REMARKS ON THE CULTURE OF ALPINES. 99 



will spread far more than we want them to do on our 

 rock gardens, and others will appear that we did not 

 put there. Once a year at least our rock garden 

 should be gone over carefully and thoroughly lor the 

 express purpose of cleaning. There is no benefit 

 whatever in leaving thick masses of Rock Cresses, 

 Snow-in-summer and Gold Dust unpruned after they 

 have finished flowering. They should be cropped 

 in hard with the fingers, reducing them to small 

 patches from which they will extend again the follow- 

 ing season. On chalky ground the yellow Fumitory 

 must be watched closely. It establishes itself in 

 every nook and cranny, where its thick, fleshy stems 

 get a tight hold, and are only dislodged with difficulty. 

 The Valerian, showy as it is, must be curbed too, on 

 chalk, which it loves. It is not a true Alpine, and 

 should only be tolerated in strict moderation. Of 

 weeds proper crowfoot is one of the worst. It loves 

 to fix itself in deep, narrow crevices, as well as in the 

 smallest chinks, where it is difficult to get hold of. 

 It is no use merely pulling off the leaves, the crown 

 must be got out, or else broken off, otherwise the plant 

 will soon throw more foliage. Chickweed, groundsel 

 and grass seeds are common, but they are not so dan- 

 gerous as crowfoot. 



It would sound faithless in the extreme to speak 

 of bulbs as weeds, but it cannot be gainsaid that after 

 they have bloomed they play very much the part of 

 weeds, and when the foHage begins to turn yellow they 

 are really unsightly. This is a point which must be 

 borne in mind when considering what bulbs, if any, 



