as it is also seen in 
 Switzerland and France. It is usually discovered 
 in boggy heaths. The flowers are milk-white or 
 pale blue, with purplish streaks, and the two lateral 
 petals are distinctly bearded. The leaves are ovate- 
 lanceolate and blunt, while the lower ones are small 
 and ovate. This has been regarded as the same 
 as V. canina and V. montana, but according to the 
 Kew Hand-list it must have specific rank. It is four 
 inches high, and flowers in May and June. 
 
 V. lanceolata, — Mrs. Dandridge of West Virginia 
 says : " So singular is the appearance of Viola lanceo- 
 lata, the lance-leaved violet, that when it is out of 
 
68 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 bloom it would take an experienced eye to perceive 
 that it is a violet at all. The narrow leaves are 
 sometimes five inches in length, and are slightly 
 crenate. The sepals, too, and the petals to some 
 extent partake of the elongated appearance of the 
 plant. These petals are white and beardless, the 
 lower and lateral ones striped with violet. A slight 
 fragrance is claimed for this species." 
 ' V. lutea (Mountain Violet). — This is also a British 
 species, with fibrous roots and ovate oblong leaves. 
 It is found also in Wales as well as Scotland and 
 England, usually in the north in the latter case, and 
 generally on mountain pastures. The yellow flowers 
 are large, freely lined with black. Its height is four 
 inches, and the flowers appear from May to August. 
 
 V. Montana (Mountain Violet). — ^This species is 
 widely distributed over the temperate parts of Europe 
 and Siberia, particularly Austria and Germany. It 
 grows about twelve inches high and has pale blue 
 flowers, which when first open are of a whitish 
 colour. It flowers from May to July. Two distinct 
 forms are V. m. stricta and V. m. pubescens. 
 
 V. munbyana. — A pretty Spanish violet, four inches 
 to five inches high, with somewhat large violet flowers 
 in April and May. There is a yellow form of this 
 called V. m. lutea. 
 
 V. Nuttalli. — An interesting species, because it is 
 considered the only one found on the plains of the 
 Missouri river. The flowers are yellow and purplish 
 on the inner side, and appear from May to July. Its 
 height is six inches. 
 
VIOLETS OF MOUNTAIN AND PLAIN 69 
 
 V. odorata. — This is the fragrant violet of pasture 
 and hedgerow, and is one of the best-known flowers 
 of the British flora. It is also, however, widely dis- 
 tributed throughout the whole of Europe, and also 
 Siberia and other parts, even to the Himalaya. It 
 quickly increases by its stoloniferous growth, and 
 flowers throughout the spring months. There are 
 many varieties, some scentless, and others double, 
 such as V. pallida plena, which is the famous Neapolitan 
 or Parma violet. It is the origin of the many beautiful 
 double or single violets which are described on p. 95. 
 There is a white form of V. odorata as well as one 
 with reddish flowers, and our advice is to plant them 
 everywhere, as in few places are they unhappy ; it is a 
 "weed," but as "E.V.B." declares, "the most lovely 
 and most native among all the natural weeds of my 
 garden." In a paper contributed by " E.V.B." to the 
 Royal Horticultural Society on the subject of weeds, 
 it is interesting to read the reference to " wild white 
 violets," against which there is no law : " In February 
 and March the whole garden is white with them in 
 every part, and in the grass at the north-east end and 
 under the apple trees you would almost think there 
 had been a hailstorm, so white and thick the white 
 violets lie. But it is only violets and wood straw- 
 berries that may spread and multiply at will like this. 
 Without question the violets are native to the place. 
 Wood strawberries were brought home for remem- 
 brance, from the old grey walls of a little church in 
 Hampshire, about a quarter of a century ago. They 
 seed now everywhere and are welcome ; and they 
 
70 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 forget not the old church walls whence came their 
 parent plant, and will climb joyfully all among the 
 Linaria Cymbalaria, or Mother of Thousands, or 
 Wandering Sailor, to the top of our ivied buttresses 
 6 ft. high and more. A little barren strawberry has 
 been my pet for years. For many years it has lived 
 close under the house wall, creeping up supported by 
 wild ivy, looking very pretty, with an embroidery of 
 humble little blossoms. And only lately have I learnt 
 that it is no strawberry at all, but Potentilla Fragari- 
 astrum." Mrs. Dandridge, writing from Virginia, says : 
 " We prize the English single violets, both white and 
 purple, more than any of our native species, however, 
 both because they are earlier than ours, and because 
 they are so delightfully fragrant, while ours are, with 
 one exception, scentless. The fragile-looking, single 
 white English violet grows wild in our shady grove, 
 and spreads quite freely, even in poor, uncultivated 
 soil. It is perfectly hardy here, and has been natur- 
 alised at Rose Brake for at least thirty years. It 
 blooms with the Forsythia. The ground under some 
 old Forsythia bushes is carpeted with this gentle and 
 charming flower. In other places the purple English 
 violet has formed vigorous colonies. This species 
 Viola odorata, is described in Britton and Brown's 
 ' Illustrated Flora of the Northern States and Canada,' 
 because, though it came originally from England, it 
 has escaped from gardens, and is now naturalised in 
 many places, especially in the Virginias and other 
 long-settled parts of America. Outdoor violets begin 
 to flower here about the first week in April or the last 
 
VIOLETS OF MOUNTAIN AND PLAIN 71 
 
 of March, according to the season, but the native sorts 
 are not much in evidence until May, which is our 
 great violet month." 
 
 V.palmata (L.). — This violet is sometimes confused, 
 we believe, with a variety of V. cucullata known as 
 
 V.palmata or V. c. laciniata. The species is figured 
 in the Bot. Mag., t. 535. There are several forms, but, 
 the true character is a slightly pubescent and much 
 dissected leaf. It is four inches to six inches high, is 
 frequently found in Carolina and Upper Georgia, and 
 blooms in May and June. About this violet Mrs. 
 Dandridge writes : " One of the earliest of all 
 (Virginia) is Viola palmata, which is found in the dry 
 soil of wooded uplands. Its leaves are palmate and 
 its flowers are bright blue-violet in colour. Some 
 older botanists called this a variety of V. cucullata, 
 but it is now considered distinct enough to be classed 
 as a separate species. I do not see much resemblance 
 in this violet to V. cucullata. The flowers are usually 
 smaller, and have not the variety of colouring that 
 distinguishes those of that species. The whole ap- 
 pearance of the plant is distinct. It is pubescent. 
 
