286 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



purities in the air are more readily dispersed, and do not collect 

 or settle as in lowland valleys. Good natural drainage is also a 

 great advantage, because although we can drain the spot in 

 which our alpines grow, and even our whole garden, still, if the 

 soil of the district is wet and retentive, the local damp seems to 

 affect mountain plants unfavourably. Local differences of 

 climate caused by soil and evaporation are no doubt important 

 factors in the growth of plants, but it would be waste of time to 

 dwell upon the endless particulars which make it impossible that 

 the conditions which prevail on the Alps can be imitated in the 

 valley of the Thames. I will therefore assume that the object 

 of the amateur cultivator of alpines is to bring together as many 

 ornamental and hardy dwarf plants as he can, and make them 

 flower and thrive in his garden. The degree of his success will 

 depend partly on circumstances which he cannot control, but in 

 a great measure on his own skill and perseverance. 



The first necessity for growing choice alpines is to secure 

 perfect drainage for the soil in which they grow. This may 

 seem strange to those who have seen them growing on the 

 mountains, often apparently in perpetual wet ; but there the soil 

 is never waterlogged, or charged with stagnant moisture, but 

 the wet is always in rapid motion and changing. Supposing 

 that no part of a garden naturally gives the conditions in which 

 alpines will thrive, we must make these conditions by artificial 

 means. Those who wish to grow them on flat borders on 

 retentive wet soils, may do so on the ground-level by digging out 

 the soil to a depth of three feet, and draining the bottom of the 

 bed to the nearest outfall, and filling up to the surface with soil 

 mixed with two-thirds of broken stone, either in small or large 

 pieces. But in heavy soils, where large stones are easily 

 obtained, still better beds for alpines may be made by enclosing 

 the space with large blocks to a height of two or three feet, and 

 filling up as before directed. The sides of these stone blocks can 

 be covered with many ornamental plants in addition to those 

 which are grown on the raised surface. 



But the commonest way of cultivating alpines is upon what 

 are called rockeries, or loose rough stones laid together in 

 different forms and methods. Of these I will speak more 

 particularly, and then say something about the use of walls and 

 frames for the growth of mountain plants. 



