56 ALPINE FLOWERS [PART I. 



earthenware pan or a wooden tub, bury it 6 inches beneath the 

 surface of the ground, fill it full of broken bricks and stones and 

 water, and cover with good peat soil ; the margin may be surrounded 

 with clinkers or tiles at discretion, so as to resemble a small bed. 

 In this bed, with occasional watering, all strong-growing bog plants 

 will flourish to perfection; such plants as Osmundas and other 

 Ferns, the Carexes, Cyperuses, etc., will grow to a large size and make 

 a fine display, while the cause of their vigour will not be apparent. 



" A more perfect bog-garden is made by forming a basin of brick- 

 work and Portland cement, about 1 foot in depth; the bottom 

 may be either concreted or paved with tiles or slates laid in cement, 

 and the whole must be made water-tight ; an orifice should be made 

 somewhere in the side, at the height of 6 inches, to carry off the 

 surplus water, and another in the bottom at the lowest point, 

 provided with a cork, or, better still, a brass plug valve to close it. 

 Five or six inches of large stones, brick, etc., are first laid in, and 

 the whole is filled to the top with good peat soil, the surface being 

 raised into uneven banks and hillocks, with large pieces of clinker 

 or stone imbedded in it, so as to afford drier and wetter spots ; the 

 size and form of this garden or bed may be varied at discretion. 

 An oval or circular bed, 5 or 6 feet in diameter, would look well on a 

 lawn or in any wayside spot, or an irregularly formed corner may 

 be rendered interesting in this way ; but it should be in an open 

 and exposed situation ; the back may be raised with a rockwork of 

 stones or clinkers, imbedded in peat, and the moisture ascending by 

 capillary action will make the position a charming one for Ferns and 

 numberless other peat-loving plants. During the summer the bed 

 should always contain 6 inches of water, but in winter it may be 

 allowed to escape by the bottom plug. It is in every way desirable 

 that a small trickle of water should constantly flow through the bog ; 

 ten or twelve gallons per diem will be quite sufficient, but where 

 this cannot be arranged, it may be kept filled by hand. The sides 

 of such a bog may be bordered by a very low wall of flints or 

 clinkers, built with mortar diluted with half its bulk of road-sand 

 and leaf-mould, and with a little earth on the top ; the moisture 

 will soon cause this to be covered with Moss, and Ferns and wall 

 plants of all kinds will thrive on it. 



" Where space will permit, a much larger area may be converted 

 into bog and rock-work intermingled, the surface being raised or 

 depressed at various parts, so as to afford stations for more or less 

 moisture-loving plants. Large stones should be freely used on the 

 surface, so as^to form mossy stepping-stones ; and many plants will 

 thrive better in the chinks formed by two adjacent stones than on 

 the surface of the peat. In covering such a large area, it is not 

 necessary to render the whole area water-tight. A channel of water 

 about 6 inches deep, with drain pipes and bricks at the bottom, 

 may be led to and fro, or branched over the surface, the bends or 



