86 ALPINE FLOWERS AND ROCK GARDENS. 



If aquatics are wanted, and there is no natural 



hollow which could be puddled or Hned with concrete 



in order to form a watertight pool, an excavation can 



be made for the double purpose of providing soil and 



forming a receptacle for water. If the workmen go 



down three feet — and that is a very suitable depth — 



they will bring up a good deal of soil for every square 



yard of surface that they break ; in fact, they will 



remove a quantity equal to a cartload. Should the 



soil be either very light on the one hand, or very heavy 



on the other, it would be prudent to import some 



1/ medium loamy soil to serve as a top layer for special 



f plants. Even six inches of such compost is a great 



' help, as it gives the plants a good start. 



It is not necessary to dwell at great length on the 

 question of soil, because the majority of Alpines 

 will thrive in ordinary earth, and most certainly there 

 is no need to alarm the amateur of slender means by 

 hanging a heavy outlay for compost over his head in 

 addition to the charges for stones and plants. It 

 should be remembered, however, that loam from 

 >(^decaye d tur ves is a most useful standby. 



Granite chips or crumbled limestone may be 

 sprinkled round plants that suffer from damp in winter, 

 and may also be used freely for the strong-growing 

 plants, which in rich soil would spread too much. 

 When, as in my own garden, Roclf^cresses, Snow-in- 

 summer and some Rockfoils spread iiuoT)road masses 

 in poor, chalky soil entirely devoid of humus, there 

 is no difficulty in imagining what would happen if 

 they were provided with rich soil. They would 



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