 V. cucullata is glabrous. The leaves vary very much 
 in size and shape. Sometimes they have three lance- 
 olate lobes ; sometimes none at all ; sometimes they 
 are cordate, with crenate-dentate margins. No two 
 leaves are cut after the same pattern, a peculiarity 
 which makes this little plant interesting. It is very 
 pretty when it is covered with its charming flowers, 
 which are borne in great profusion. Viola palmata 
 is a good subject for the rock garden in a situa- 
 
72 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 tion partially shaded. It does not need much 
 moisture." 
 
 V.palustris (Marsh Violet). — A well-known British 
 violet, usually found in moist meadows or even bogs, 
 especially in the northern counties ; the leaves are 
 kidney-shaped, and the flowers white or pale lilac and 
 scentless. It blooms from April to June, and is four 
 inches high. 
 
 V. Patrinii. — A very dwarf violet from Siberia, 
 Northern Asia, &c. It is easily known by the petioles 
 being three or four times longer than the leaves ; the 
 flowers are pale blue, and appear in June and July. 
 Height, four inches. 
 
 V. pedata (Bird's-foot Violet).— Mrs. Dandridge, 
 writing from Virginia, says of V. pedata : " Wild violets 
 are always interesting, and some of them are beautiful 
 subjects for the shady rockery and for naturalising in 
 woods and copses. The flora of Virginia is rich in 
 species of viola, and it is no difficult matter to gather 
 six or seven kinds of these pretty flowers in the course 
 of a morning's walk in the immediate neighbourhood 
 of Rose Brake, and, with one exception, all our native 
 species are easy to transplant to the home grounds, 
 where they do well without any special care. Un- 
 fortunately, that exception is the most beautiful of all 
 our native violets, the bi-coloured variety of Vt'ola 
 pedata, which has, so far, resisted all attempts to 
 naturalise it here, though it covers a hillside within a 
 mile of our little village. This hillside is mainly stiff 
 clay on limestone foundation, and here Viola pedata 
 does fairly well. But it is much finer on shady banks 
 
VIOLETS OF MOUNTAIN AND PLAIN 73 
 
 along the roadside, where I have often found it in a 
 very hot, dry, and sunny situation. I have taken it up 
 with all possible care, and, for its comfort, brought 
 home with it a basketful of its favourite shaly, sandy 
 soil. Planting it ih this, on a sunny clay bank, I have 
 had it to live a season or two, but that is all. At other 
 times I have tried to naturalise it in the shade, but 
 with equally disappointing results. This is one of the 
 few species of viola that produce no cleistogamous 
 flowers. Many of the flowers are seedless, and it 
 seems to increase mainly from its rootstock. ' Its 
 premorse root,' says Professor Meehan, 'is nothing 
 but an underground stem, a little trunk, and the real 
 roots, thread-like, proceed from it. This stem makes 
 a new addition to its crown every year, and some of 
 the lower portion dies away, just as in a Gladiolus 
 corm, and this leaves the bottom of the little stem flat, 
 or as if bitten off.' Besides our beautiful wild variety 
 of Viola pedata, of pansy-like appearance, which has 
 the two upper petals of rich purple velvet, and the 
 others pale lavender, there is a pure white variety 
 which I have sometimes seen, and others of different 
 shades of light and dark lavender and mauve." 
 
 The Bird's-foot Violet is one of the most beautiful 
 of all the violets we have received from America. In 
 its native home it is frequently found in sandy and 
 dry hills and in fields, but it is not so generally known 
 that it may be planted in somewhat damp spots, and 
 in soil composed chiefly of peat. Mr. Jenkins says : 
 " I have grown the plant as well in peaty soil as in 
 gritty loam, and I generally find that in any good 
 
74 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 admixture unpoisoned by humus, it is safe enough. 
 I believe I am correct in saying that there are several 
 more or less closely linked allies that have been 
 hitherto regarded as species." Of V. pedata we have 
 at least two distinct forms both in cultivation at the 
 present time. These are known respectively as V. 
 p, bicolor and V. p. alba, and with this type make a 
 trio of pretty garden flowers. V, pedata grows about 
 four inches high or rather more in open lands, and 
 has blue flowers white at the base or nearly so. The 
 leaves are about one inch and a half long, and 
 generally thrice notched at the tip. The variety 
 bicolor has blue and white and alba white flowers. A 
 violet with much the same growth has been described 
 as V. septemloba, and inhabits the same region as V. 
 pedata. This is said to be much stronger and more 
 worthy of the name "pedata "than the plant which 
 bears it ; the flowers are also said to be two inches in 
 diameter, and to come from the pine woods of Georgia 
 and Carolina. Whether a species or variety we should 
 like to make acquaintance with a plant answering to 
 this description ; indeed, a more vigorous V. pedata 
 would be welcomed by many. It flowers in spring as 
 a rule, but is not confined to any one season when the 
 plants are seedlings and flowering for the first time. 
 
 V. pedatifida. — This is much like V. pedata, but the 
 leaves are not alike, and the beautiful blue flowers in 
 this species are bearded, whilst in V. pedata they are 
 quite smooth. It is three inches high, and flowers in 
 May and June. Native country North America. 
 
 V. primulmfolia (Cowslip-leaved). — Mr. Jenkins 
 
VIOLETS OF MOUNTAIN AND PLAIN 75 
 
 writes : " It is not improbable, I believe, that the plant 
 in commerce under this name is the variety V. p. 
 cordata. The flowers of the species are small, white, 
 and veined, the lower petal distinctly so with dark 
 purple. The leaves are rather smooth and somewhat 
 cordate at the base. In the variety cordata the flowers 
 are blue and sweet-scented, and the sepals twice the 
 length of the leaves. The type inhabits wet or humid 
 spots, and is found in Virginia, Carolina, &c." 
 
