borders, in small gardens where every thing may 
be said to be artificial. They tend to give relief in 
various ways. A level surface may be conveniently 
raised into inequalities; and deformities may be 
concealed; a variety of colour may also be obtained 
by the use of different materials, as gypsum, tufa, 
quartz, flints, fragments of lime-stone, granite, mar- 
ble, or other hard rocks ; also over-burnt bricks and 
refuse from iron-works may form prominent auxi- 
liaries; in fact, no material in stone is too rude for 
such use. Sandstone is somewhat objectionable 
from its encouragement of moss. 
If a rocky mound, or a raised border, be required, 
the earth being first thrown together In the shape 
desired, it is but necessary to cover it in the rudest 
manner with such of the above-mentioned materials 
as can be obtained, and the picturesque may be 
made to reign where dull monotony })reviously ex- 
isted. Those who cultivate very small gardens 
may surprise themselves by their own creations out 
of such chaotic materials ; they will, too, increase their 
space for plants, for the superficial content of their 
rock-work, or lapidarium as it may be called, will 
be greater than the flat surface of the garden form- 
ing the base on which it is raised. It is, however, 
only in such gardens that the inexperienced should 
venture his manufacture of these objects of attrac- 
tion, for wherever natural scenery is to be consi- 
dered, and the extent of ground occupied would 
lead the scientific eye to look for character of land- 
scape, it then should be a matter of consideration 
for the man of experience, whether such auxiliaries 
as rock-work are admissible. 
Don’s Syst. Bot. 3, 116. 
