LECTURE ON THE PELARGONIUM. 



13 



the Royal Horticultural Society, the management of which at Chis- 

 wick is all that can be desired. It is fortunate I am not bound to 

 mention Geraniums, for, if they are of less importance than Pelar- 

 goniums they take us further back in time, and to do justice to 

 them we should have to rummage amongst the old books and fish 

 up some very curious memoranda. But the mention of the Geranium 

 renders it necessary to begin with definitions. A Pelargonium is 

 not a Geranium, although often so called. The true Geraniums are 

 for the most part herbaceous plants inhabiting the northern hemis- 

 phere, and the Pelargoniums are for the most part shrubby or sub- 

 shrubby plants of the southern hemisphere. Let us for a moment 

 wander amongst the pleasant slopes of Darley Dale in Derbyshire, 

 or by the banks of the Clyde or the Calder. We shall in either 

 case be rewarded by seeing vast sheets of the lovely Meadow Crane's- 

 bill, Geranium pratense, a true Geranium, and one of the sweetest 

 flowers in the world. In the rocky recesses of Ashwood Dale, or on 

 the banks of the 4< bonny Doon," we may chance to see in high 

 summer a profusion of the Herb Robert, Geranium Robertianum, 

 with pink flowers and purple leaves, a piece of true vegetable 

 jewellery. And, once more, I invite you to an imaginary journey, 

 and we will ride by rail from Furness to Whitehaven in order to 

 jbehold on the railway bank, more especially near St. Bees, a won- 

 drous display of the crimson Crane's-hill, Geranium sanguineum, 

 which from July to September forms solid sheets, often of a furlong 

 in length, of the most resplendent colour. 



Now let us fly to the other side of the globe and alight in the 

 vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope, say on the vast desert of Karroo, 

 where there is much sand, much sunshine, and little rain. Here, 

 in the midst of desolation, the world is rich with flowers, for the 

 heathy scrub that occurs in patches, glowing with many bright 

 hues, consists in part of wild Pelargoniums, which often take the 

 form of miniature deciduous trees, although in the valleys nearer the 

 coast, where more rain falls, they are evergreen bushes. 



Very different in their characters are these two tribes of plants, 

 and they are not less different in their constitution and aspects. 

 We may regard the Geraniums as herbs of Europe, and the Pelar- 

 goniums as miniature trees of Africa. When we examine the 