 V. pubescens (Downy Violet). — A well-named and 
 distinct species with yellow flowers. The leaves are 
 covered with a soft down, and the stems somewhat 
 decumbent. This species is abundant in North 
 America in shady woods and on limestone rocks, 
 especially about Philadelphia. It is four inches high, 
 and flowers about midsummer. This species is either 
 not in cultivation at present or is very rare. Mrs. 
 Dandridge writes : " Viola pubescens, the hairy yellow 
 violet, is easily distinguished from V. hastata by the 
 pubescence of the entire plant, while the latter is quite 
 smooth. It is also distinguished by the reniform shape 
 of the leaves, which are much wider than they are long. 
 The stout, erect, usually solitary stem is crowned with 
 a bright yellow nodding flower, the veins of which are 
 purple. This is one of our prettiest yellow violets." 
 
 V. rothomagensis (Rouen Violet). — A pretty and 
 interesting violet with branched and diffuse zigzag 
 stems, and generally ovate leaves, but the lower ones 
 are somewhat cordate and fringed. The tubular spur 
 is very short and blunt, and the flowers bright blue, 
 with the side petals and lip striped with • black. In 
 
76 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 some ways this reminds one of V. tricolor. V. rotko- 
 magensis blooms profusely from April to July, and is 
 found in cretaceous rocks and in fields from Rouen 
 to Melba ; height about six inches. 
 
 V. sagittata (Arrow-leaved Violet). — A distinct species 
 owing to the well-marked leaves, which are arrow- 
 shaped, as suggested by the name, and sometimes 
 slightly pubescent. The flowers are blue, the lower 
 petal whitish near the tip, and veined with purple ; 
 it is found on dry hills from New England to Virginia. 
 A variety, V. s. emarginata, from New Jersey, has deep 
 blue flowers. Height six inches, and flowering time 
 from April to July. Mrs. Dandridge writes : " V. 
 sagittata is an early flowering purple violet with leaves 
 of a deep green, which are sometimes sagittate, but 
 which vary very much. Sometimes they are ovate, 
 sometimes oblong, sometimes lanceolate, cordate or 
 truncate at the base, and crenate-dentate, or some- 
 times nearly entire as to the margins. The flowers 
 resemble those of V. aicuUata, and are usually dark 
 bluish purple. They may be distinguished from those 
 of V. cucullata by the fact that the flower stalks are 
 longer than the leaf stems, so that V. sagittata 
 carries its blossoms well above the leafage, while the 
 opposite is usually the case in V. cucullata, whose 
 leaf stems are longer than its flower stalks. The 
 darker colour of the leaves is another guide in [dis- 
 criminating between this species and the common 
 blue violet." 
 
 V. sarmentosa. — A pretty blue-flowered violet from 
 North-Western America and other parts. The plant is 
 
VIOLETS OF MOUNTAIN AND PLAIN 77 
 
 of procumbent growth, hairy, and the leaves roundish ; 
 the peduncles or flower stems are shorter than the 
 leaves. The flowers are blue, with a short obtuse spur, 
 and appear in May and June ; height four inches. 
 
 V. striata (Striped Violet). — This is not a happy 
 name, as several violets have flowers more or less 
 striped, but it is a species that cannot be well 
 confused with any others. The plant is about nine 
 inches high, with branched stems and minutely 
 notched leaves, and the flowers are whitish with 
 purple veins. It is a native of woods from Pennsyl- 
 vania to Carolina, and flowers in midsummer. 
 
 V. suavis (Sweet Violet). — A dainty violet from the 
 Caucasus ; about six inches high only, and of creep- 
 ing growth, producing long stolons that root freely. 
 The leaves are kidney-shaped and pubescent, and the 
 flowers pale blue, and whitish at the base. It is very 
 fragrant, and much appreciated from March to May. 
 
 V. rotundifolia. — Mrs. Dandridge writes from West 
 Virginia : " Early in May we find V. rotundifolia, 
 the round-leaved violet, a species which is a true 
 mountain lover, climbing to a considerable height, 
 and clinging to the face of rocky cliffs and precipi- 
 tous and inaccessible places. The slender stems, 
 four inches in height, bear aloft the pale yellow 
 blossoms, which are about two-thirds the size of those 
 of V. cucullata, so well known in England that I 
 use it for a standard of measurement. This little 
 flower you see does not hide beneath its foliage in 
 true violet fashion. On the contrary, it is the pretty, 
 rounded, and unlobed leaves that seem to wish to 
 
78 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 pass unnoticed. They hug the ground on their short 
 stalks, making the plant inconspicuous when out of 
 bloom. I follow the botany in calling the flowers of 
 this violet yellow. The form of it that we have natura- 
 lised here has cream-coloured blossoms. The foliage 
 is a delicate light green." 
 
 V. sylvestris (Wood Violet). — A British species with 
 a close, compact root stalk and broadly ovate heart- 
 shaped leaves. The flowers are bluish or purplish 
 lilac, and the plant smooth. There are several well- 
 marked forms. The flowering time is from April to 
 June ; height five inches. 
 
 V. scabriuscula (the smooth yellow Violet). — Mrs. 
 Dandridge, writing from Virginia, says : " This has 
 lovely blossoms of a distinct lemon yellow, very 
 prettily veined with dark maroon, almost black. This 
 is now, April 22, in bloom on a bank at Rose Brake. 
 It has sometimes been considered a variety of V. 
 pubescens, from which, however, it differs very much 
 in shape and size of leaves and in general appearance. 
 It is smooth, or only slightly pubescent, and is a tall- 
 growing species, sometimes fifteen inches in height. 
 The heart-shaped leaves are rather coarsely toothed, 
 and of a medium shade of green. It is usually found 
 in marshy places and in wet woods, but is sometimes 
 met with at an elevation of 4000 feet." 
 
