28 THE STORY OF MY ROCK GARDEN 



places where spongy soil exists, constantly wetted by 

 water passing through it, and which, by the cutting off 

 of the water supply, could be rendered comparatively 

 dry in the winter or resting season, I made the floor 

 water-tight with a thick coating of clay well puddled 

 into the trodden bottom. The front and sides of each 

 of these were built up in just the same way, using heavy 

 lumps of stone well wedged together and fixed with 

 cement, since the soil behind them would be soft and 

 spongy and so afford no support to the stones them- 

 selves. These compartments were filled in with 

 coarse peat at the bottom, and the before-mentioned 

 compost of peat, sand and leaf-mould. 



When I had arrived at a point a little above the nor- 

 mal level of the ground, I started the outline from the 

 path side, arranging for it to fall into small " bays " 

 here and there, separated by promontories or buttresses 

 running down into the path, so as to give it the 

 appearance of springing out of the latter in a natural 

 way or as though a somewhat level place among the 

 rocky ground had been utilized to form the path. This 

 irregular outline is illustrated by the reproduction facing 

 page 17. Particular care was taken to select good 

 looking stones to form these promontories, since they 

 would be to a certain extent visible, even when the rest 

 of the garden was well clothed. 



The compartments, if one can apply that name to 



