igo ALPINE FLOWERS AND ROCK GARDENS. 



the flower-lover an opportunity of becoming acquainted, 

 as far as is possible on paper, with the principal members 

 of this charming class. 



Beginners might do well to concentrate their atten- 

 tion on a limited number of the best genera, such as 

 are given in selections at the end of the present section. 

 Many people begin the culture of Alpines with a small 

 rockery, and they are Hkely to do better by taking, say, 

 twenty-five or fifty really good kinds, and doing them 

 well, than by dallying with several hundreds, which 

 they cannot accommodate properly, and the particular 

 requirements of which they have not had opportunities 

 of becoming acquainted with. 



ACAENA MICROPHYLLA.— A sm3\\ plant that is 

 often planted for trailing over poor sandy ground. It 

 is the most generally useful of a small genus that cannot 

 be given a very prominent position. Microphylla is 

 noteworthy for its heads of reddish spines. They are 

 not remarkable for beauty, but they have an interest- 

 ing and distinctive appearance, and they are present 

 throughout the summer. The plant may be propagated 

 by division in winter. 



ACANTHOLIMON GLUM ACEUM.— The most 

 popular member of a fairly large genus of pretty dwarf 

 evergreen plants. It forms numerous tufts of narrow 

 leaves, and bears spikes of rosy flowers in summer, 

 when rock plants are mostly out of bloom. Propagation 

 can be effected by selecting young shoots, removing 

 them with a "heel'' of old wood after flowering, 



