88 GERANIACE^. 



commonest of our British species, but not one of the least 

 elegant and showy. It grows erect about i8 inches high, and 

 forms leafy masses below, with numerous barren prostrate stems. 

 The leaves are oblong, stalkless. The flowers appear in ter- 

 minal corymbs in early summer, lasting till autumn, are bright 

 yellow, the margins of the petals being marked with black 

 dots. The plant is only suitable for rougher purposes, such as 

 forming masses in woods. 



In addition to these I would notice an elegant and distinct 

 species from Spain, not now, I believe, in cultivation, but well 

 worth looking after for rockwork. It is H. ericoides, a dwarf, 

 somewhat diffuse shrub, with small glaucous heath-like leaves and 

 graceful panicles of lively yellow flowers, small but numerous. 



GERANIACE^. 



A natural order, limited in genera, but very numerous in 

 species. Nearly all the genera are well known in gardens, and, 

 with the exception of Erodiurn, all are distinguished by the 

 brilliancy and profusion of their flowers. Geraimun and Ero- 

 dium are, however, the only two that comprise species suffi- 

 ciently hardy to live the year round in the open air in Britain. 

 In Gera?iiii?n we will find some handsome and showy plants 

 adapted alike well to the border or rockwork, but such Ero- 

 diums as we have in cultivation do not rank high as ornamental 

 plants ; they are, however, interesting to those with botanical 

 tastes, and therefore it will be proper to select such as will best 

 illustrate the peculiar features of the family, and for that pur- 

 pose very few will be required. It may not be amiss here to 

 remark that the popular name Geranium, given to the various 

 classes of Pelargonium grown so extensively for bedding and 

 exhibition purposes, is erroneous ; the two genera are quite 

 distinct, and the most apparent distinction is, that while 

 Geraniwn has regular flowers — that is, the five petals, equal in 

 size and in no way oblique to the stalk — those of Felargofiiujn 

 are unequal in size, and stand more or less oblique or eccentric. 



Geranium {Cra7iesbill). — These are plants of easy culture, 

 having no very strong preference for any particular soil, but 

 are least troublesome and flower best in that which is light, 

 rich, and moderately dry. They are kept in best dress by 

 being occasionally lifted, trimmed, and replanted, and if re- 

 turned to the same place, should be treated to a little fresh soil. 



