APRIL 93 



and crevices of a rough retaining wall. The stones 

 should be set at a slight angle inclining inwards and 

 downwards, so that rain may run down to the roots, 

 which should have free access to good, not over-rich, 

 soil behind the stones. I stood lately in an opulent 

 demesne; acres upon acres of closely shaven lawn 

 spread at different levels, terraced with sloping grass- 

 banks, most troublesome to mow. The owner was keen 

 about alpines; and here, methought, was his oppor- 

 tunity. He had but to strip the turf from one of these 

 banks and replace it with retaining stones and kindly 

 grit to provide a perfect home for mountain plants, 

 where each could be easily and closely inspected, as 

 herbs of this kind deserve to be, and weeds sedulously 

 evicted, as it is imperative they should be. But no! 

 that fatal epithet 'alpine' connotes in the popular 

 view the necessity for mimicking the outline of an alp ; 

 whereas all the plants claim is a good root-run in free 

 soil, shelter among stones from drought, and effective 

 drainage. So the owner of this pleasaunce had caused 

 a whole brae-side to be excoriated, and a mighty crane 

 was at work, dumping huge boulders thereon to give it 

 an alpine character. 



There is another device for meeting the requirements 

 of alpine plants — one that can be adapted to grounds 

 of the most modest proportions. This is known as the 

 moraine treatment, and is accomplished by excavating 

 the soil to a depth of three feet or more, laying from 

 six inches to a foot of good soil at the bottom, filling 

 in to somewhat above the ground level with stone chips 

 very sparingly mixed with loam and grit, and providing 



