THE SOIL 93 



how impossible it is to supply the climatic 

 needs of a collection of plants gathered from 

 all parts of the globe, such as is found in the 

 modern rock garden, where such extremes as 

 Mesembryanthemums and Androsaces grow 

 side by side, the former almost a semi- 

 tropical plant, while the latter comes from 

 the snowline of the Alps. So it can scarcely 

 be a matter of surprise if difficulty is 

 experienced in growing them equally well. 

 But be the climate what it may, there is one 

 thing that must always be seen to, and that is 

 drainage, to which I have so frequently referred, 

 for damp is more fatal than anything else in 

 this country. 



If the subsoil is of a very open and porous 

 nature, few drains will be required ; but if, on 

 the other hand, it is heavy and retentive, the 

 drainage will need to be most thorough. 



In the artificial rock garden, where the 

 subsoil during primary operations is exposed, it 

 should be left in a slope, so that there may be 

 no hollows for the water to lodge in. A few 

 inches of broken stones over it will greatly 

 assist the drainage. At the foot of the bank it 



