PART I.] CULTURAL 7 



but it is seldom that a choice can be made, and happily almost 

 any kind of natural stone will do, from Kentish rag to lime- 

 stone ; soft, slaty, and other kinds liable to crumble away 

 should be avoided, as also should magnesian limestone. Stone 

 of the district should be adopted for economy's sake, if for 

 no other reason. Wherever the natural rock crops' out, as it 

 often does in many hilly parts of our islands, it is sheer waste 

 to create artificial rock work instead of embellishing that which 

 naturally occurs. Something of the same kind might be said 

 of many of our country seats. In many cases of this kind 

 nothing would have to be done but to clear the ground, and 

 add here and there a few loads of good soil, with broken stones, 

 etc., to prevent evaporation ; the natural crevices being planted 

 where possible. Cliffs or banks of chalk, as well as all kinds 

 of rock, should be taken advantage of in this way; many 

 plants, like the dwarf Campanulas and Eock Eoses, thrive 

 in such places. 



No burrs, clinkers, vitrified matter, portions of old arches 

 and pillars, broken-nosed statues, etc., should ever obtain a 

 place in a garden devoted to alpine flowers. Stumps and pieces 

 of old trees are quite as bad as any of the foregoing materials ; 

 they are only fitted to form supports for rough climbers, and 

 it is rarely worth while incurring any expense in arranging 

 them. It is best to begin without attempting much. Let 

 your earliest attempts at " the first great evidences of mountain 

 beauty " be confined to a few square yards of earth, with no 

 protuberance more than a yard or so high, and be satisfied 

 that you succeed with that, before trying anything more 

 ambitious. The stones should usually all have their bases 

 buried in the ground, and the seams should not be visible ; 

 whenever a vertical or oblique seam of any kind occurs, it 

 should be crammed with earth, and the plants put in this will 

 quickly hide the seams. Horizontal fissures should be avoided 

 as much as possible ; they are only likely to occur in vertical 

 faces of rock, and these should be avoided except where distant 

 effect is sought. No vacuum should exist beneath the surface 

 of the soil or surface-stones. Myriads of alpine plants have 



