13 o BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS 



through a florist is that he generally knows how to go about 

 getting it in pieces of the right size and shape. This is a very 

 important consideration. One might buy a ton of stone in two 

 or three lumps, but that would be useless, except for very large 

 rockeries indeed. Moderate-sized pieces, weighing from five to ten 

 pounds, and nearly flat, are the most suitable. Large pieces that 

 are nearly as thick as they are long are not desirable. 



The superior utility of flat stone over 

 thicker material quickly becomes apparent 

 when the rockery-builder begins his opera- 

 tions ; in fact, it will be apparent to him 

 if he first visits a good rock garden, in 

 search of practical hints to guide his work. 

 It is unfortunate that such examples are 

 not to be found in more of our public parks 

 and gardens, where they might well take 

 the place of part of the overdone " bedding- 

 out." There are good reasons, of course, 

 why a certain amount of bedding must be 



done > and we do not suest that rockeries 



CONSTRUCTION OF ROCKERIES 



Showing how to place stones for large 

 and small plants. Top figure 



mg^gracefullyoveredgeofrockery 



should wholly take the place of flower- 

 funds available for conducting public gar- 

 dens are limited ; moreover, we realise that something very 

 simple and bright is needed to please the public. But there 

 should be examples of rock gardening for the benefit of people 

 of more culture, who, after all, help to pay for the maintenance 

 of public gardens. As things are, it is practically only in a few of 

 the largest botanical gardens, such as Kew and Edinburgh, that 

 instructive specimens of rock gardening can be seen. 



Alike for effect, reasonable economy in the use of stone, and 

 for the benefit of the plants, the rockery-builder should use his 

 material sparingly. It will help the Alpine lover to practise 



