Herb Of The Week - Violet - From Grieve's Herbal

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About violets, from A Modern Herbal by Maud Grieve, first published in

1931 ... still available in print (in 2 Volumes) and now available in

electronic form online at:

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/mgmh.html

 

*Smile*

Chris (list mom)

http://www.alittleolfactory.com

 

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Violet, Sweet

 

Botanical: Viola odorata (LINN.)

Family: N.O. Violaceae

 

Synonyms-Sweet-Scented Violet.

 

Parts Used-Flowers and leaves dried, and whole plant fresh.

 

Habitat-The Violet family comprises over 200 species, widely distributed

in the temperate and tropical regions of the world, those natives of

Europe, Northern Asia and North America being wholly herbaceous, whilst

others, native of tropical America and South America, where they are

abundant, are trees and shrubs. The genus Viola contains about 100

species, of which five are natives of Great Britain.

 

Description-The sweet-scented Violet appears at the end of February and

has finished blooming by the end of April.

 

The familiar leaves are heart-shaped, slightly downy, especially

beneath, on stalks rising alternately from a creeping rhizome or

underground stem, the blades of the young leaves rolled up from each

side into the middle on the face of the leaf into two tight coils. The

flower-stalks arise from the axils of the leaves and bear single

flowers, with a pair of scaly bracts placed a little above the middle of

the stalk.

 

 

The flowers are generally deep purple, giving their name to the colour

that is called after them, but lilac, pale rose-coloured or white

variations are also frequent, and all these tints may sometimes be

discovered in different plants growing on the same bank.

 

 

They bear five sepals extended at their bases, and five unequal petals,

the lower one lengthened into a hollow spur beneath and the lateral

petals with a hairy centre line. The anthers are united into a tube

round the three-celled capsule, the two lower ones furnished with spurs

which are enclosed within the spur of the corolla.

 

 

The flowers are full of honey and are constructed for bee visitors, but

bloom before it is really bee time, so that it is rare that a Violet

flower is found setting seed. There is indeed a remarkable botanical

curiosity in the structure of the Violet: it produces flowers both in

the spring and in autumn, but the flowers are different. In spring they

are fully formed, as described, and sweet-scented, but they are mostly

barren and produce no seed, while in autumn, they are very small and

insignificant, hidden away amongst the leaves, with no petals and no

scent, and produce abundance of seed. This peculiarity is not confined

to the Violet. It is found in some species of Oxalis, Impatiens,

Campanula, Eranthemum, etc. Such plants are called cleistogamous and are

all self-fertilizing. The cleistogamous flowers of the Violet are like

flowers which have aborted instead of developing, but within each one

are a couple of stamens and some unripe seeds. In warmer climates, like

Italy, these 'cleistogamous' buds develop into perfect flowers. Only

occasionally do they do so in England. In the woodland species (Viola

sylvatica) all the flowers on the plant may be cleistogamous.

 

 

The Violet propagates itself, also, in another way by throwing out

scions, or runners, from the main plant each summer after flowering, and

these in turn send out roots and become new plants, a process that

renders it independent of seed.

 

 

The Violet is very abundant in the neighbourhood of Stratford-on-Avon,

where it is nowadays much cultivated for commercial purposes.

 

 

Violet is the diminutive form of the Latin Viola, the Latin form of the

Greek name Ione. There is a legend that when Jupiter changed his beloved

Io into a white heifer for fear of Juno's jealousy, he caused these

modest flowers to spring forth from the earth to be fitting food for

her, and he gave them her name. Another derivation of the word Violet is

said to be from Vias (wayside).

 

 

Other flowers besides the Violet formerly bore that name, e.g. the

Snowdrop was called the 'bulbous or narcissus Violet'; the plant now

called 'Honesty' (or Moonwort) had the apellation of 'Strange Violet';

and two species of Gentian were called 'Autumn Bell-flower' or

'Calathian Violet,' and another 'Marion's Violet. ' The periwinkle, now

generally known in France by the name of Pervenche, in other times was

known as 'du lisseron' or 'Violette des sorciers'; and our own Violet

was called, in distinction from the others, 'March Violet,' and in

French Violette de Mars.

 

 

At Paestum, which has been and still is famous for its Violets as well

as for its roses, several kinds of Violets are found, and one species

that grows in the woods has exceedingly large leaves and seed-vessels;

but the flower is so small that it can hardly be seen; this has given

rise to the idea that it blooms underground. The flowers are of a pale

yellow.

