T 
JLHE scarlet geranium, so fa¬ 
miliar to everybody, is a hardy, well- 
known, house or garden plant with very 
brilliant red flowers, and round, velvety 
leaves of pungent odor. Originally, it 
came from the Cape of Good Hope, and 
has been cultivated extensively in Eur¬ 
ope and America. ... In the East, the 
scarlet geranium is looked upon as a 
thing of splendor, created by heaven to 
respect and honor the virtues of Mo¬ 
hammed, the Prophet. A legend con¬ 
cerning the geranium relates that one 
day Mohammed washed his shirt and 
placed it on a lavender mallow close to 
the edge of the river. In a remarkably 
short time, the shirt had not only dried, 
but a most wonderful thing happened — 
the lavender mallow was changed into 
a geranium having brilliant red flowers, 
and emitting a pungent, aromatic odor. 
. . . Because of the brilliancy of its long 
lasting flowers, the fragrance of its 
beautifully marked foliage, and the little 
care that it requires, the geranium in 
all its forms is an extremely popular 
plant. In California, the bedding geran¬ 
ium thrives so well that it grows like a 
shrub, scrambling over fences and climb¬ 
ing up the house sides; the ivy leaved 
geranium, with its spreading flower 
clusters, glossy leaves, and tendency to 
creep, is a great favorite and is consid¬ 
ered most suitable for window boxes; 
and since it possesses an easy and ready 
adaptation to conditions existing in the 
usual living room, the geranium is an 
ideal winter blooming plant for the 
home, blossoming profusely from Jan¬ 
uary to June, when supplied with 
sufficient sun and moisture. 
