388 THE ALPINE FLORA 



white or carnation cushions, the climber on his upward 

 way and speak to him of courage and of strength. 

 Dwelling among the fairest, frailest gems of alpine 

 flowers, it hymns with them their maker's glory. 



Que de fleurs, de parfums, sur la montagne en fete, 

 Que de concerts joyeux s'elevent au Seigneur ; 

 Et combien de bonheurs qui montent de 1'arete 

 Vers le trone de Dieu pour chanter sa grandeur ! 



Androsaces of this group Aretia, that is, all the 

 species described from helvetica onwards, are unusually 

 difficult to coax into cultivation. But compared with 

 glacialis, the others three are easy. Glacialis also is 

 peculiar in its habitat, for whereas the others come 

 from deep, narrow clefts where no large quantity of 

 permanent moisture is present, this one comes from 

 soaking morainic debris, with water in abundance but no 

 stagnation. All, especially helvetica, love unlimited 

 sunlight. Water should be freely given in summer but 

 not on the foliage, which would then turn rusty. All 

 need deep roothold, helvetica and pubescens sandwiched 

 between faces of limestone, imbricata in a very sunny 

 wall among broken granite. All are benefited by top- 

 dressing of congenial stone-chips, worked all around to 

 absorb superfluous moisture, for despite the need for 

 copious occasional waterings, all, except glacialis, need 

 absolute dryness such as in a sunny face of a wall 

 or rock. 



A. Vitaliana CJlretia, Douglasia, Primula or Gregoria 

 Vitaliana). A tiny spreading, tufted plant, forming 

 thick, greyish swards; leaves lanceolate, linear, with a 

 clear streak on the margins; flowers relatively large, 

 brilliant yellow, solitary or in whorls among the leaves 

 towards the tips of the branches. June-July. Dry, 

 parched slopes of the Alps, except in chalk. One of the 