 

 

The Violet of India bears its blossom in an erect position, while our

own native plant hangs down its head. It has been suggested by Professor

Rennie that the drooping position of the purple petals shaded still more

by the large green flower-cup, serves as an umbrella to protect the seed

while unripe, from the rains and dews, which would injure it. As soon as

the seed is matured and the little canopy no longer wanted, the flower

rises and stands upright on its stem.

 

 

Some butterflies feed entirely on Violet, and the stem of the plant is

often swelled and spongy in appearance, due to insects, whose eggs were

deposited on the stalk during the preceding summer. The little animal,

on hatching out, finds its food ready for it, and penetrating the plant,

disturbs its juices and causes this excrescence.

 

 

Violets were mentioned frequently by Homer and Virgil. They were used by

the Athenians 'to moderate anger,' to procure sleep and 'to comfort and

strengthen the heart.' Pliny prescribes a liniment of Violet root and

vinegar for gout and disorder of the spleen, and states that a garland

or chaplet of Violets worn about the head will dispel the fumes of wine

and prevent headache and dizziness. The ancient Britons used the flowers

as a cosmetic, and in a Celtic poem they are recommended to be employed

steeped in goats' milk to increase female beauty, and in the Anglo-Saxon

translation of the Herbarium of Apuleius (tenth century), the herb V.

purpureum is recommended 'for new wounds and eke for old' and for

'hardness of the maw.'

 

 

In Macer's Herbal (tenth century) the Violet is among the many herbs

which were considered powerful against 'wykked sperytis.'

 

 

Askham's Herbal has this recipe for insomnia under Violet:

 

'For the that may not slepe for sickness seeth this herb in water and at

even let him soke well hys feete in the water to the ancles, wha he

goeth to bed, bind of this herbe to his temples.

 

Violets, like Primroses, have been associated with death, especially

with the death of the young. This feeling has been constantly expressed

from early times. It is referred to by Shakespeare in Hamlet and

Pericles and by Milton in Lycidas.

 

In parts of Gloucestershire the country people have an aversion to

bringing Violets into their cottages because they carry fleas. This idea

may have arisen from these insects in the stem.

 

 

When Napoleon went to Elba his last message to his adherents was that he

should return with Violets. Hence he was alluded to and toasted by them

in secret as Caporal Violette, and the Violet was adopted as the emblem

of the Imperial Napoleonic party.

 

 

Violets were also and still are used in cookery, especially by the

French. 'Vyolette: Take flowrys of Vyolet, boyle hem, presse hem, bray

(pound) hem smal,' and the recipe continues that they are to be mixed

with milk and floure of rys and sugar or honey, and finally to be

coloured with Violets. A recipe called Mon Amy directs the cook to

'plant it with flowers of Violets and serve forth.'

 

 

A wine made from the flowers of the Sweet Violet was much used by the

Romans.

 

 

Violets impart their odour to liquids, and vinegar derives not only a

brilliant tint, but a sweet odour from having Violet flowers steeped in

it.

 

 

The chief use of the Violet in these days is as a colouring agent and

perfume, and as the source of the medicinally employed Syrup of Violets,

for which purposes the plant is largely cultivated, especially in

Warwickshire. The Syrup can be made as follows: To 1 lb. of Sweet Violet

flowers freshly picked, add 2 1/2 pints of boiling water, infuse these

for twenty-four hours in a glazed china vessel, then pour off the liquid

and strain it gently through muslin; afterwards add double its weight of

the finest loaf sugar and make it into a syrup, but without letting it

boil. This is an old-fashioned recipe.

 

 

Another recipe, from a seventeenth century recipe book:

 

'Sirrup of Violets

 

'Take a quantity of Blew Violets, clip off the whites and pound them

well in a stone morter; then take as much fair running water as will

sufficiently moysten them and mix with the Violets; strain them all; and

to every halfe pint of the liquor put one pound of the best loafe sugar;

set it on the fire, putting the sugar in as it melts, still stirring it;

let it boyle but once or twice att the most; then take it from the fire,

and keep it to your use. This is a daynty sirrup of Violets.'

 

Syrup of Violet with Lemon Syrup and acetic acid makes an excellent dish

in summer. The Syrup forms a principal ingredient in Oriental sherbet.

 

Cultivation-The Wild Violet has been developed by cultivation till its

blossoms insome varieties are many times the original size.

