President'' s Addrcsi^. 71 



No one will be disappointed when they are able to get it to thrive. 

 I had several plants last spring measuring 6 to 8 inches across, and 

 with as many as forty flowers on each ; the brilliancy of the blue is 

 wonderful when the sun is shining. It is no use trying to grow G. 

 bavarica in the ordinary rockwork, as it requires bog garden treat- 

 ment. The flowers are as fine as G. verna, but of a slightly darker 

 blue. O. ornuta is a lovely little gem from the Himalaya, intro- 

 duced a few years ago to the Botanic Garden. It grows and flowers 

 freely in light soil, and should be in every collection. Hepatkas are 

 plants that should be grown by the thousand. They like shady 

 places. All the colours are pretty, but the double olue is the rarest ; 

 it, however, grows Avith me as freely as the others, A few years 

 ago I succeeded in getting a double white sport from this plant, 

 but it was lost from over-nursing. This double white Hepatica 

 is said to have existed more than twenty years ago, and I have 

 met with people who have seen it. It is, however, I think, not 

 in cultivation at present. 



Among the Campanulas are some fine rock plants. C. Zoysii is 

 very distinct from other Campanulas in flower, and weU worth grow- 

 ing ; it is, hoAvever, not easy to keep, being inclined to damp off 

 in Avinter. It should ahvays be taken into the cool house or cold 

 frame, otherwise we run a risk of losing the Avhole stock. C. 

 piilla and alpina are both good ; the former a running-rooted 

 plant, and a free floAverer. G. alpina is very dAvarf, with large 

 flowers for the size of the plant ; it is a difficult plant to keep in 

 Aviuter, and should be kept in the cold frame ; it greAV and flowered 

 Avell with me this summer. C. isophylla alba is perhaps the most 

 beautiful of the whole family ; it has large Avaxy-looking flowers, and 

 grows freely in summer, but requires the shelter of the cold frame 

 in Avinter. It also requires to be frequently renewed, either from 

 cuttings or from seed, as the plants do not live long. 



If you Avish to grow some of the finer alpine plants, it is neces- 

 sary to have a cold frame, to keep them dry during winter, Avhen 

 they are susceptible of moisture. When in their own home they 

 are covered deep with snoAv, and kept quite dry. Anbriefias are 

 good for the steeper parts of the rockery ; they cover a large surface, 

 and are very striking when in floAver. A. Hendersoni is the darkest 

 coloured, but perhaps a little looser in its habit than some of 

 the others. 



The family of Saxifrages is a large one, and contains valuable 

 plants for Avinter decoration, for although they flower in summer, 

 when they are exceedingly handsome, they are at their brightest 

 and freshest, as regards the leaves, during the autumn and Avintor 

 months, so that a collection planted in beds by themselves are 



