INTRODUCTION. ll 



covered with small angular stones : by this means less 

 humidity will rest about the plant, and, in so far as the 

 stones will arrest evaporation, there will be a limitation 

 of the necessary watering ; so that in two directions the 

 cause of damping in those subjects is lessened by means 

 of this practice. 



A large number of alpine plants may be cultivated in 

 the mixed border, if the locality is not very moist, and 

 the drainage good. Only the more vigorous should be 

 tried out in this way by the inexperienced at first, and the 

 more fastidious and delicate by-and-by, when stock and 

 experience are both increased sufficiently to warrant a few 

 experiments and their risks. Nearly all will be benefited 

 by being a little elevated above the general surface, 

 mound-like, and most will be the better for having a 

 few rough stones buried or half buried about their roots, 

 in soils that are inclined to retentiveness ; while in those 

 that are light and dry, most alpines should have the 

 surface in their vicinity covered with stones to prevent 

 evaporation to an excessive degree. Those stones, 

 whether buried or on the surface, serve another good 

 purpose besides those of drainage and retention of 

 moisture : they keep up a more equable temperature 

 in the soil, which is a point of much importance in the 

 culture of alpine plants. 



The time when alpine plants may be most safely divided 

 is spring, when a little activity is beginning. There are 

 many vigorous sorts that may be operated on with safety 

 in the autumn, but in the case of all small and surface- 

 rooting species it is better to wait till spring. Those which 

 make a very early start into flower, such as Anemone 

 apennina, may be divided in early autumn ; and any 



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