 

 

One of the essential points for the successful cultivation of Violets,

either for the sake of marketing the cut blooms, or for medicinal

purposes, is clear atmosphere. They seldom do well near a town, because

the undersides of the leaves are covered with hairs, which catch the

grit, thus blocking the breathing pores.

 

 

Neglect of a few simple rules is invariably the cause of failure. One

frequently finds a bed of Violets which produces nothing but leaves. The

plants may have been healthy enough to begin with and they were probably

well and truly planted, but after the first season of bloom they were

allowed to spread and become overcrowded. The Violet must be renewed and

replanted every year. Failure to perform this operation spells failure.

 

 

If the amateur contemplates growing Violets in order to obtain bloom

during autumn and winter, April is a favourable time to set about the

task of making a Violet bed. The Violet in summer time delights in

partial shade, therefore the bed should be made if possible under the

north-east side of a fence or hedge. The bed should be, however, placed

fairly well in the open, and if grown in private gardens not in the

dense shadow cast by house walls, nor under trees, though shade to a

certain amount is absolutely essential in summer, as when exposed to sun

the plants become overrun with red spider, an insect pest to which the

Violet is specially liable. At the same time, it is as essential that

the plants be exposed to the full sun in the autumn. If grown on a large

scale, a suitable situation for summer quarters is between rows of sweet

peas.

 

 

Ordinary garden soil will suffice for successful Violet culture, but the

soil must be carefully prepared and deep digging is essential. This

should be done some time before planting-out time; if possible in

autumn, so that the ground may be left open to the effects of winter.

Avoid, if possible, stiff clay, as in very wet soil Violets are apt to

become diseased. Violets flourish best on a good medium soil, neither

too heavy, nor too light. The ideal soil is a deep, sandy soil. Where

the soil is heavy, it can be improved by an admixture of well-decayed

manure, road grit, leaf-mould and burnt vegetable refuse. Rank stable

manure must be avoided or the roots will produce any quantity of foliage

and very few flowers. A dressing of leaf-mould is advantageous, as it w

ill prevent the surface from becoming cracked in hot weather and will at

the same time supply the roots with the medium in which they are most at

home naturally.

 

 

The young plants should be rooted runners; plant not less than a foot

apart each way. Choose a moist, dull day for planting, or if dry, puddle

in the roots. If an inverted flower-pot be placed over each young Violet

during the day in hot sunshine and lifted off during rain and at night,

the plants will become established at much greater ease than if the

ground were allowed to become baked by the sun. Water must be given

copiously in dry weather, and the plants will also benefit at such times

from a mulching or top dressing of leaf-mould or decayed manure, old

mushroom-bed manure being useful for this purpose.

 

 

If the foliage assumes a yellow tint, it is almost an indication of the

presence of red spider. The plants should then be sprinkled at frequent

intervals with a mixture of sulphur and well-seasoned soot and a

thorough syringing such as will reach the under-part of the foliage

should also be given, using a solution of Gishurst compound, repeating

the operation at intervals of a day or two, until the pest is

eradicated.

 

 

The soil between the rows should be hoed frequently and the runners of

most varieties must be removed in the summer. The single varieties, on

account of their stronger growth, require more room than the double

forms. Single varieties of the more modern kinds, such as the Princess

of Wales, flower freely on the runners which issue from the parent

plant, and for this reason such runners may be left. The double

varieties, on the contrary, must have the runners removed so as to

strengthen the crowns which give the finest blooms. Good single

varieties besides the Princess of Wales are Wellsiana, La France,

Admiral Avellan and California, and among the doubles Mrs. J. J. The

double garden variety, especially the pale blue Neapolitan Violet which

forms a stem 6 inches in height, is often called the Tree Violet.

 

 

From plants thus established in the open, a plentiful supply of blooms

will be forthcoming in the following spring. It is, however, only in

sheltered places that Violets will thrive in the open during winter. It

is generally found necessary to transfer the plants to cold frames for

flowering, and to grow the flowers for the sake of marketing the cut

blooms for profit; this is absolutely essential, as without glass,

Violets can only be obtained in March and April, when they are

plentiful, cheap and unprofitable. Frames in which melon or cucumbers

have been grown during the summer will be found eminently suitable for

the purpose. A foundation of stable litter and leaves, a foot deep or

more, turned frequently to allow the volatile gases to escape from the

litter, and then well trodden, and covered with a layer of about 6

inches of rich loamy soil, makes a very suitable bed. A great point to

bear in mind is the desirability of keeping the crowns of plants as near

to the glass as possible. If therefore it is necessary to raise the bed

this should be done before the plants are put in the winter quarters.

