THE GREEN-HOUSE. 57 



culent or spongy nature. They have lately been 

 divided by botanists into several genera, of vrhich the 

 chief are Pelargonium, JErodium, Geranium, Phyme- 

 tanthus (the Pelargonium hicolor and tricolor of the 

 nurseries,) Otidia, Hoarea, JenMnsonia, Cicdnium, 

 &c., and they will probably soon undergo other divi- 

 sions ; for so numerous are the species become, by 

 hybrids produced by cultivators, that it will otherwise 

 be difficult to distinguish them. The Erodiums and 

 Geraniums are almost all hardy herbaceous plants ; 

 those which are inhabitants of the green-house are 

 chiefly Pelargoniums, which diflPer from the Gera- 

 niums in having the beak of the seed more like the bill 

 of a stork than of a crane. The genus Pelargonium 

 has lately been beautifully illustrated by Mr. Robert 

 Sweet, in his Geranidcece ; but as the specific names 

 there adopted are not yet in use in all the nurseries, 

 we shall first give a select list of the names generally 

 known, and then a selection from the species pub- 

 lished by Mr. Sweet. These plants are in flower 

 from February to October or November; and by 

 placing them in heat, some will flower during the 

 whole of the winter. We shall enumerate them in 

 the order of their flowering. The flowers of most 

 of the sorts are so mixed in regard to colour, that it 

 is almost impossible to class them in that respect; 

 most of them are variegated with red, purple, scarlet 

 and white. The height of all is from one to three 

 feet. 



