PLANNING AND BUILDING 29 



those irregularly shaped beds between the various 

 tiers of rocks, were arranged as far as possible of different 

 shapes and heights, and I took much care to build only 

 from the completed and thoroughly solid portion 

 upwards, towards the unfinished part, and in each case 

 the soil was well hammered and trodden down behind 

 each stone. Time after time I placed the various 

 stones, first upon one side, and then upon another 

 and viewed them from a little distance, to make sure 

 that their outline was in conformity with the effect I 

 desired. 



I found it best to ram down the soil in the finished 

 compartments, and afterwards slightly slope the place 

 the next stone was to occupy, downwards and towards 

 the back ; this gave the new stone a seating which would 

 cause it to slope inwards and downwards towards the 

 soil, and thus be firm and solid, enabling one to put his 

 whole weight upon any one of the stones so placed, 

 without the slightest risk of moving it. 



It is a point too often overlooked in rockery building 

 that the stones should be used to retain the soil, and not 

 the soil to retain the stones ! Too much emphasis 

 cannot be put upon this point, as no end of trouble will 

 follow any deviation from this rule. 



>Here and there, at convenient places, I arranged 

 either flat-topped lumps of stone, or else stone slabs 

 with irregular edges, to form rough stepping places, 



