98 ALPINES AND BOG-PLANTS 
or two very valuable species. Arenaria montana, for a 
sunny rock-face, is a splendid hanging plant, forming a 
perfect curtain covered all over with its shilling-large, 
snow-white flowers. Ciliata and norvegica are small 
forms, one decumbent, the other tending to be erect, 
very near gothica, and not quite so pretty. Huteri is a 
high-Alpine with big white blossoms, that seems to be 
thriving in the moraine-garden. Purpurascens is a very 
charming, free-flowering person of easy culture—a pro- 
strate mass with glossy leaves, and pale lilac stars. There 
is another plant, a weird, ugly thing, sent me once as 
norvegica, with grassy leaves, and bunchy heads of 
rather dingy-white blooms; this is probably Avenaria 
graminifolia. As for Arenaria balearica, that delightful 
little Corsican is a perfect weed here, in this moist 
climate, sowing itself all over the place; and the only 
attention it requires is the negative one of weeding it up 
when necessary. For let no one be so deceived by the 
apparent frailness of those brittle little stems, as to use 
it as a carpet for choice plants. Arenaria balearica 
forms a dense, strangling mat, in which, before long, 
everything else, however vigorous, gives up the ghost 
and expires. But oh! it is a joy when the whole 
emerald sheet of it is covered with its wee brilliant white 
stars. Even here it doesn’t like being sunburnt ; so that 
elsewhere it may prefer shady treatment; but in this 
climate, as I say, the plant is a very weed of weeds. 
Speaking horticulturally, nothing separates Alsine 
from Arenaria—and the Alsines laricifolia, pinifolia, and 
Rosani are all valuable, thrifty, easy-going plants for 
sunny rock-work, making mats of emerald fur, and then 
sending up big snowy blossoms on frail stems. Ledebouri- 
ana I have only just got; but there is a very strong 
family likeness among these plants, and I find a prefer- 
ence very hard to arrive at. 
