114 FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS. 



the plant best entitled to bear the name of crane's-bill. 

 Probably, on the other hand, the smallest child or merest 

 novice, if asked to pick out the plant they thought most 

 likely to be called ragged robin, would point to the flower 

 with the large, deeply cut, erratic petals, and the guess, as 

 we have seen, would be a correct one; though, as surmise 

 and knowledge are not quite identical terms, our opening 

 sentence is not an altogether superfluous one. 



The shining crane's-bill is the Geranium lucidum of the 

 botanist. The generic name is derived from a word in 

 Greek that signifies crane, and alludes to the form of the 

 fruit, which is something like the bill of that bird; 

 while the specific name is the Latin equivalent for bright 

 or shining. Its specific and common English names arise 

 from the smooth and polished surface of both leaves and 

 stems. The plant will, under ordinarily favourable con- 

 ditions of growth, be found in flower by the beginning of 

 May, and lasts in blossom throughout the summer. 



The plant is an annual, but seeds so freely that it holds its 

 ground almost as effectually as if it were more long-lived. 

 It attains to no great height, as the stems, which fork a good 

 deal, spread out laterally. The stems, like those of most of 

 the crane's-bills, are jointed, swelling at the articulations, 

 and brittle. The leaves are in general form circular, but 

 deeply cut into five lobes or broad segments ; the lower 

 ones are somewhat simpler in form. The whole of the foliage 

 is, in the spring and early summer, of a peculiarly bright 

 green, but as the days of June pass away the leaves often 

 become bordered with red, and ultimately the whole plant 

 turns a rich crimson colour. The flowers are small, 

 arranged in pairs, and of a beautifully pure rose tint. The 

 calyx is pyramidal in form, the edges of its sepals forming 