 V. tenella. — " In bloom in my wild garden," writes 
 Mrs. Dandridge, "is a tiny little wild pansy, which 
 seems to be a variety of V. tenella, our field pansy, 
 to judge from its foliage, which is very pansy like, 
 with rounded upper leaves, the lower oval and all 
 
VIOLETS OF MOUNTAIN AND PLAIN 79 
 
 crenate dentate, the stipules foliaceous, laciniate, or 
 lyrate pinnatifid. The Httle blossoms are about one- 
 third of an inch broad, the two upper petals faintly 
 stained with lilac, the others white, veined with dark 
 purple. This is abundant on dry clay banks, where 
 it spreads about happily in the hot sunshine. I have 
 always found it in the s^me faint colouring, though 
 our field pansy, as described in books, is said to' have 
 yellowish petals spotted with purple, a form with 
 which I am not familiar." 
 
 V. tricolor (Heart's-ease). — Probably no more in- 
 teresting violet exists than V. tricolor. It is the parent 
 of a remarkable race, varied in growth and flower 
 character and easily grown, so much so that the 
 quaint heart's-ease of the cottage garden is as familiar 
 as the cabbage rose or the honeysuckle peeping into 
 the diamond-paned window. If so much has been 
 accomplished with V. tricolor, surely the hybridist 
 should turn his attention to other species which 
 might create flowers of beautiful colouring and prove 
 the foundation of good garden plants. This species 
 is variable not only in size but also in colour, 
 ranging from a tiny flower to one nearly one inch 
 and a half across. It is a native of Europe and 
 North America, and is abundant in Britain. In the 
 " English Flower Garden " occurs the following note 
 about V. tricolor: "The pansy is usually classed under 
 the head of V. tricolor, though it is probably descended 
 from V. altaica — a species to which a good many 
 pansies seem nearly allied. But the pansies are so 
 numerous, so varied, and withal so distinct from any 
 
8o SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 wild species of violet, that little can be traced to 
 their origin. Of one thing we may be certain : the 
 parents of this precious race were the nniountaineers. 
 Only alpines could give birth to such rich and 
 brilliant colour and such noble amplitude of bloom. 
 Its season never ends; it often blooms cheerfully 
 enough at Christmas, and is sheeted with gold and 
 purple when the hawthorn is white with blossoms. 
 Such a flower must not be ignored in our rock 
 garden, even though it thrives in almost any soil and 
 position. It may be treated as an annual, a biennial, 
 or a perennial, according to climate, position, and 
 soil. One of the commonest weeds in Scotland, the 
 wild V. lutea may be grown in the south of England, 
 if sheltered from the mid-day sun. It thrives capitally 
 with a north, or, better still, a north-east exposure, if 
 sheltered by tall trees or buildings, so that it may get 
 the cool sun of the early morning only." 
 
 V. villosa. — Mrs. Dandridge writes from Virginia : 
 " The grove at Rose Brake is, in some places, colonised 
 by stretches of a pretty lilac-blue violet, which is now 
 (April 29) just beginning to bloom. This is V. villosa, 
 the Southern Wood Violet of the botanies. It spreads 
 abundantly under the trees where grass is sparse, and 
 flowers so profusely that it is difficult to avoid crush- 
 ing the pretty blossoms beneath the feet in many 
 parts of the grove when we are taking our morning 
 survey of our little kingdom of flowers. When the 
 leaves of this violet are first discernible early in spring 
 they are a dull plum colour, and hug the ground as if 
 they were afraid to trust themselves an inch above 
 
VIOLETS OF MOUNTAIN AND PLAIN 8i 
 
 the surface. As the season advances they become 
 bolder, the leaf stems lengthen a little, and the colour 
 changes to dark green. The flowers assume various 
 tints and shadings of almost pure blue, true violet, 
 and mauve. They are about two-thirds the size of 
 those of V. cucullata!' 
 
 V. Zoysii. — A violet of small growth from the Alps 
 of Carinthia and Carniola. The plant is allied to 
 V. calcarata, but may be known by the absence of 
 lobes to the stipules, and is generally smaller, quite 
 smooth, and green, not glaucous. The flowers are 
 yellow, rather large, and with dark or nearly black 
 lines on the lower part. For its size it is a showy 
 plant, quite hardy, and flowers from April to June ; 
 height three inches or four inches. 
 
 In the foregoing descriptions of a few of the most 
 beautiful of the wild violets we have mentioned that 
 many of them are grown by Mrs. Dandridge, an 
 American lover of flowers, whose affection for this 
 pretty race is shown by the collection grown at her 
 home, Rose Brake, in West Virginia, from whence 
 have come several of the species recorded in this 
 chapter. The following words of Mrs. Dandridge 
 remind us of the wild white violets at Huntercombe : 
 "All of these violets (American) are pretty and in- 
 teresting in a large collection. Here we use some of 
 them to naturalise under the trees and among the 
 rocks of the grove. We do not cultivate any of them 
 in garden beds or borders, but like to see the ground 
 carpeted with them here and there in the wilder parts 
 of the place. None that we have tried, except V. 
 
82 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 pedata, has been found very hard to establish. Be- 
 sides these there is what we call Violet Hollow, a 
 rare form of V. ovata, which is a species of violet 
 not often seen in this neighbourhood. The form of 
 it that my eldest daughter found when on a visit to 
 some friends who live ten miles from here grew on 
 a shady and dry bank at the edge of a wood of pine 
 trees. We have established it here, and prize it for 
 the unusual colouring of its flowers, which have 
 slender petals of pinkish mauve, unlike those of any 
 other violet known to me. The leaves of this variety 
 of V. ovata are not over an inch in length, and are 
 oval, with cordate base. In the type the blades are 
 sometimes three and a half inches in length." 
 

 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 SWEET VIOLETS 
 
 "\T lOLETS, sweet violets," is the cry of the flower- 
 Y girl in crowded cities; flowers filled with a 
 fragrance that never cloys and dyed with deep- 
 est purple, for the violet of the city streets is the finer 
 form of the wilding that scents the winds of early 
 spring and lies hidden "midst woods obscure and 
 native glooms." An industry of no small importance 
 has arisen in violet culture, and the beautiful varieties 
 of late years have increased the desire of the public to 
 possess the flowers whenever it is possible to produce 
 them, hence the popularity of the flowers in winter. 
 There are two - distinct groups, the single and the 
 double, and in almost every garden an attempt is 
 made to grow a few clumps in a frame, perhaps of 
 the deliciously scented Marie Louise or the popular 
 De Parme and the Neapolitan. Violets, of course, 
 can be grown with success in the open without a 
 frame or covering of any kind, except near large 
 towns, where they are a complete failure, smoke and 
 fog quickly destroying, not the flowers only, but also 
 the leaves. 
 
