THE MOUNTAIN BOG 233 
than when on the edge of water, or luxuriating in the 
wettest bog. But cautiously, say I; for Myosotis palustris 
is a rampant greedy grower, and pairs better with other 
such stout creatures as Mimulus. 
Of Primula and Ranunculus your bog may be proud. 
All the Alpine Buttercups, alpestris, rutaefolus, ker- 
nerianus, gelidus, glacialis, Traunfellneri, Seguieri, 
crenatus, bilobus, will thank you for rich, deep, wet soil, 
in which they will thrive like potatoes. Nothing is more 
effective in a garden than a damp, stone-strewn tract all 
dotted with the glossy little bushes and the big white- 
and-gold cups of Ranunculus alpestris. Indeed, all these 
high-Alpine Buttercups will thrive in almost any good 
cool corner, provided their soil be heavy and their condi- 
tions not too arid. Rarest and loveliest is a treasure from 
the Austrian Alps, which I have only just succeeded in 
procuring, after years of craving. This is Ranunculus 
anemonoeides—the true anemonoeides, not the pretty 
little Thalictrum anemonoeides with large white flowers 
on short frail stems, which is sometimes confused with 
the Ranunculus and offered in catalogues under the 
auguster name. The Ranunculus inhabits much the same 
wet shingles in the higher eastern ranges that delight 
glacialis in the western moraines. It has clawed, divided, 
fleshy leaves, glaucous and beautiful ; and immense flowers, 
like those of a mountain Chrysanthemum, pearly white, 
verging to a delicate sunset pink. From what I have 
seen I make no doubt this wonderful beauty will prove as 
easy as the rest of the group, and perhaps the finest of 
them all. 
I have already so far chanted the Litany of Primula 
that I can add little to my song of their praise. But 
first, in justice, I must pause to adore my novelties in the 
race—abhorrent from bog-treatment though they be. 
Now, while Auricula Golden Queen has huge obese round, 
