ALPINE PLANTS AND THEIR TREATMENT. 



123 



all they want for their development. I never found any trace of 

 soil in the natural crevices into which the rock-plants thrust their 

 long thin roots. They find in the moisture and decomposition 

 of the stone all they need, and, bearing in mind that generally 

 these plants are of dwarf and small habit, it is evidently a 

 mistake to suppose that they want nourishing soil between the 

 stones. You would be astonished to see in the most interesting 

 garden of the late M. Edmond Boissier at Valeyres, Canton Vaud, 

 the very numerous varieties of plants which grow in the walls, 

 between the stones only, without a particle of soil. The garden 

 is situated at an elevation of 1,900 feet above sea-level, and in a 

 very sunny position just at the foot of the Jura Mountains. I 

 may be asked how some plants from high glacial regions can 

 thrive where the heat of summer is so intense, and how they can 

 bloom so profusely there. I do not hesitate to answer that it is 

 owing to the mass of calcareous stones which were employed by 

 M. Boissier that the success of his garden is due. There is there 

 a wall which excites the admiration of all visitors. It is a 

 retaining wall, supporting a terrace along its whole length. This 

 wall is constantly damp, as it has earth on one side of it. It is 

 about 15 feet high and nearly 40 feet in length, and faces the 

 north-west. Here are the greatest treasures, the choicest gems 

 of the collection : Haberlea rhodopeiisis (who would believe it?) 

 attaining in such a position, and without nourishing soil, gigantic 

 proportions. Alyssum pyrenaicum is plentiful along this wall, 

 and even comes up on the gravel path. Matthiola Valeriana, 

 Campanula garganica, C. Vanneri, and C. Portcnschlagiana grow 

 so freely that they have to be hoed up. Saxifraga diapensioides, 

 S. media, S. squarrosa, S. marginata, and the extremely rare 

 S. cuneata grow together and mingle their tufts as if emulating 

 each other in vigour. Saxifraga florulenta is here perfectly 

 acclimatised ; it abounds and wanders about freely in the 

 chinks of the wall. It was planted here more than twenty-five 

 years ago. Why then, if such results can be obtained at Valeyres, 

 could they not also be had here in England ? 



Increasing Alpine Plants. — The most infallible and practical 

 means, which always gives the best results, is by seed. It is the 

 natural way and the most simple. It is generally thought that 

 this method is slow and difficult. I must confess that this is 

 true for some kind of Alpines, but only for a few of them, and 



