The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1896-06-23
Pansies and their Culture.

Pansies and their Culture.
Pansy faces, grave and wise,
Who can read the Thoughts" that lies
Lurking underneath your eyes.
Thoughts" of folk and 1ower-lore
Secrets hidden evermore,
BY the underworld's fast door!
Pansy faces, elfin, wee,
AS ! bend full lowlily,
Will you whisper "thoughts" to me?
Few flowers stand higher in pub
lie favor than the Pansy. This pop
ularity is due largely to the rich
beauty of the flowers, and to the fact
that they come into bloom at a time
when 1ower-lovers are "hower-hun-
gry," and there are not many other
flowers to satisfy ones longing. The
Pansy is distinctively a flower of the
springtime. Although it blooms
throughout the summer, and is the
last flower to yield to frost and snow,
it is at its best in the springtime,
and it gives greater pleasure then
than at any other time. 1t is easy
to cultivate, and is almost as profuse
a bloomer as the Sweet Pea.
The Pansy has been wonderfully
improved in recent years. When
our grandmothers grew Pansies they
were called Gladys Delight" and
the flowers were very small and in
significant compared to the Pansy of
to-day. Nor was there anything
like the variety of shades and tints
and colors that this beautiful. flower
displays to-day.
Some writer's claim that the Pansy
is thriftier and sends forth finer
flowers in a situation in which they
have the full sunlight, but my own
experience has been that a partly
shaded situation is better. The
finest Pansies l eve had were from
plants having only the morning sun
shine. The flowers were larger, and
the plants more vigorous, than those
OF the same variety set in a bed in
which they we're exposed to the sun
light all Of the time.
The Pansy loves moisture and
moisture it must have. 1t is quite
a little gourmand and Graves rich
food. Once a week is not too often
to give it liquid manure. The seed
pods should be picked off as soon as
they form if you want your plants
to keep on blooming.
1t is claimed by some that the
Pansy is a good winter bloomer in
the ordinary window garden, but all
of my W attempts to verify this
statement have resulted in failure.
The most experienced writer's on
Horticulture declare that the Pansy is
entirely unadapted to the window
garden. 1t is difficult to secure a
proper temperature or sufficient mois-
ture, and it is frequently the victim
OF insects when cultivated in the
house. But one can have them in
the garden nearly nine months of the
year.
August is an excellent time in
which to sow seeds in the open ground
for next springs plants. The soil
should be rich and light and pulver.
lied with great care, because the
seeds are so tiny and the young
shoots not very strong. They are
not apt to work their way out from
under pebbles or hard clods as Other
plants can Sow seeds early in Au.
gust. You cannot do better than tc
select the New Imperial German
Pansies offered by the Dingee &
Conard Company. The flowers are
remarkably large and fine, indeed
there are non finer. They bloom
in the greatest profusion, and no va
riety Of Pansy a display more var.
led tints and colors. If well cared
for, th;"ipants from seed sown early
in August will be quite large and
strong by the time heavy frosts come.
Cover the young plants with a few
boughs and twigs and a thick layer
of leaves or straw. The boughs and
twigs will keep the leaves or straw
from mating too closely around the
plants and injuring them. Uncover
early i'll the spring, loosen up the
soil around the plants, and you may
have Pansies all summer long
Zenas Dune, IN Success Win F2oWeys.