854 



THE PRACTICAL GARDENKH. 



[Feb 



in the flower borders ; keeping only a specimen or two of 

 each in pots, unless it be those which are very minute and 

 liable to be lost, or too rare to be yet trusted out either in the 

 general collection or in the flower borders. Many Alpine 

 plants of great beauty are only annuals, therefore such should 

 be attended to, and the pots in which they grew left undis- 

 turbed, as in a short time, it is very probable that a stock ot 

 young ones will arise out of them, which is particularly the 

 case with the families Cochlcaria, Illeccbnwi, Drabaj &c. 

 Many other families, of which it is necessary to keep dupli- 

 cates in pots, such as DiantJius, and some others, require to 

 be propagated annually either by cuttings or seeds ; with such 

 exceptions, the remainder should be annually repotted and 

 divided, and no season is so fit as the present. As they are 

 repotted, they should be replaced in the frames or pits, and 

 protected from heavy rains until they have taken fresh root, 

 after which time the majority of them will be fit to be placed 

 in their summer station, which should always be one that is 

 shaded by walls or pales, but not by any means by trees, un- 

 less the plants can be placed sufticiently distant from them 

 to be out of danger of being injured by their dropping. 



Seeds of Alpine plants may be sown at this time with every 

 chance of success ; and as they are small, they should be 

 sown in finely-sifted mould in pots, and kept in a cool frame, 

 considerably shaded, and regularly supplied with water. In 

 sowing the seeds, they should be scattered rather thin on the 

 mould, to afford them room when they vegetate, so that they 

 may be left to attain a considerable size before removed to 

 single pots, as they are very apt to damp off' when potted 

 while too small. 



