92 ROCK GARDENS 



Many plants are not only affected by damp 

 in winter, but also may suffer from drought 

 in the summer, and generally it will be those 

 kinds which are found fully exposed to the sun 

 in their native homes. This may perhaps, to 

 a certain extent, be accounted for by the differ- 

 ence of altitude, for there is a theory that the 

 sun, owing to the air being so much more 

 rarefied, does not have the same parching effect 

 as at a lower level. The only remedy for this 

 is watering, which in a large garden may prove 

 rather an arduous task, but is preferable to 

 losing the plants. 



It is also advisable in dry weather to keep 

 the surface of the ground loose. It is rather a 

 popular error to imagine that stirring the soil 

 conduces to evaporation ; the result is quite 

 the reverse, for by loosening the surface the 

 capillary action of the soil is encouraged and 

 moisture is drawn up from below. 



A very useful tool for this purpose is the 

 " Baby Bucco," a miniature form of that very 

 excellent cultivator, " The Bucco," so widely 

 advertised in all gardening papers. 



If one comes to analyse it, it will be seen 



