78 ALPINE FLOWERS [PART I. 



from cuttings must be ensured. Some of the terrestrial Orchids, 

 such as Bee, and Fly, and Spider, we must be contented to keep 

 as long as they choose to live, as they seem never to increase in 

 cultivation at all, though they may flower well year after year. 

 But there are not a few plants which refuse to be tamed, and 

 from the time they are planted in our gardens, seem always to 

 go from bad to worse, and are never presentable in appearance 

 for two seasons together. Of these I may instance Gentiana 

 bavarica and Eritrichium nanum, which I believe no skill has 

 ever yet kept in cultivation without constant renewal, and which 

 perhaps are never likely to repay the trouble of trying to keep 

 them alive. In all alpine gardening there will be, even where 

 equal skill is exerted, different degrees of success, according to 

 the surrounding conditions ; and it must not be expected that 

 the same soil and treatment which keep a hundred rare alpines 

 in perfect health at Edinburgh will be equally fortunate at 

 Kew. 



"FRAMES FOR ALPINES. 



"Where the area of rockery is considerable, a cold frame 

 should be assigned for keeping up the supply of plants for it 

 cuttings and seedlings in pots. I think all attempts to imitate 

 natural conditions, such as snow and long rest, by unnatural 

 means are mistakes. During warm winters mountain plants 

 will grow, and must be allowed to grow, and to keep them 

 unnaturally dark or dry when growing is fatal to their health. 

 Even in severe frosts, air must be given abundantly in the day- 

 time, and the frames must not be muffled up. Stagnant air, 

 whether damp or dry, is their worst enemy ; but if the weather 

 is warm enough to set them growing, they may easily die for 

 want of moisture. I will not say more than this, for experience 

 is the best guide, and every one thinks he can manage his frames 

 better than his neighbour ; but of the use of frames for flowering 

 alpines in pots I must add a few words. There are certain very 

 early-flowering alpines upon which a mixture of admiration and 

 lamentation is bestowed at the end of every winter. Their 



