118 ALPINE PLANTS 
whilst some members of the family are somewhat exacting 
in their requirements and must be classed among the more 
difficult cultures, some are just as easy as one might wish, 
and on the whole the genus has suffered undeservedly 
because of the apparent eagerness of writers to warn 
amateurs to leave what they term these “ troublesome 
and disappointing’’ plants alone. There is no _ justi- 
fication for adopting such an attitude toward plants of 
unsurpassed loveliness, some of the prettiest among which 
really require but a moderate amount of care to ensure 
their success. The chief care needed is to contrive to ward 
off from the rosettes of silky or downy foliage the 
drizzling rains and sleet showers of our frequently mild 
but wet winters. Of crisp keen frost the Androsaces can 
endure our hardest visitations cheerfully, but when wet 
settles in the rosettes, and remains for days and weeks, 
the hairy tomentum which thickly covers the leaves is 
liable to damp off, and then ensues decay of the leaves 
and crowns. A simple but effective method of preventing 
trouble of this kind is to place over the plants in winter 
a covering sheet of glass, tilted and held in position by 
a metal clip on a strong footstalk. Our illustration will 
explain the idea, and such clips and supports are expressly 
made for the purpose. The glass is far enough above the 
plant to allow free circulation of air, and so long as the 
edges of the glass extend beyond the area of the plant, 
no drip or rain will cause trouble. Androsace carnea is 
a delightful, extremely beautiful plant, and is quite easy 
to grow. It forms close-growing masses of fresh green 
foliage, not of the silky or downy character. Over this 
