102 THE GEEANITTM FAMILY. 



HABITATS AND LOCALITIES. 

 1. Dusky Crane's-bill — {Geranium phceum.) 

 Rare ; generally by waysides. Roadside between Bowdon and 

 Rostherne (1857), between Mere and Kjiutsford, and near Mobberley. 



Fl. May, June. 



E. B. V. 322 (coloured too red). 



Often seen in gai-dens, from which, when seemingly wild, it is not improbably 

 a castaway. 



2. Blite Meadow Crane's-bill — {Geranium pratense.) 

 Meadows and thickets, chiefly where the soil is somewhat moist, 

 and near rivers. Banks of the Irwell, between Agecroft and Clifton ; 

 banks of the Tame, plentiful ; and abundant about Bowdon, Cheadle, 

 Wilmslow, and Statham, near Lymra. Fl. June, July. 



Curtis, ii. 200 ; E. B. vi. 404 (too red) ; Baxter, i. 30. 



Next to the sanguineum, the most shcwy of our English Crane's-bills, and as 

 a wild-flower unsurpassed. The beautiful blue of the petals is retained in well- 

 di'ied specimens almost indefinitely. 



3. Herb-Robert — (Geranium Rohertidnum.) 

 Hedgebanks, especially where rough and stony ; on ruins ; on natural 

 rock-work, in shady places ; in dead bodies of trees that hare been 

 cut down and are gone to decay ; also on the thatched roofs of old 

 cottages, and in the chinks of their crumbling walls, holding on by a 

 mere thread. Fl. all summer. Annual. 



Curtis, i. 52 ; E. B. xxi. U8G. 

 A curious and independent plant, commending itself wherever met with by the 

 bright rose-hue of its pretty white-streaked blossoms ; the lightness and elegance 

 of its branches ami foliage, which toward the close of autumn often turn to a 

 vivid red, and by the long continuance of its cheerful flowers, which last from 

 before midsummer to November. Unfortunately it has a strong and to most 

 people, disagreeable odour, resembling that of foxes. Once in the season or so 

 it may be found with the flowers of a pure white. 



4. Dove's-foot Crane's-bill — [Geranium molle.) 

 Common everywhere by waysides and in cultivated fields, especially 

 among clover. Fl. spring — autumn. 



Curtis, i. 12;( ; E. B. x\. 778. 

 A plant of little pretension in its earlier summer life, but waxing luxuriant as 

 the apples ripen, and by October really beautiful. 



