156 
NAT. ORDER. GERANlACEifi. 
cimens of drawings, taken from nature, which we have seen 
are truly the richest productions that have graced the floral cata- 
logue ; and on which account the proprietor of this publication 
has at a great expense secured his services ; hence, our readers 
may in future expect original likenesses of many rare native plants, 
which have never been introduced into any work whatever. The 
Pelargonium quercifolium, in point of beauty, is thought to eclipse * 
all that have hitherto been introduced into this country. Its blos- 
soms are certainly the most showy — in a collection of plants, they 
are the first to attract the eye : the peculiarity of color, joined to 
their form, has induced some to fancy a resemblance between its 
flowers and those of the Heart's-ease. To the blossoms of the 
Lathyrus articulatus, in point of color, they bear a distant resem- 
blance. 
In our eagerness to lay before the public this striking novelty, 
we may possibly omit some circumstacce relative to its history and 
treatment, which future experience may develope. They will 
not, however, we trust, be very material. The plants which we 
have had an opportunity of seeing, have scarcely exceeded two 
feet in height, growing up with a shrubby stem, and expanding 
widely into numerous flowering branches. They are unusually 
disposed to produce flowers in a constant succession, so that during 
most of the summer months the plant is loaded with a profusion of 
bloom. These flowers, for the most part, go off without being 
followed by any seed ; and when any seed is produced, of which 
we have seen a few instances, there is generally one perfect and 
four abortive ; and frequently all of them fail. The blossoms 
vary in the number of their stamens. In many of the varieties, 
four are most generally apparent, three superior, and that very 
constantly, one inferior, and often two. We have never observed 
seven, the proper number of fertile stamens in a Pelargonium. 
In most of the sorts, the whole plant is covered with short, white 
hairs, which give to the foliage a somewhat silvery appearance. 
