The order Violaceæ, though not a large one, contains several genera, but the most interesting is the genus Viola, which includes among many other species the Sweet Violet (_Viola odorata_), and the Heartsease (_V. tricolor_). The flowers of both species have many claims to admiration, but they do not add the charm of regularity in construction to their other attractions, as, in fact, few flowers are less symmetrical. The flowers of both are nearly alike in their details; but to avoid confusion, I will describe them separately. The calyx of the Heartsease consists of five pointed distinct sepals, two of them rather smaller than the others. These sepals are not attached, as in most other plants, at their base; but so as to leave nearly a quarter of their length standing up, far beyond the place where they are fixed to the receptacle, so as to form a sort of border or cup round the stem, and between it and the flower. The sepals are green, but they are edged with a delicate whitish membrane at the margin, scarcely to be seen without a microscope. There are five petals which are also irregular in their construction, two of them being much larger than the others, and generally of a different colour; and one even of the other three being quite different in form to its companions. The two large petals at the back of the flower, which in the common Heartsease are generally dark purple, are laid over each other, and behind the two below them. These two side-petals, which form the centre of the flower, are both furred at the base; and the lower petal, which is placed between them, has its claw drawn out behind into a spur, which passes between two of the sepals; and which, when the flower is looked at from behind, appears to be part of the calyx. The furred part of the two side-petals forms a triangular, roof-like opening, peeping out of which, is seen a small pale-green ball-like substance, which a fanciful imagination might liken to a head looking through a dormer window; and this is all that is to be seen in place of the usual apparatus of stamens and pistils. As all seed-producing flowers must have stamens and pistils, and as it is well known that Heartseases and Violets do produce seed in abundance, it is clear that these important organs are not wanting; but where are they? It is easy to guess, after being so far initiated in the mysteries of botany, that the little globular body is a part of the pistil; but where are the stamens? It is necessary to pull the flower to pieces to discover them. Commencing this work of destruction, which I always feel remorse at perpetrating, for I love flowers too well not to feel pain at destroying them; commencing this work, I repeat, the petals and the sepals must be carefully removed from the stem; a task of some little difficulty, as both sepals and petals are firmly attached to the receptacle, and the lower petal must have its spur opened with a pin to avoid hurting the delicate organs it contains.