 Violets in the Garden 
 
 One sunny October the writer, attracted by the 
 sweet odour of violets at Munstead, sought the spot 
 
 from whence the perfume came, and the variety was 
 
 83 
 
84 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 the Czar, which is described on p. 140 of " Wood and 
 Garden." Information from so sound a gardener as 
 Miss Jekyll is worth reproducing. " Czar violets are 
 giving their fine and fragrant flowers on stalks nine 
 inches long. To have them at their best they must 
 be carefully cultivated and liberally enriched. No 
 plants answer better to good treatment, or spoil more 
 quickly by neglect. A miserable sight is a forgotten 
 violet-bed where they have run together into a tight 
 mat, giving only few and poor flowers. I have seen 
 the owner of such a bed stand over it and blame the 
 plants, when he should have laid the lash on his own 
 shoulders. Violets must be replanted every year. 
 When the last rush of bloom in March is over the 
 plants are pulled to pieces, and strong single crowns, 
 from the outer edges of the clumps or from late 
 runners, are replanted in good, well-manured soil, 
 in such a place as will be somewhat shaded from 
 summer sun. There should be eighteen inches be- 
 tween each plant, and as they make their growth, all 
 runners should be cut off until August. They are 
 encouraged by liberal doses of liquid manure from 
 time to time, and watered in case of drought ; and the 
 heart of the gardener is warmed and gratified when 
 friends, seeing them at midsummer, say (as has more 
 than once happened), 'What a nice batch of young 
 hollyhocks.' " 
 
 Soil 
 
 Violets are not in the least particular about soil, and 
 one of England's best gardeners told the writer that 
 
SWEET VIOLETS 85 
 
 soil "which will produce good vegetables will be 
 found equally suitable for violets." In preparing the 
 bed or border to receive the plants it is a mistake to 
 fill the soil with rank manure, as this leads to much 
 leaf growth but few flowers, and these puny and 
 colourless. Those who have a light hungry soil 
 to treat might certainly improve it by digging in 
 thoroughly decayed cow manure. This, while feed- 
 ing the roots, would tend to keep the ground cool 
 and moist during summer, and it is these conditions 
 that violets enjoy. The violet does not grow naturally 
 in a place where rank manure prevails ; the plants 
 rather require shade and moisture, and a soil rich 
 in humus, viz., the accumulation of decayed leaves 
 for many years. A free addition of leaf-mould is an 
 advantage, especially to heavy soils that are inclined 
 to bake and then crack under the influence of the 
 sun. Decayed leaves in the ground would prevent 
 this, while the roots would revel in what is naturally 
 their chief requirements. 
 
 Some are so placed that they find it difficult to 
 secure either cow manure or leaf-mould, but the 
 violet is not particular, thriving quite as well when 
 the bed is dressed with what we may term a mixed 
 compost. The ordinary rubbish heap contains more 
 valuable plant food than many imagine, especially 
 after all the nondescript material has gone through 
 a process of decay, the germinating power of the 
 seed of weeds destroyed, and the whole turned and 
 well mixed. A good heap of this compost may be 
 used with advantage for most crops, and none would 
 
86 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 succeed better than violets. Of other suitable dress- 
 ing, mention might be made of spent mushroom 
 manure, or the remains of an old hotbed. Lime, 
 wood ashes, or fresh horse droppings should be 
 avoided, as these are not moisture-holding agencies, 
 therefore they are not suitable for the plants under 
 notice. Whatever dressing is used should be dug into 
 the ground deeply some time before the plants are 
 put out. 
 
 Position of Beds 
 
 In summer, while the plants are making their 
 growth, a shady spot is the best, or partially so, as 
 the foliage, being so liable to red spider, is more likely 
 to become infested in a hot dry position than if the 
 plants are grown in a cool and shady one. Choose 
 north or east borders, or the shady side of a hedge 
 between fruit trees and bushes, or any position where 
 the plants will receive shade during summer. In 
 such places, too, the plants often produce an abun- 
 dance of flowers in autumn, and give a wealth of 
 bloom in spring, but to maintain a continuous supply 
 throughout the winter the plants must be lifted in 
 September and planted in the' warmest and most 
 sunny spot in the garden, such as at the foot of a 
 south wall or in frames. Thus, while the plants 
 require shade and moisture during summer, all the 
 sun possible should reach them throughout the winter 
 months. 
 
SWEET VIOLETS 87 
 
 Raising Young Plants 
 
 Our experience is that of Miss Jekyll's : violets 
 should be propagated yearly. It is natural for the 
 plants to increase rapidly, the same as the strawberry, 
 by means of runners. Allow strawberry plants to 
 grow at will and the beds the second year would be 
 one mass of crowded foliage, as the runners spread 
 quickly, but there is little or no fruit. So it is with 
 violets, and instead of the beds being a tangled 
 mass of side shoots, each plant should be grown 
 separately and quite a foot or more apart. Then by 
 nipping off the runners during summer strong in- 
 dividual crowns or clumps are formed, which not only 
 produce fine flowers abundantly, and on long stems, 
 but are more valuable for cutting. A limited number 
 of the plants, however, should be reserved for stock, 
 allowing these to form runners, which become rooted 
 in the ground. The desired number should be severed 
 from the parent plants with a lot of roots attached 
 and transplanted in properly prepared beds. If these 
 are to flower in the open, plant fifteen inches apart 
 each way. Water and syringe frequently if the 
 weather is dry after planting, keep' the soil hoed, and 
 then they will soon become established. Much de- 
 pends upon circumstances, but one good gardener 
 recommends that new beds be made in September 
 for the following reasons, but it is a matter of personal 
 experience. In some gardens violets are over before 
 March is out, but in others they may be in full bloom. 
 
