4O2 THE ALPINE FLORA 



unbroken cushion of glorious azure, the leaves no 

 longer visible beneath the shimmering, sheeny covering. 

 The alpine of alpines, the plant of the snows, not to be 

 forgotten by him that has once seen it on his way ! 



The cultivation calls for exceptional care. Absolute 

 dryness, partial sun, a light and porous soil are essential. 

 At Floraire it is grown under full sun in Sphagnum. 

 No trouble can be too great to expend up this most 

 glorious of alpines, yet one can offer little hope of real 

 success. Imported clumps may flower once and then die. 

 Yet every now and then some tale of unexpected success 

 whips the undying hopes of enthusiasts to renewed 

 efforts. Mr. Farrer reports well of culture on his 

 moraine; others flower it from seed, which, by the way, 

 is the only way of propagation. Mr. Clark, in his 

 valuable little book, gives elaborate instructions as to 

 planting in very gritty loam and finely broken granite, 

 which it would be unfair to quote at length. 1 



The best plants of Eritrichium nanum I have ever seen 

 were those grown by my late friend the Hon. C. Ellis at 

 Frensham Hall, Haslemere. He had grown then by 

 seeds and had large pans of this beautiful sky-blue plant 

 covered with flowers. Mr. H. Burroughes, at Ketton 

 near Stamford, grew the plant well and kept it for seven 

 years alive. At the botanic garden of Edinburgh, also, 

 it grows well and endures ; but, as everything is growing 

 there so luxuriantly, it is not a wonder that Eritrichium 

 does well too. 1 know another case, at Scampston Hall, 

 Rillington, in Yorkshire. Only recently Hr. W. H. St. 

 Quintin wrote to me : "] have still six Eritrichium 

 plants now growing fast. But they are in a frame and 

 their pots are plunged in larger ones into which we give 

 the water. Two of them are from seeds we ripened 



1 Alpine plants published by L. Upcott Gill. 



