PART Ti; PRACTISE 
CHAPTER VII 
THE LIFE-HISTORY OF THE HERB ROBERT (Geranium 
Robertianum, Linn.): ITS ROOTS AND LEAVES 
HE Herb Robert has the great merit, so far as 
our present purposes are concerned, of being 
a common and well-known plant. In suitable places 
it can be found all over our country at all times of 
the year, and except that it avoids marshes and bogs 
it is not particular as to habitat, for it seems to be at 
home on shingle, old walls, dry sunny banks, and more 
or less shady hedgerows. In one part of my own 
garden where it gets little or no sunshine for the greater 
part of the year it would, if I left it alone, be a trouble- 
some weed, and in another it grows flowers and 
ripens its seeds on a wall that faces south and comes 
in for a considerable amount of sunshine all the year 
round: in a position of this sort, however, the plant 
can hardly be said to luxuriate 
In addition to Herb Robert it is known as Herb 
Robin, the Stinking Cranesbill, and more shortly as 
Stinking Robert. It has other English names too, 
for example, Knife and Fork, while scientifically 
the correct one is Geranium Robertianum, Linn. 
I should like to say a little about its names because, 
even when we are occupied with dry Science, we 
must never be dry old sticks ourselves: we must 
remember that names are full of romance and meaning, 
and intelligent Nature-students should not, indeed 
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