290 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



lime is useful, it may be added as pure lime, not planting in it 

 till thoroughly slaked by mixture, with the soil. Bough surface- 

 dressing is a thing in which all alpines delight, as it keeps the 

 top of the soil sweet and moist, and prevents their leaves being- 

 fouled. Use for this purpose the same riddled stone as described 

 above, which is better than gravel, as round pebbles are easily 

 washed off the slope by rain or in watering. 



Having now constructed our rockeries, we must next furnish 

 them, and it must not be forgotten that they are to be furnished 

 with alpines. It is better not to be in a hurry to see the stones 

 covered. It would be easy to cover them with growth in a single 

 season, but it would be demoralising to the cultivator. We must 

 not degrade choice alpines by putting them to keep company with 

 Periwinkles,Woodruff, large St. John's Wort, Dead Nettles, Creep- 

 ing Jenny, fast-running Sedums, and Saxifrages, which do duty 

 for alpines on raised structures of roots or stones in the shady, 

 neglected corners of many a garden. Some of these things are 

 very pretty, and desirable in their way ; but growing these cannot 

 be called the cultivation of alpine plants, and such subjects as I 

 have mentioned must be carefully kept off the alpine rockery. 

 Indeed, there are some plants, of which Coronilla varia is one, 

 which, when once established amongst large stones, cannot be era- 

 dicated by any means short of pulling the whole structure to pieces. 

 Any plant which runs under a large stone and reappears on the 

 other side should be treated with caution. As a rule, nothing 

 should be planted which cannot be easily and entirely eradicated 

 in a few minutes. If a rockery is large, there is no reason for 

 limiting the area to be assigned to each plant, especially to such 

 as are ornamental when in flower, and not unsightly at other 

 seasons. If different rockeries, or separate parts of the same, can 

 be assigned to rapid growers and to dwarf compact plants, it will 

 be an advantage. There are many subjects which belong to the 

 class of alpines which require to be displayed in a broad and 

 high mass to do them full justice. Such things should make a 

 train from the top of the rockery quite to the ground ; Aubrietias, 

 for example, and Veronica prostrata should look like purple or 

 blue cataracts ; others should be unlimited in breadth, like the 

 dwarf, mossy Phloxes and the brilliantly coloured Helianthe- 

 mums. Such things do not like being cropped round to limit 

 their growth, and if there is not enough room for them they had 



