THE LAPIDIUM,, OR ROCK-WORK. 239 



they are most generally seen in nature. For 

 this purpose we have lapidiums, or Alpine-plant 

 borders, which are only a congregation of rugged 

 stones. In the interstices of these, the plants are 

 put, either on the dry summit, or in dark recesses 

 under the largest blocks. And though such a 

 harsh feature may be dispensed with in a simply 

 beautiful flower-garden, it is absolutely necessary 

 in an extensive botanical collection, where the 

 object avowedly is, to get together and present 

 every vegetable production found on the varied 

 face of the earth ; whether among craggy rocks 

 on high, or on the extended savannas of the low 

 latitudes. Alpine plants, therefore, which consti- 

 tute a very large and beautiful portion of our col- 

 lections, are treated with a situation and exposure 

 as like their native habitat as it is possible for 

 art to accomplish. Many of the mosses, lichens, 

 and especially the beautiful family of ferns^ 

 cannot be cultivated successfully, nor indeed 

 would they look well, if unaccompanied by 

 fragments of stone or other marks of uncultivated 

 nature. 



