26 ALPINE PLANTS 
the term would be interpreted by the gardener that their 
constitutions have been weakened, as has been the case 
with many subjects that have been for long periods culti- 
| vated under the most favourable conditions. 
Therefore, like most living things in Nature’s wild domains, 
the majority of alpine plants still possess in a marked degree 
a wonderful power of adaptability to changing conditions, 
and trying as our irregular winters are to many alpine 
plants that are directly transferred from their native homes 
to our British gardens, we find that home-raised plants 
become acclimatized and capable of thriving under the 
average conditions of their adopted homes. 
It would certainly be a grave injustice to represent alpine 
plants as a whole as being a class that can only be cultivated 
with special skill and care, for the greater proportion are 
as easily grown as any plants that are worthy of garden 
accommodation. 
