Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/383

 VIOLET ciful sobriquets it has received in different countries ; besides pansy (Fr. jwnsee, thought), it is frequently called heartsease, a name origi- nally given to the gilliflower, which was sup- posed to have cardiac qualities, and in some manner transferred to this ; in this country it is often called " none-so-pretty," and some- times " Nancy-pretty," a name that in England is given to London pride (saxifraga umbrosa) ; among its curious names are "love in idle- ness," " kiss me at the garden gate," "Johnny jump up " (or "jumper"), "pink of my John," and "jump up and kiss me." In cultivation the flower is often 2 in. or more across ; a perfectly formed flower must have a circular outline, with equal and flat petals, and a thick substance. To succeed with pansies in this country, the seeds should be sown in autumn, and the plants, set in a shaded situation, will flower in early spring ; our hot sun so affects the plants that the finest varieties if exposed to it produce only small flowers; some culti- vators keep the plants in a shaded frame to prolong the duration of the bloom. Choice VIOLIN 363 Sweet Violet (Viola odorata). varieties are sometimes continued by cuttings, especially the double ones, of which several, including a pure white, have been introduced. The sweet violet (V. odorata), widely dis- tributed over Europe and Eussian Asia, is much prized as a garden plant on account of its fragrant and modest flowers; though be- longing to the stemless section, it throws out creeping runners by which the plant is multi- plied ; its leaves are broadly heart-shaped, scal- loped on the edges, and more or less downy ; the flowers are upon long peduncles, nodding, and of the bluish-purple color which is named after them. In cultivation many varieties have been produced ; some have full double flowers, with colors ranging from white to the deepest purple, and varying much in size ; among the later fine varieties are the Czar and Victoria Regina, with large dark-colored flowers. The ordinary form is quite hardy in our gardens, but the variety called Neapolitan, producing a great abundance of pale flowers, is tender ; they must have a partial shade to succeed. This violet is in great demand for bouquets and other floral work, and the florists endeavor by forcing to have the flowers all winter, the Neapolitan being the principal variety used. The horned violet ( V. cornuta), from the Pyre- nees, is much used in Europe as a bedding plant ; it produces large pale purplish flowers for a long while, but does not succeed well in our hot summers. Most of the violets con- tain an emetic principle, especially in their roots, which is called violine, and has proper- ties similar to emetina obtained from ipecacu- anha; the flowers are laxative, and the sirup of violets is used as a laxative for infants. The sirup may also be used as a test for acids and alkalies. The roots of ionidium produce some varieties of white or false ipecacuanha. VIOLIN, a stringed musical instrument, played with a bow, which in its earlier forms is of great and uncertain antiquity, but which as- sumed its present form about the beginning of the 16th century. Its British name crwth be- came crowd ; its Anglo-Saxon namefythel, fid- dle. A small violin was also called a kit. It has four strings tuned in fifths, E, A, D, G, the lowest giving what is known as the middle G, that which is written on the fourth space of the bass clef. This string is wound with wire ; the others are of gut unwound. The body of the instrument consists of a sounding board, or belly, which is always of straight-grained deal, and a back of corresponding shape, which is usually of maple, but sometimes of sycamore, or, in very old instruments, of pear v wood. From the middle of the upper part stretches the neck, which ends in a small box orna- mented with a scroll, or rarely with a carved head of man or beast. Upon the neck is the finger board, of ebony, which until the middle of the last century was much shorter than it is at present. The necks of all old instruments were also short, and have to be lengthened for modern use. The strings are fastened at the lower end to a movable tail piece, generally of ebony, and stretched across a bridge of beech wood, the feet of which rest upon the belly. The tension of the strings is regulated by four pegs which run at right angles through the box at the end of the neck. The wood of the belly and of the back, and also of the sides which separate and sustain the two former, is very thin, being in the violin proper not more than an eighth of an inch in the thickest part, which is in the middle under the bridge. To enable this fragile structure to sustain the great pressure produced by the tension of the strings, which in the violin proper was of old about 66 Ibs. and is now about 90 Ibs., the belly and the back are arched from end to end and from side to side. This arching is produced, not by bending the wood, but by cutting it out with gouges and tiny planes ; and in the height and the proportions of this arch consists chiefly the