ACCUMULATING THE MATEEIALS 19 



naturally to be preferred to chalk, or rock of a 

 soft and friable character that powders up, or splits 

 into thin plates by the action of frost or other 

 untoward influence. Quartz is not a desirable 

 material, as it is somewhat strong and assertive 

 in colour, and does not readily tone down, so that 

 while other materials weather and mellow, our 

 masses of quartz preserve for a long time a dis- 

 tressing appearance of newness, and a disinclination 

 to blend with their surroundings. 



Cartage is the chief expense, stones having a 

 way of being so very heavy. Great care must be 

 exercised in loading up and unloading, so as not to 

 needlessly abrade the surfaces, and thus rub away 

 the charming masses of pale grey or gorgeous 

 orange lichens that clothe them, and which, if 

 preserved, at once save the rock-garden from the 

 otherwise bald and horribly new look that a 

 recently made thing of the kind must almost 

 unavoidably have. 



The townsman, if he has no country friend to 

 hunt up material for him, or no inclination to meet 

 the heavy expense of its transport from the locality 

 where it is found in situ, has but little choice before 

 him. He must either laboriously " convey" suitable 

 stones that he may find on waste ground (a very 

 long process, and one sufficiently tiresome, being 

 alike destructive to one's clothes, and arm-aching to 

 one's muscles, as any one will find who in a fit of 