 

 

Water the Violets from the outdoor bed a day before lifting; by taking

this precaution, it will be possible to lift the roots so that they

bring away with them a good-sized ball of earth. All straggling runners

should be cut away, leaving only two or three, already rooted probably,

and showing flowers close up to the old plants. These reserved runners,

if not already rooted, should be pegged down, and, in addition to

flowering freely, will be just what are wanted for planting out next

spring. There must be no crowding of the plants as, unless they are kept

perfectly clear of each other, damping off is likely to take place,

especially if the ventilation is faulty. They should be planted a foot

apart, firmly and deeply, or sufficiently to bury the stems, keeping the

crowns well out of the soil. Level all and give a good watering

immediately to settle the roots, and keep the frame closed for a few

days until the plants begin to make roots, but no longer. Plenty of air

must be supplied day and night, as long as the weather remains mild. In

frost keep the lights down, and when severe cover with mats, but do not

keep the frames too close or dark from excessive covering. For Violets

in frames, light and air cannot be overstudied, and whilst not allowing

the frost to exercise a too severe influence upon them, it is advisable

to expose them to all the fresh air and light obtainable, to keep the

plants in healthy condition. The leaves when the plants are kept close

and in darkness will turn yellow and lose their vitality, and under such

conditions the plants soon become weakened and rendered incapable of

producing flowers. It is a good plan to sprinkle the soil around the

plants with a little finely-powdered charcoal, as the latter will absorb

the moisture that unavoidably arises through the frames being kept

closed and darkened during severe weather. Application of water to the

roots of Violets in midwinter is not necessary, but later, when the sun

exercises a greater evaporative influence and air in abundance can be

admitted to the plants, it will be necessary to occasionally apply water

as well as manure in liquid form. Care must be taken to keep the glass

clean and free from any smoky deposit which obscures the light; in

cleaning the glasses both sides regularly, avoid any drip on to the

plants. Remove all decaying foliage and constantly watch for slugs. Fog

is bad for Violets in frames: it causes the leaves to damp off and

sometimes kills the plants outright.

 

 

Plants removed to frames in the latter half of September, if properly

attended to, will begin to bloom early in October and continue to flower

till April. In this month, after suitable cuttings and runners have been

taken from them for next season's use, they may be thrown or given away,

for each season young plants alone should be cultivated. If a little

fresh soil is given early in March as a topdressing to the plants in the

frames, the runners become stronger and better rooted for planting

out-of-doors. Besides being kept moist at the roots by occasional

watering, their growth is much benefited by an overhead sprinkling in

the evening during the summer, when the surrounding soil is hot and dry.

While this promotes a healthy growth, it tends also to keep down red

spider.

 

 

Some growers raise their young plants from cuttings taken early in

October, when lifting the plants to put them into frames or cool

greenhouses. At this time, it is easy to secure a few hundreds of the

healthiest cuttings, heeling them in till time permits of their being

dealt with. Inserted in boxes of soil or preferably under spare lights,

model plants for putting out in March or early April will result, which

in turn give the finest flowering clumps.

 

 

Parts Used Medicinally-The flowers dried and the leaves and whole plant

fresh.

 

 

The odour of the flowers is in a great measure destroyed by desiccation

and the degree to which they retain their colour depends on the method

of collecting and drying them.

 

 

The Violet flowers used for Syrup of Violets are not always the ordinary

wild V. odorata, the colour of which soon fades, except under special

treatment. Other species with deeper-coloured and larger blue flowers,

and also deep-coloured garden Violas and Pansies are often substituted

for the Sweet Violet, for upon the colour their value depends.

 

 

Constituents-The chief chemical constituents of the flowers are the

odorous principle and the blue colouring matter, which may be extracted

from the petals by infusion with water and turns green and afterwards

yellow with alkalis and red with acids. The flowers yield their odour

and slightly bitter taste to boiling water and their properties may be

preserved for some time by means of sugar in the form of Syrup of

Violets.

 

 

A glucoside, Viola-quercitin, is also a constituent found throughout the

plant and especially in the rhizome. It may be isolated by exhausting

the fresh plant with warm alcohol, removing the alcohol by distillation

and treating the residue with warm distilled water, from which it

crystallizes in fine yellow needles, which are soluble in water, less so

in alcohol and insoluble in ether. On boiling with mineral acids, the

glucoside is split up into quercitin and a fermentable sugar. The

activity of the plant, according to the British Pharmacopoeia, is

probably due to this glucoside and its products of decomposition, or a

ferment associated with it.

