236 The Wild Garden 



establish the Httle Wall Rue (Asplenium Rutamuraria) in 

 pots, pans, or any way in the fernery ; but by taking a few 

 of the spore-bearing fronds, and shaking a little of the 

 ' fern-seed ' into the chinks of an old wall, we may soon 

 establish it ; and in like manner it is quite possible to 

 cultivate the Ceterach and the graceful Spleenwort, only 

 that the wall must be somewhat older, so to speak, to 

 accommodate these than the Wall Rue, as this little fern 

 will grow on a wall that is in perfect condition, as may 

 be seen at Lord Mansfield's at Highgate, where the 

 high garden-wall that runs for some distance parallel 

 with the road running from Hampstead to Highgate is 

 covered in its upper part with this plant. In gardening 

 few things are more interesting than an old wall covered 

 with ferns and rock and mountain plants. 



The Stonecrops are followed in the natural classifica- 

 tion of British plants by the Rockfoils (Saxifraga), like 

 the Stonecrops in size, but more valuable for the garden. 

 First, there is the Irish group of Saxifrages, the London 

 Pride and its varieties; and the Killarney saxifrage, 

 S. Geum and its interesting varieties, both species very 

 pretty for the rock-garden and borders. Next we have 

 the mountain S. Stellaris and S. Nivalis, and the yellow 

 marsh S. Hirculus, and the yellow S. Aizoides, which 

 fringes the rills and streams on the hills and mountains 

 in Scotland, and the north of England and Ireland, all 

 interesting, but surpassed in beauty by the purple Saxi- 

 fraga oppositifolia, which opens its bright flowers soon 

 after the snow melts in the Scotch Highlands, and 