88 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 This gardener gives the following reasons for making 
 new beds in autumn : — 
 
 First, the plants are more easily and quickly 
 established m September than is possible, say, in 
 March, when there are often trying winds and a 
 bright sun. Then, again, the plants should be in 
 full flower in March, and one is reluctant to disturb 
 them for increasing the stock, while when propaga- 
 tion is delayed until after the flowering period the 
 season is too far advanced and the weather generally 
 too hot for the divisions or off-sets to make progress, 
 and they either remain stunted during summer, or, 
 what is worse, many may fail to grow at all. If it 
 is necessary to transplant the autumn struck plants 
 in spring there will be no risk, as each can be 
 lifted with a good ball of earth, and will begin to 
 grow at once in the new quarters. Such young 
 stock would probably show flower-buds, but these 
 should be pinched out, as the established beds would 
 furnish the supply. If after planting a slight mulch 
 of decayed manure could be spread about the plants 
 so much the better, as subsequent rains would carry 
 the manurial properties down to the roots, and the 
 residue on the surface would help to keep the ground 
 cool and moist during a hot and dry summer. Dur- 
 ing this period encourage leaf growth free from 
 red spider, keep the runners picked off, and the 
 ground between the plants free from weeds. Treated 
 in this way the plants would not fail to give a wealth 
 of bloom in due season. There are two seasons, 
 therefore, for propagating — spring and autumn. 
 
SWEET VIOLETS 89 
 
 Varieties for the Open 
 
 The most suitable are undoubtedly the single ones, 
 although the double-flowered Marie Louise and Lady 
 Hume Campbell might be included. Of the single 
 varieties, Princess of Wales and California should be 
 made special note of. Both grow strongly, and should 
 be allowed plenty of space for their large leaves to 
 develop. The flowers are also very large and borne 
 on long stems, and when gathered they can be used 
 with greater taste than is generally seen in the 
 arrangement of cut violets. Victoria Regina is an old 
 favourite, and having these three one need not seek 
 further in forming a collection. There are, of course, 
 the wild violets, but in this selection we are thinking 
 of the garden varieties only. 
 
 Double- Violets in Frames 
 
 Mr. Owen Thomas, writing in The Garden of Sep- 
 tember 13, 1902, p. 176, says : " One essential to the 
 growth of the violet is pure air. In the absence of 
 this it is useless to attempt its cultivation. Those 
 living in or near great cities and towns know this 
 only too well, for however much they would like to 
 grow their own violets, and how hard they may try, 
 the modest little flower consistently refuses to grow 
 except in the pure air of the country. I have not 
 come across a single instance of successful violet 
 culture in the immediate suburbs of the great city." 
 
 This should be convincing to those who attempt 
 its growth in the suburbs of great cities. Even at 
 
90 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 Syon House, Middlesex, Mr. Wythes finds that it is 
 impossible to grow violets, and many other opinions 
 could be quoted. Violets are not grown in frames 
 throughout the year. Sometimes a temporary wooden 
 frame is placed over /the bed in which they are 
 growing ; but, at the risk of repeating advice already 
 given, we may say that the best position for grow- 
 ing the plants entirely in the open is under a wall 
 or fence facing north-east. 
 
 The Start 
 
 Those intending to grow violets should begin 
 in April, when the plants have done flowering, 
 or in autumn, whichever season is considered the 
 most suitable ; but in spring the thoughts of amateur 
 gardeners turn towards giving practical expression 
 to their desires. As previously mentioned, the first 
 thing will be to take up the old plants, shake the 
 soil away, and pull them into pieces. One plant 
 will make half-a-dozen strong little tufts, which must 
 have a few roots and healthy leaves. Pot these 
 pieces into three-inch pots filled with loam and leaf- 
 mould in equal proportions, and put in drainage, 
 or the tufts may be planted in the garden. Much 
 depends upon whether violets are happy in the 
 district. In planting out in stiff soil add some road 
 scrapings or river sand. The distance apart at which 
 the double violet should be planted is sixteen inches 
 in the row, and the same distance between the rows. 
 Before the plants are turned out of the pots ready 
 
THE CZAR VIOLET 
 
 {Nat. Sioe). 
 
VIOLET ADMIRAL AVELLAN. 
 
SWEET VIOLETS 91 
 
 for planting they should again be carefully examined, 
 in order to be sure that red spider is not present, and 
 if the pest is suspected let all the plants be dipped 
 in the emulsion as recommended in the paragraph 
 upon insect pests. In planting, select the strongest 
 plants to go by themselves, and the weaker ones to 
 plant by themselves at a less distance apart (fifteen 
 inches will suit them). Let them be planted deep 
 enough to cover the whole surface of the ball, when 
 transplanted from pots, about half an inch, and 
 let the soil be pressed firmly round them. 
 
 The only pest that may be considered formidable is 
 red spider, and at the time of propagation in spring, 
 when the young plants are detached from the parent 
 clumps, they must be very closely examined to 
 ascertain whether this enemy has established itself 
 upon the leaves. It is needful, if the slightest trace of 
 red spider is discovered, to dip the young plants in the 
 following mixture before they are either potted or put 
 out. The emulsion should consist of one wineglass- 
 ful of paraffin to a gallon of water, adding a quarter 
 of a pound of soft soap and the same of flowers of 
 sulphur. These ingredients should be mixed to a 
 paste in a mortar first and the gallon of water added 
 afterwards. As soon as the plants are dry pot them in 
 small pots and place them close together in a cold 
 frame. Syringe the young plants four or five times a 
 day and shade from strong sunshine. After they have 
 been potted two or three days well water them, and 
 under this treatment— shade and moisture— an abun- 
 dance of fresh leaves and roots will result. When the 
 
92 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 violets are well established less shade is required and 
 admit air freely. Towards the middle or end of May 
 the plants will be well rooted and of sufficient size to 
 go into their summer quarters. 
 