 

 

Salicylic acid has also been obtained from the plant.

 

 

The scientist Boullay discovered in the root, leaves, flowers and seeds

of this plant an alkaloid resembling the Emetin of Ipecacuanha (which

also belongs to the same group of plants), which he termed Violine. The

same alkaloid was found by the French physician Orfila (1787-1853) to be

an energetic poison, which may be identical with Emetin.

 

 

It has been found that the Toulouse Violet, which is without scent when

cultivated in the land from which it takes its name, develops a very

agreeable and pronounced perfume when raised at Grasse.

 

 

The growth of Violet flowers for the extraction of their perfume is not

carried out to such an extent as formerly, as the natural perfume is

suffering severely from the competition of the artificial product which

forms the greater part of the Violet perfume of commerce. The natural

perfume is very expensive to extract, an enormous quantity of flowers

being required to scent a pomade. The largest Violet plantations are at

Nice. The species used are the double Parma Violet and the Victoria

Violet. A certain amount of perfume of a distinctive character is also

now made from the green leaves of Violet plants, taken just before

flowering.

 

 

Medicinal Action and Uses-The Violet is still found in the

Pharmacopoeias.

 

 

Violet flowers possess slightly laxative properties. The best form of

administration is the Syrup of Violets. Syrop Violae of the British

Pharmacopoeia directs that it may be given as a laxative to infants in

doses of 1/2 to 1 teaspoonful, or more, with an equal volume of oil of

Almonds.

 

 

Syrup of Violets is also employed as a laxative, and as a colouring

agent and flavouring in other neutral or acid medicines.

 

 

The older writers had great faith in Syrup of Violets: ague, epilepsy,

inflammation of the eyes, sleeplessness, pleurisy, jaundice and quinsy

are only a few of the ailments for which it was held potent. Gerard

says: 'It has power to ease inflammation, roughness of the throat and

comforteth the heart, assuageth the pains of the head and causeth

sleep.'

 

 

The flowers are crystallized as an attractive sweetmeat, and in the days

of Charles II, a favourite conserve, Violet Sugar, named then 'Violet

Plate,' prepared from the flowers, was considered of excellent use in

consumption and was sold by all apothecaries. The flowers have undoubted

expectorant qualities.

 

 

The fresh flowers have also been used as an addition to salads; they

have a laxative effect.

 

 

An infusion of the flowers is employed, especially on the Continent, as

a substitute for litmus, as a test of acids and alkalis.

 

 

Of the leaves, Gerard tells us that they:

 

'are used in cooling plasters, oyles and comfortable cataplasms or

poultices, and are of greater efficacies amongst other herbs as Mercury,

Mallowes and such like in clisters for the purposes aforesaid.'

 

They are an old popular remedy for bruises.

 

Culpepper says:

 

'It is a fine pleasing plant of Venus, of a mild nature and no way

hurtful. All the Violets are cold and moist, while they are fresh and

green, and are used to cool any heat or distemperature of the body,

either inwardly or outwardly, as the inflammation in the eyes, to drink

the decoction of the leaves and flowers made with water or wine, or to

apply them poultice wise to the grieved places; it likewise easeth pains

in the head caused through want of sleep, or any pains arising of heat

if applied in the same manner or with oil of Roses. A drachm weight of

the dried leaves or flowers of Violets, but the leaves more strongly,

doth purge the body of choleric humours and assuageth the heat if taken

in a draught of wine or other drink; the powder of the purple leaves of

the flowers only picked and dried and drank in water helps the quinsy

and the falling sickness in children, especially at the beginning of the

disease. It is also good for jaundice. The flowers of the Violets ripen

and dissolve swellings. The herbs or flowers while they are fresh or the

flowers that are dry are effectual in the pleurisy and all diseases of

the lungs. The green leaves are used with other herbs to make plasters

and poultices for inflammation and swellings and to ease all pains

whatsoever arising of heat and for piles, being fried with yoke of egg

and applied thereto.'

 

The underground stems or rhizomes (the so-called roots) are strongly

emetic and purgative. They have occasionally been used as adulterants to

more costly drugs, notably to ipecacuanha. A dose of from 40 to 50

grains of the powdered root is said to act violently, inciting nausea

and great vomiting and nervous affection, due to the pronounced emetic

qualities of the alkaloid contained.

