CHAPTER I. 



How to Form Rockeries. 



In proceeding from a survey of the characteristics 

 and habitats of Alpine plants to practical matters we 

 turn naturally to a consideration of the best way 

 of constructing rockeries. 



We have pressed home the paramount importance of 

 getting a display of beautiful flowers, and have pointed 

 out that in some cases the stones have undue promi- 

 nence. But this is not to say that rockeries may be 

 flung together in any sort of way, provided the plants 

 have plenty of room and a sufficient supply of suitable 

 soil. The choice of material, and the manner in which 

 it is utilised, have a considerable bearing on a successful 

 result. 



It is not until an amateur rockery-builder finds him- 

 self with a heap of stones on one side and a mound 

 of soil on the other that he realises how much art 

 there is in bringing them together in such a way that 

 they not only provide abundant accommodation for 

 the plants, but look really natural and finished in them- 

 selves. His native wit may carry him through, but it is 

 likely that he will have wasted a great deal of time 

 in experiments before he sees a result that satisfies 

 him. 



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