THE ROCKWORK 83 



neglecting this apparently unimportant detail. 

 It must be done in the building stage, for 

 later on it may be found very difficult, if not 

 impossible, to do it properly. 



Some of the higher-growing alpines would, 

 if planted in anything like good soil, quickly 

 succumb to over-feeding. Many of these plants 

 are found growing in the moraines deposited by 

 the action of the glaciers, the soil of which 

 consists chiefly of grit and small stones, with 

 just a trace of vegetable loam in it. There 

 some of the rarest alpines will be found 

 growing in a state of health never arrived at 

 in this country. For them a special place will 

 have to be prepared, to supply as nearly as 

 possible the conditions to which they have 

 been accustomed. Choose some bank the 

 drainage of which is ensured, facing south, 

 about 3 to 4 feet above the level of the 

 path, and having a gentle gradient of not 

 more than i foot in 16 feet. Remove the 

 soil to a depth of about 18 inches, and put 

 a layer, about 4 inches thick, of coarse stone 

 in the bottom ; then fill up with small broken 

 stones, into which grit and a little, very little. 