 

The seeds are purgative and diuretic and have been given in urinary

complaints, and are considered a good corrective of gravel.

 

 

A modern homoeopathic medicinal tincture is made from the whole fresh

plant, with proof spirit, and is considered useful for a spasmodic cough

with hard breathing, and also for rheumatism of the wrists.

 

 

The glucosidal principles contained in the leaves have not yet been

fully investigated, but would appear to have distinct antiseptic

properties.

 

 

Of late years, preparations of fresh Violet leaves have been used both

internally and externally in the treatment of cancer, and though the

British Pharmacopoeia does not uphold the treatment, it specifies how

they are employed. From other sources it is stated that Violet leaves

have been used with benefit to allay the pain in cancerous growths,

especially in the throat, which no other treatment relieved, and several

reputed cures have been recorded.

 

 

An infusion of the leaves in boiling water (1 in 5) has been

administered in doses of 1 to 2 fluid ounces. A syrup of the petals and

a liquid extract of the fresh leaves are also used, the latter taken in

teaspoonful doses, or rubbed in locally. The fresh leaves are also

prepared as a compress for local application.

 

 

The infusion is generally drunk cold and is made as follows: Take 2 1/2

OZ. of Violet leaves, freshly picked. Wash them clean in cold water and

place them in a stone jar and pour over them 1 pint of boiling water.

Tie the jar down and let it stand for twelve hours, till the water is

green. Then strain off the liquid into a well-stoppered bottle and the

tea is ready for drinking cold at intervals of every two hours during

the day, taking a wineglassful at a time till the whole has been

consumed each day. It is essential that the tea should be made fresh

every day and kept in a cool place to prevent it turning sour. If any

should be left over it should be thrown away.

 

 

As a cure for cancer of the tongue, it is recommended to drink half this

quantity daily at intervals and apply the rest in hot fomentations.

 

 

Injection. - About a couple of wineglassfuls made tepid can be used, if

required, as an injection, night and morning, but this infusion should

be made separate from the tea and should not be of greater strength than

1 OZ. of leaves to 1/2 pint of water.

 

 

As a hot Compress, for external use, dip a piece of lint into the

infusion, made the same strength as the tea, of which a sufficient

quantity must be made warm for the purpose. Lay the lint round or over

the affected part and cover with oilskin or thin mackintosh. Change the

lint when dry or cold. Use flannel, not oilskin, for open wounds, and in

cold weather it should be made fresh about every alternate day. Should

this wet compress cause undue irritation of the skin, remove at once and

substitute the following compress or poultice: Chop some fresh-gathered

young Violet leaves, without stems, and cover with boiling water. Stand

in a warm place for a quarter of an hour and add a little crushed

linseed.

 

 

A concentrated preparation is also recommended, made as follows: Put as

many Violet leaves in a saucepan as can boil in the water. Boil for 1/2

hour, then strain, squeezing tightly. Evaporate this decoction to

one-fourth its bulk and add alcohol (spirits of wine 1 in 15); 1 1/2 OZ.

or 3 tablespoonsful of spirits of wine will keep 24 OZ. for a month.

This syrupy product is stated to be extremely efficacious, applied two

or three times a day, or more, on cotton-wool about the throat. This

will not cause irritation unless applied to the skin with waterproof

over for a considerable time, as under such circumstances moisture will

cause irritation.

 

 

For lubricating the throat, dry and powder Violet leaves and let them

stand in olive oil for six hours in a water bath. Make strong. It will

keep any time.

 

 

A continuous daily supply of fresh leaves is necessary and a

considerable quantity is required. It is recorded that during the nine

weeks that a nurseryman supplied a patient suffering from cancer in the

colon - which was cured at the end of this period - a Violet bed

covering six rods of ground was almost entirely stripped of its foliage.

 

 

 

Violet Ointment. - Place 2 OZ. of the best lard in a jar in the oven

till it becomes quite clear. Then add about thirty-six fresh Violet

leaves. Stew them in the lard for an hour till the leaves are the

consistency of cooked cabbage. Strain and when cold put into a covered

pot for use. This is a good oldfashioned Herbal remedy which has been

allowed to fall into disuse. It is good as an application for

superficial tubercles in the glands of the neck, Violet Leaves Tea being

drunk at the same time.