ng ornament, but will be likely to thrive and flower well. It is
perfectly hardy, but there is one condition of our climate which tries
it very much--the wet, and alternate frosts and thaws of winter. From
its hairy character and flat form, the plant is scarcely ever dry, and
rot sets in. This is more especially the case with specimens planted
flat; it is therefore a great help against such climatic conditions to
place the plants in rockwork, so that the rosettes are as nearly as
possible at right angles with the ground level. Another interesting way
to grow this lovely and valuable species is in pans or large pots, but
this system requires some shelter in winter, as the plants will be flat.
The advantages of this mode are that five or six specimens so grown are
very effective. They can, from higher cultivation (by giving them
richer soil, liquid manure, and by judicious confinement of their
roots), be brought into a more floriferous condition, and when the
flowers appear, they can be removed into some cool light situation,
under cover, so that their beauties can be more enjoyed, and not be
liable to damage by splashing, &c. Plants so grown should be potted in
sandy peat, and a few pieces of sandstone placed over the roots,
slightly cropping out of the surface; these will not only help to keep
the roots from being droughted, but also bear up the rosetted leaves,
and so allow a better circulation of air about the collars, that being
the place where rot usually sets in. In the case of specimens which do
not get proper treatment, or which have undergone a transplanting to
their disadvantage, they will often remain perfectly dormant to all
appearance for a year or more. Such plants should be moved into a moist
fissure in rockwork, east aspect, and the soil should be of a peaty
character. This may seem like coddling, and a slur on hardy plants.
Here, however, we have a valuable subject, which does not find a home in
this climate exactly so happy as its native habitat, but which, with a
little care, can have things so adapted to its requirements as to be
grown year after year in its finest form; such care is not likely to be
withheld by the true lover of choice alpines.

This somewhat slow-growing species may be propagated by division, but
only perfectly healthy specimens should be selected for the purpose,
early spring being the best time; by seed also it may be increased; the
process, however, is slow, and the seedlings will