The age-herald., 1898-01-07
The Scarcity of vioIets
 Universal This Season

Notwithstanding the fact that the season has been propitious, violets have never peeh scarcer than just at present in nearly every section of the country. Generally ourihs December, January and February the front yards of Birmingham are blue with these beautiful flowers, and the homes or the city are fragrant with their delightful perfume' But now the violet beds and borders are almost barren of blooms and small punches of ts-boutonieres-bring good prlce' which is unusual at this time of the year. Baltimore exchange, in commenting upon the present scarcity of violets, says;
 Florists are having some difficulty in hil- ing orders for violets, and the purcnaseiS of the fragrant little blooms are caiieo on : to pay more for them than in previous sea sons It is said that the cause of the scar city is due to the spot, a disease Which attacks the plants, and also to the oarh' cloudy weather which has prevailed ever since the fall. The cold snap has also had an effect upon the towering of the plants. During the dark, cold days the beds, while fully formed, seem to be dormant. For them to open out and diffuse their dell- cate fragrance, bright, sunny weather IS necessary.
 A florists success with his plants depends largely upon eternal vigilance. The disease known as the "spot," which is the terror of all violet growers, is due to a minute fungus Wnlcn attackS the ledNeS. A SPob no larger than pin head appears and rap idly spreads, under favorable conditions, until it is as large as the end of the finger. If a drop of water falls on one of these diseased places the leaf quickly decays.
 The breathing and digestive processes of the plant are carried on mainly by the leaves. The presence of the fungus on the leaf prevnts it from carrying on its nor nal functions, and the whole plant dies. Parma violets are not susceptible to 41,1 darl known as the Maria Louise. No remedy has as yet been discovered. To save plant when once attacked the leaves have to be stripped off. Some florists say that dry treatment will prevent the disease, others that abundance of moisture will keep the plants in healthy condition. The government has had experts at work for a number of years in the agricultural de- partment studying the fungus, and men have gone from place to place studying the habitat and local conditions of diseased plants, but they have not yet been able to suggest a cure.
 The sign Fresh violets" means that the violets for sale have been picked on the day when displayed. Almost all of the florists have their own cold frames or vio- let houses and when the yield from these is insufficient, an abundant supply can usually be obtained from the market gar deners. Other flowers are imported from other cities when needed, but very few
 
 tance
 In the north. where the winters are more severe than here, vioets are grown almost exclusively in houses. These houses are on the order of those used in the culti- vation of roses, but they are narrower, and are just tall enough for a man to enter without stopping. The advantage of the house over the cold frame is that the house may be entered during very cold weather without injury to the plants, while the sashes cannot be lifted off from the cold frames in such weather without harm be- ing done.
 For awhile before the holiday season the gardeners who supply some of the larger places keep back their flowers. The sud- den scarcity and the demand for the vio- lets caused the prices to rise. On Christ mas eve one grower sent to a retail dealer a consignment of 7,S00 violets of the Maria Louise variety the majority of them large as a silver half-dollar. They repre- sented the yield from 200 cold frames Oth- CTS of the retail dealers handled from 900 to 10000 during the holiday week.