 Summer Management 
 
 The question of soil has been already alluded to, 
 but the summer management of the plant upon which 
 so much depends must not be forgotten. As this 
 little book is written for beginners, minute details are 
 needful to prevent failure. Summer management 
 consists in timely attention to watering, syringing, 
 hoeing, mulching, and removal of runners. They 
 should receive a good soaking as soon as they are 
 planted. This will suffice for a week or two ; but the 
 young plants should receive a spray from the syringe 
 at least three times a day when the weather is dry 
 and warm, namely, in the morning about eight, in the 
 afternoon about three, and in the evening between six 
 and seven. The hoe should be plied as often as con- 
 venient, not only to keep down weeds, but also to 
 sweeten the soil, and thus promote healthy growth in 
 the shortest time. Always remove the runners, for 
 when these are allowed to grow they exhaust the 
 plants, and prevent that full development of the crown 
 upon which a rich harvest of bloom entirely depends. 
 In the case of varieties it is desired to increase, the 
 runners may be preserved and planted close together 
 in a shady position, where they will soon root and form 
 useful plants for stock another year at planting out 
 time. 
 
SWEET VIOLETS 93 
 
 As soon as the violets are fairly well established, 
 spread a layer of short manure round their roots ; 
 this forms a mulch to prevent the plants drying up 
 too quickly, and also stimulates the roots by the 
 ammonia washed down from the manure by the 
 action of rain. If possible syringing should be done 
 every evening throughout the summer ; this not only 
 encourages growth, but keeps red spider at bay, if 
 this should unfortunately attack the plants during 
 their season of growth in summer. The best remedy 
 to apply will be to syringe the plants thoroughly with 
 the emulsion recommended in the paragraph about 
 insect enemies, reducing its strength by one -half. 
 Whilst the plants are growing freely they should be 
 given a moderate application of weak liquid manure 
 from the stable-yard every ten days or a fortnight. 
 If all these details of culture have been well attended 
 to, by the end of August the grower ought to have 
 fine sturdy plants ten inches across and with strong 
 and well-developed crowns. 
 
 Violets during Winter 
 
 It frequently happens that the English winter is 
 so kind, especially in the southern counties, that 
 the double varieties even may be trusted in the open 
 garden, but usually, cold frames or pits are essential. 
 Many amateurs grow melons or cucumbers in summer, 
 and it is in these that the violets will flower during 
 winter, the exhausted soil being of the right kind for 
 the plants. The crowns of the plants should be 
 within six inches of the glass, so that it will be neces- 
 
94 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 sary to make the bed to the required height. Before 
 the violets are lifted from the border soak them well 
 with water the day before, and take them up with a 
 ball of soil as large as the plant itself. When planting 
 put them about one foot apart, and water immediately. 
 Place the lights on, give plenty of air, and shade for a 
 few days to prevent the leaves flagging. It must not 
 be forgotten that the frames should have a sharp pitch 
 and face south. Snow and rain then pass off quickly, 
 and there is less fear of the foliage suffering from 
 damp and mildew. In a week or ten days they will 
 have recovered from the effects of removal, the shade 
 must be discontinued, and as long as the weather 
 continues mild and warm, the lights should be left off 
 the frames and the plants exposed to the weather day 
 and night. The violet, it must be remembered, is 
 quite hardy, and protection alone is necessary. Early 
 in October frost may be expected, when the lights 
 must be placed over the plants at night, leaving plenty 
 of air on, unless severe frost is anticipated, but they 
 should be exposed whenever possible. Even in wet 
 weather tilt the lights well at the back, guarding 
 against harsh winds, heavy rains, and frosts. During 
 hard winter weather cover the frames with double 
 mats to keep out frost, and pack leaves, bracken, straw, 
 or stable litter round the sides. The plants are more 
 likely to succeed in such quarters than in heated brick 
 pits. These are the simple lines upon which to work, 
 and by getting the plants placed in the frames in the 
 first or second week in September, flowers may be 
 expected in October. When several varieties are 
 
VIOLET PRINCESS OF WALES (Reduced about one half). 
 
DOUBLE VIOLET MARIE LOUISE (Reduced aboul one half). 
 
SWEET VIOLETS 95 
 
 planted a succession of bloom is maintained until the 
 end of April. 
 
 Double Violets 
 
 Of these the famous Marie Louise is the most wel- 
 come. Its double pale-like flowers are filled with 
 sweetest perfume, and no violet, we believe, is more 
 largely grown in trade and private gardens. Mrs. J. 
 J. Astor is a very distinct and beautiful variety, sweet, 
 and in colour a mixture of violet, heliotrope, and 
 pink. Bertha Barron, a very dark purple, is one of 
 the best. De Parme, with flowers of pale blue 
 colouring, is exceptionally sweet. Neapolitan is an old 
 and well-known favourite, not of very strong growth, 
 and therefore is difficult to grow well. Blue and White 
 is the name of a variety of delicate colour and strong 
 fragrance ; and of white violets, Comte de Brazza is 
 the only one worth growing. 
 
 During October and November flowers should 
 appear in plenty, but there will be fewer in December 
 and January, as the plants are then more or less 
 dormant. As soon as February comes, however (if 
 they have wintered well), flowers appear more or less 
 abundantly until well into April, when the season is 
 over, and the plants are ready to be again propagated. 
 This ends the career of the double violet for one year. 
 
 Single Violets 
 
 The single violet, as may be well supposed, is hardier 
 than the double. It is grown in some places for market, 
 
96 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 and we know how the little wilding spreads in field 
 and wayside bank. It should be propagated at the 
 same time and in the same way as the double violet ; 
 but it is quite unnecessary to pot the young plants 
 after they have been divided and taken from the 
 parent, a practice some advocate in growing double 
 varieties. The small divisions must be strong and 
 with plenty of roots, and are most happy in the same 
 aspect as recommended for the double varieties, 
 i.e. north-east with partial shade, and the border 
 should be enriched with a liberal dressing of rich, 
 short manure, as well as an addition of leaf-soil, lime, 
 and road scrapings. The ground must be dug in the 
 ordinary way but bastard-trenched, that is, the top 
 spit turned over, and the bottom spit also, and left at 
 the bottom. The single violets are of much stronger 
 growth than the double, and therefore they must be 
 planted wider apart, three feet each way being none too 
 much for such varieties as Princess of Wales, California, 
 La France, and others of this class. They attain such 
 a size by the autumn that they more than meet even 
 at this distance, and when lifted in the autumn for 
 planting in pits they have a ball of earth attached as 
 large and heavy as a man can carry. The young 
 divisions may be at once dibbled into the prepared 
 border in the same way that cabbages are planted. 
 Once planted in their summer quarters the same 
 routine of culture should be followed as recommended 
 for the double variety, and if the best is to be made of 
 them they should be replanted into cold pits in the 
 early autumn, the same as advised in the case of the 
 
i' 10 LET LA FKAXCE { Lloivcrs over an iiuh across). 
 
