CULTIVATION 157 



have neither the vigour nor constitution to 

 withstand it, and will surely pine away, unless 

 kept constantly watered. 



From this we learn that the failure to keep 

 such choice alpines as Eritrichium nanum^ 

 Gentiana bavarica^ Androsace glacialis^ and many 

 others, or to flower with any success such 

 plants as Soldanella alpina^ Androsace obtusifolia^ 

 is due not to the severity of our winters, nor 

 yet to the heat of our summers, but to the fact 

 that, owing to the conditions of our climate, 

 the plants never become dormant, and their 

 constitution is thereby so weakened that they 

 are unable to withstand the comparatively 

 temperate heat of our summers. And, in 

 addition, though alpines at certain seasons must 

 have abundant moisture at their roots, they 

 dislike above all things the continual humid 

 atmosphere which is one of the character- 

 istics of the British Isles. From this one 

 may infer that the secret of success and 

 the chief thing to aim at is to encourage 

 strong and vigorous growth in the spring by 

 careful watering until the plants are sufficiently 

 established to enable them to withstand a 



