THE LAPIDIUM, OR ROCK-WORK. 239 



they are most generally seen in nature. For 

 this purpose we have lapidiums, or Alpine-plant 

 borders, which are only a congregation of rugged 

 stones. In the interstices of these, the plants are 

 put, either on the dry summit, or in dark recesses 

 under the largest blocks. And though such a 

 harsh feature may be dispensed with in a simply 

 beautiful flower-garden, it is absolutely necessary 

 in an extensive botanical collection, where the 

 object avowedly is, to get together and present 

 every vegetable production found on the varied 

 face of the earth ; whether among craggy rocks 

 on high, or on the extended savannas of the low 

 latitudes. Alpine plants, therefore, which consti- 

 tute a very large and beautiful portion of our col- 

 lections, are treated with a situation and exposure 

 as like their native habitat as it is possible for 

 art to accomplish. Many of the mosses, lichens, 

 and especially the beautiful family of ferns, 

 cannot be cultivated successfully, nor indeed 

 would they look well, if unaccompanied by 

 fragments of stone or other marks of uncultivated 

 nature. 



