66 Value of a "Right Position 



doubtless so much to the plants. Hence if we yearn 

 for their higher encrusted development, we must see 

 to it that the conditions engendering it are not lacking. 



A good finger-post in this connection is the silvery- 

 leaf character of certain plants the whole of which 

 revel in sunlight and warmth. Outstanding instances 

 occur in the case of some of the Androsaces — e.g., 

 A. lanuginosa, A. 1. Leichtlini, and the more silvery 

 Achilleas, as A. ageratifolia, A. argentea, A. sericea, 

 A. Clavennae, A. holosericea, A. Kellereri, and A. um- 

 bellata. Not only are such as these more perfectly 

 happy in full sun and the silvery character enhanced; 

 it is increased in those instances where the soil is freely 

 charged with sand or old mortar rubble, which also 

 insures free drainag'e and increased root warmth. Of 

 this no better instance could be given than the Andro- 

 saces first named, which, revelling in sun and the fullest 

 exposure, show to distinctly better advantage when 

 grown on a sharply sloping bank in a soil mixture of 

 nearly one half of old mortar or lime rubble. With 

 the freer conditions of growth obtaining in such cir- 

 cumstances, flower beauty is naturally augmented' — 

 the twain a clear demonstration of the value of a 

 rightly chosen position with the root fibres in warm, 

 deep, perfectly drained soil. For such plants, how- 

 ever, there must be a combination of all the conditions 

 named if complete success is to be achieved. 



There is, however, another set of plants to which sun 

 in conjunction with correct soil conditions is as life 

 itself. Of this some Gentians are noteworthy instances. 

 The common Gentianella (G. acaulis), G. verna, and its 

 bolder variety G. v. angulosa, are never so brilliant as 

 when seen in full sunUght., Sunlight and heat, too, 

 materially assists flower expansion in their case, as it 

 does in others of the race, G. Freyniana, G. septemfida, 

 and others akin. It is even more life-giving for those 

 briUiant autumn-flowering species, G, sino-ornata and 

 G. Farreri, as those who have grown them both in sun 

 and shade can testify. Indeed, sun, a generous depth 



