Part I. ALPItWE PLANTS FROM SEED. 6 1 



giving a constant supply of water to Primulas, Gentians, and 

 other plants. Two perforated half-inch copper pipes are laid 

 just above the plants in the beds 

 as shown by Fig. 44. From the 

 perforations in every two feet or 

 so of the pipe, drops continually 

 trickle down in summer, saturating 

 the beds of sand, and of course the p-jg ^^_ 



porous pots and their contents. In 



winter or very wet weather the water can be readily turned off. 

 I do not believe there is any necessity for this system, pro- 

 vided the water is laid on and applied copiously with a fine hose. 

 A large number of alpine plants may be raised from seed, and 

 in every place where there is a collection, it is desirable to sow 

 the seeds of as many rare and new kinds as are worth raising in 

 this way. -A good deal will depend on the apphances of the 

 garden as to the precise way in which they are to be raised ; 

 but whether there be greenhouses on the premises or not 

 even a glass hand-light, alpine plants and choice perennials 

 may be raised there in abundance. Supposing we are supphed 

 with a good selection of seeds in early spring, and have room 

 in frames and pits to spare, some time might be gained by 

 sowing in pans or pots, and by placing them in those frames, or 

 by making a very gentle hotbed in a frame or pit, covering it 

 with four inches or so of very light earth, and on that sowing 

 the seeds. If this mode be adopted, they may be sown in March ; 

 and, thus treated, many will flower the first year. In gardens 

 without any glass they may be raised in the open air. About 

 the best time to sow is in April, choosing mild open weather, 

 when the ground is more hkely to be in the comparatively dry 

 and friable condition so desirable for seed-sowing. But it should 

 be borne in mind that they may be sown at any convenient time 

 from April till August, as it is not till the year after they are sown 

 that they display their full beauty or perhaps flower at all ; and, 

 therefore, should a packet or more of choice seed come to hand 

 during the summer months, it is always better to sow it at once 

 than to keep it till the following spring, as thereby nearly a 

 whole season is lost. Those who already possess a collection of 

 good hardy flowers may find a choice perennial ripening a crop 

 of seed in May, June, or July— say, for instance, an evergreen 

 Iberis, a Campanula, or a Delphinium. Well, suppose we want 