SWEET VIOLETS 97 
 
 others. Should this not be possible, single violets will 
 give a good return out of doors during the autumn 
 and winter, and in spring, towards the end of March 
 and through April, they flower abundantly ; they are 
 perfectly hardy. 
 
 The following conditions should be observed in 
 growing violets if the best results are desired. Pure 
 air, partial shade, well-drained and well-cultivated soil, 
 not too heavy, immunity from red spider, the provi- 
 sion of divisions in spring, with a good supply of 
 roots and healthy foliage. More important perhaps 
 than all is a good ball of soil round the roots when 
 the plants are transferred to the pits in autumn. 
 
 Varieties. — ^The most beautiful single violet is un- 
 doubtedly that named Princess of Wales, which was 
 introduced a few years ago to English gardens from 
 Hyeres. The flower is large, of a lovely blue colour- 
 ing, powerfully and sweetly scented, and poised upon 
 a stem often twelve inches in length. It is very 
 robust, and if there is space for only one violet in the 
 garden, Princess of Wales should be chosen. It is 
 almost pansy-like in size and appearance. Another 
 variety that is of equal merit perhaps to Princess of 
 Wales is La France, which has a deliciously fragrant 
 flower of deep blue colouring. One well-known violet 
 grower writes : " This is, in many respects, the best 
 single blue violet yet introduced, and should be 
 grown in every garden." California has fallen on evil 
 days. At one time every violet grower grew Cali- 
 fornia, which was, if we are not mistaken, the first of 
 the large-flowered pansy-like race. It reminds one of 
 
98 SWEET VIOLETS AND PANSIES 
 
 the two preceding varieties, but as it is inferior to 
 them in every respect no reason exists for growing it. 
 Princess Beatrice is like the foregoing, but dwarfer, and 
 later in flowering. Admiral Avellan is a violet for all 
 gardens. The colour is warm purple with a reddish 
 shade ; it is one of the single varieties that may be 
 well grown in a frame to give in their fulness those 
 purple shades which are so charming a feature of the 
 flower. Princess de Sumonte is an Italian violet, very 
 fragrant and beautiful, the flowers white with flakes of 
 blue. White Czar is the only single violet worth 
 growing, except the little wilding referred to else- 
 where. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Erpetion RENIFORME, 66 I 
 
 Gardens, pansies in town and 
 suburban, 44 
 
 Heart's-ease, 79 
 
 Pansies as cut flowers, 39 ; at 
 shows in paper collars, 22 ; 
 English show, 6 ; varieties 
 of, 13, 14, 15 ; propagation of 
 by cuttings, 19 ; by division, 
 21 ; in summer, 42 ; in town 
 and suburban gardens, 44 ; 
 seedling, 16 ; treatment of 
 received by post, 42 ; tufted, 
 an appreciation of the, 36 ; 
 tufted, in the flower garden, 
 26 ; propagation of, 28 ; small 
 selection of, 45 ; twelve rayed, 
 49 ; twelve rayless, 46 ; minia- 
 ture-flowered, 49 
 
 Pansy, fancy, the, 10 ; properties 
 of the, 1 5 ; flowers margined, 
 51 ; garden, the history of, i ; 
 tufted, the, 25 ; tufted in rock 
 and wall, 43 
 
 Stuart, Dr., the late, i 
 
 Viola, the, 25 
 
 Viola alpina, 59 ; V. arenaria, 
 59 ; V. altaica, 60 ; V. biflora, 
 
 99 
 
 60 ; V. blanda, 61 ; V. cal- 
 carata, 61 ; V. canadensis, 62; 
 V. canina, 63 ; V. cenisia, 63 ; 
 V. comuta, 63 ; V. cucullata, 
 64 ; V. gracilis, 65 ; V. hastata, 
 66 ; V. hederacea, 66 ; V. 
 hirta,' 67 ; V. lactea, 67 ; V. 
 lanceolata, 67 ; V. lutea, 68 ; 
 V. montana, 68 ; V. munbyana, 
 68; V. Nuttalli, 68; V. odorata, 
 69 ; V. palmata, 7 1 ; V. palus- 
 tris, 72 ; V. Patrinii, 72 ; V. 
 pedata, 72 ; V. pedatifida, 74 ; 
 V. primulsefolia, 74 ; V. 
 pubescens, 75 ; V. rothoma- 
 gensis, 75 ; V. sagittata, 76 ; 
 V. sarmentosa, 76 ; V. striata, 
 77 ; V. suavis, 77 ; V. rotundi- 
 folia, 77 ; V. sylvestris, 78 ; V. 
 scabriuscula, 78 ; V. tenella, 
 78 ; V. tricolor, 79 ; V. villosa, 
 80; V. Zoysii, 81 
 Violet, alpine, 59 ; arrow-leaved, 
 76 ; bird's-foot, 72 ; cowslip, 
 74; dog, 63; downy, 75; 
 hairy, 67 ; halberd-leaved, 
 66 ; hooded - leaved, 64 ; 
 homed, 63 : ivy-leaved, 66 ; 
 
lOO 
 
 INDEX 
 
 marsh, 72 ; milky, 67 ; moun- 
 tain, 68 ; Mt. Cenis, 63 ; 
 Rouen, 75 ; striped, "]"] ; sweet, 
 69) n ; the smooth yellow, 
 78 ; two-flowered, 60 ; wood, 
 78 
 Violets, beds of, 86 ; double, in 
 
 frames, 89; fertilisation and 
 seeding of, 53 ; for the open, 
 89 ; from mountain and plain, 
 57; in the garden, 83; in 
 rock and wall, 43 ; in winter, 
 93 ; raising young, 87 ; single, 
 95 ; soil for, 84 ; sweet, 83 
 
 THE END