INTRODUCTION. 
shredded peat, + leaf-mould, 4 coarse sand. This, with 
sandstone, is very useful for species of the high non- 
calcareous alpines, as Loiseleuria, Trifolium alpinum, and 
Meconopsis. 
leaf-mould, 2 very coarse Red Hill (or grocer’s) sand 
makes a most luscious spongy compound, in which even 
Gentiana verna cannot help growing a foot wide in three 
months. 
sand, + blended peat and leaf-mould is a yet finer, choicer, 
and more exiguous mixture for very special treasures. 
(Lime to taste.) 
ordinary good loam, 4 blended leaf-mould and powdered 
old manure, makes (if sufficiently light without the addition 
of sand) a very good general compound for the rock-garden. 
(Lime to taste.) 
And, of course, the changes can be indefinitely rung on all 
these, and more, too, according to the wish and experience of 
the cultivator, and his knowledge of his climate. 
We now have the foundation excavated, the drainage laid in 
and. covered, the soil mixtures prepared in special heaps at the 
path-side, ready to go in. 
Follows the choice of stone for building. In most cases, 
people take the goods the gods provide them. But all 
artificial “stone,” by whatever name described, is invariably 
and absolutely to be refused. Far better a rock-garden without 
a single rock than ill-furnished acres of Portland cement blocks 
or sham stalactites. 
All derelict artificial rubbish, burrs, clinkers, odds and ends 
of Norman arches, conglomerated bricks, and such like, must 
be refused with equal sternness. 
All granite, flint, slate, porphyry, syenite or calliard is only 
to be used as a resource of despair. These rocks are lifeless, arid, 
and unprofitable, innutritious in substance, hard and hostile of 
texture and outline, unfriendly to beauty, whether of conforma- 
tion or plant life. They are only capable of producing chaotic 
gaunt piles from which a few species peer fitfully. 
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