132 



POPULAR GARDEN BOTANY. 



peaty soil, which should never be allowed to become hard : 

 when the flowering is over, they should not be watered, but 

 allowed to rest ; those that have flowered in the spring may 

 be hardened in August by being placed in the open air and 

 slightly watered, then the leaves begin to appear, and in 

 September they may be replaced in the greenhouse where it 

 is sunny and airy, and they will flower profusely. 



GERANIACEJE. 



Exogens, with usually symmetrical flowers. The divisions of 

 the calyx five, not falling off, more or less unequal, one sometimes 

 spurred at the base. Petals five, clawed, twisted in bud. Sta- 

 mens having the filaments united, twice or thrice as many as the 

 petals. Ovary composed of five carpels placed round a long, 

 awl-shaped torus. Fruit formed of five one-celled shells, each 

 being terminated by the hardened style, which finally curls back 

 from the base. Leaves single or compound. — Herbaceous plants 

 and shrubs ; natives of many parts of the world ; properties 

 astringent and aromatic. 



ERODIUM. 



Gen. Char. (MonadelpMa Pentandria.) Calyx five-leaved; 

 petals five ; scales five, alternate with the filaments, and honey- 



