HERB ROBERT, or POOR ROBIN. 



Geranium Robertianum. 



Class MoNADELPHiA. Order Decandria. Nat Ord. Geraniace^. 

 Geranium Tribe. 



There are very few flowers of our native 

 land which are more frequent than this pink 

 Cranesbill. A very beautiful little flower it 

 is, too ; growing in the summer months, 

 under the bushes, on the sunny bank, among 

 the cfrass of the crao; or cliff', and smiHnor on 

 the summit of the ruined wall, or beneath the 

 broad deep shadow of the woodland trees. 

 AVhen it grows on exposed situations, the 

 stems and leaves have a rich crimson colour ; 

 and often in autumn, when they linger on the 

 bank long after the blossoms have passed 

 away, they are almost as beautiful as the 

 flowers themselves. The whole of this plant 

 is very hairy, and its stems are brittle. Its 

 odour cannot be praised, and after the flower 

 has been long gathered, it becomes very 

 disagreeable. This scent is caused by a 

 peculiar resinous secretion, which exists in 

 this and several other species of Cranesbill. 

 In some of the species of other lands, the 

 resin is so powerful, that if a light be applied 

 to the stems, they will bm*n like torches, and 

 will yield, during the process of combustion, 



