GENERAL INTRODUCTION 



to my papers there any readers who live in hot, dry cli- 

 mates, for whom this method is the only one to adopt. 

 Indeed there are certain alpine species which cannot 

 otherwise be cultivated in the continental climate of Ge- 

 neva, but which under this treatment have given marvel- 

 lous results. The sphagnum should be placed in baskets 

 or pans pierced with many holes to allow the drainage to 

 work freely. The object is to get a compost of a texture 

 which will absorb moisture like a sponge and retain suffi- 

 cient to counteract the ill effects of the sun by maintain- 

 ing a regular and unfailing humidity about the roots 

 and aerial organs. The vessel must be placed in a 

 dry and well lighted situation, exposed to the full rays 

 of the sun and deluged with water, for success depends 

 upon the frequency of these waterings and the abundance 

 of vapour formed around the plant under the influence of 

 the sun. In this way, beneath a burning sun at Floraire, 

 Arnica montana has been flowered, Ranunculus glacialis, 

 'Eritrichium nanum, Soldanella alpina, Jlndrosace glacialis 

 and helvetica, Saxifraga biflora, Campanula cenisia and 

 excisa and many other of like nature. 



Grit, calcareous or granitic, is also essential in the 

 culture of alpines. Too rich a soil is, generally speaking, 

 injurious to these species, which are for the most part of 

 a frugal temper and ask for nothing beyond a porous soil, 

 well drained and somewhat niggard. The most richly 

 habited among them, those of the most vivid and radiant 

 splendour, live as a rule in crevices among the rocks, 

 between stones or on glacier moraines all hungry habi- 

 tations. The earliest denizens, the pioneers to invade the 

 moraines after the retreat of the glaciers, are often those 

 which put on the most glorious attire. Examine the soil 

 in which they bury so deep the myriads of long, long 

 rootlets, and you are surprised to find that it is sand or 

 gravel almost unadulterate. 



