JIMS SI Vi: ROCK WORK. 



95 



When stones are too heavy to be moved by hand, recourse must be had to planks, 

 rollers, and levers. Sometimes a tripod of stout scaffold poles with blocks and strong 

 chains have to be used for raising heavy stones to the required height. It is of the 

 greatest importance that a perfectly solid foundation be formed. Each layer of stones 

 should be kept slightly higher in front than at the back, and the soil packed firmly 

 about them from behind. Unless these precautions are taken the whole mass might, 

 sooner or later, pitch forward. Strong-growing shrubs about this class of rock- 



Fig. 49. Massive Kockwoek (sometimes formed aetificially with compusition) . 



work soon overgrow and ruin the rock plants proper, and detract from the appearance 

 generally. 



Nurserymen supply plants for rockwork in small pots, and from these they may be 

 planted direct — preferably in the spring. It is most important that the soil in the pots 

 be in a moist, but not sodden, state when turned out for planting. Very little of it 

 should be removed, and the plants must be placed a little deeper in the rockery than they 

 were in the pots, pressing the soil firmly down against the roots and not round the 

 stems merely. During the rest of the growing season uniform root moisture is essential 



