FOUR COMMON FLOWERS 181 



as the Pelargonium, a plant that is horticul- 

 turally distinguished from the geraniums, but 

 which is obviously closely related. 



An interesting story is told of the way in which 

 the Pelargonium was introduced into cultivation. 

 A physician, experiencing difficulty in obtaining 

 plants from foreign countries and knowing that 

 the seeds of many choice varieties often lie dor- 

 mant in the soil, commissioned a sailor to bring 

 him a barrel of soil from the Far East — I believe 

 from Borneo. 



When the soil was received and spread out and 

 cultivated, numerous plants sprang from it, 

 among others the one that became the parent of 

 the now greatly prized race of Pelargoniums. 



This illustrates a convenient way of securing 

 new plants from foreign countries, as I have 

 found it to be on many occasions. And however 

 the Pelargonium was introduced, it has proved a 

 plant worthy of the fullest recognition. It has 

 obtained such popularity that the old-fashioned 

 types of geraniums have in many places lost their 

 vogue. 



Hybridizing the geraniums is not at all diffi- 

 cult when one understands the process. It is only 

 necessary to understand that the stigma of any 

 given flower does not mature until after the 

 pollen of the same flower has been scattered. 



