Must fly before the knife; the withered leaf Discharge but these kind offices, (and who COWPER. The tube-rooted kinds may be increased by parting the roots, which should be done in August: every tuber that has an eye to it will grow. Such as are raised from slips should be planted in May, June, or July, taking only the last year's shoots, from which the lower leaves must be stripped. When planted, give them water, and place them in the shade. In four or five weeks they will have taken root, when they may be so placed as to enjoy the sun till eleven in the morning, and there remain until removed to their winter quarters. The slips chosen for cutting should not be such as bear flowers; and they should be inserted about half their length in the earth. Many of the Geraniums are annual; and as they are so numerous, it would be well, where there is room but for a few, to select such as are perennial. The cuttings of different species of the Pelargoniums do not all strike root with equal readiness. The following may be readily increased in this manner: The shrubby kinds are the most tender; the others require shelter from frost only, and should have free air ad mitted to them whenever the weather is not very severe : in mild weather, the shrubby kinds also may be permitted to enjoy the fresh air. In sultry weather the Geraniums should all be watered liberally every evening, with the exception of some few of the Pelargoniums, which are of a succulent nature. Those must be watered sparingly. The succulent ones may be discerned by merely plucking a leaf from them. The season for flowering is generally from April to August. Those who are curious in Geraniums may see them figured in most of their known varieties, in a very beautiful work, published in numbers, entitled Andrews' Monograph on the Genus Geranium. This work represents them in their full beauty; and, being very finely coloured, gives you as good an idea of them as if you had seen the plants themselves. The Elegant, the Magnificent, and the Handsome kinds fully justify their titles. The Geranium Tricolor Arboreum, or Three-coloured Tree Geranium, is similar, both in the form of the leaves and the flowers, to the Heartsease the flowers are white and red, and uncommonly beautiful. In appearance it is neither more nor less than a large red and white Hearts-ease. The Oval-leaved Threecoloured Geranium bears a flower somewhat smaller, but of the same form and colour. The Birch-leaved, in all its varieties, is remarkably handsome, with brilliant red flowers. The Wrinkly-leaved has very large and beautiful blossoms : the Sea-green-leaved is an exceedingly elegant and delicate plant: the Heart-leaved particularly luxuriant. Mr. Andrews observes, that the varieties of the Geranium Citriodorum, or Citron-scented Geranium, are the only ones which make a powerful appeal to the olfactory nerves, without rubbing the leaves. Most of them emit an agreeable odour when lightly rubbed with the finger; and a person approaching a Geranium almost mechanically rubs or plucks a leaf for its perfume; or, with some species, for its soft velvety surface: "And genteel Geranium With a leaf for all that come," seldom fails of obtaining notice and admiration, however it may be surrounded by the most curious or brilliant exotics. The Thick-stemmed Geranium is a very singular plant. "This species," says Mr. Andrews, "was found (by Mr. Antoni Pantaleo Hove, in 1785, while Botanical Collector to his Majesty) near five feet high, in the bay of Angra Peguena, on the south-western coast of Africa, in the chasms of a white marble rock, apparently without any earth; for, on pulling up the plant, the roots were several yards in length, naked, and as hard as wire; and appeared to have received nourishment solely from the moisture lodged there during the rainy season, assisted by a little sand drifted by the wind into the cavities. The heat was so intense on these rocks as to blister the soles of the feet; and yet all the Geraniums there were in perfection, being just then their flowering season, about the middle of April *." The Lance-leaved and Ivy-leaved species are extremely elegant. As there are many kinds of Geranium in estimation, and they differ in being more or less hardy, it may be well to subjoin a little table of those most commonly cultivated here, with these distinctions : The Geranium Divaricatum or Divaricated Geranium. These two are annual, should be raised in a hot-bed, kept in the open air during the summer, and will then decay. The Maculatum or Sanguineum Pratense Phæum Spotted-leaved Geranium. Meadow. Black red-flowered. * Andrews' Monograph, on the Genus Geranium, No. 21. These are hardy perennial kinds, which, unless in very severe winters, will bear the open air: they should be gently watered every evening in the summer; and three times a week, when not frosty, in the winter. Of the Pelargoniums, demanding winter shelter as directed, are the following: The Pelargonium Cortusi-folium or Australe Barringtonium Beaufortianum Betulinum Bicolor Blattarium Citronium Cordifolium Crenatum Formosum Fragrans Grandiflorum Cortusa-leaved Pelargonium. Botany-bay. Barrington Pelargonium. Beaufort's. Birch-leaved. Two-coloured. Hoary-leaved. Citron-scented. Heart-leaved. Cape Scarlet. Great-flowering. These are chiefly natives of the Cape of Good Hope. The Geranium which first became familiar to us, that with plain red flowers, is still, and deservedly, a favourite. It may be brought to grow very large by care and attention, and bears an abundance of blossoms. Cowper speaks of it, in describing the inhabitants of the greenhouse : "Geranium boasts Her crimson honours." Mrs. Charlotte Smith, in her Conversations on Natural History, introduces some lines to a Geranium, which had been carefully nursed. GERMANDER. LABIATE. TEUCRIUM. DIDYNAMIA GYMNOSPERMIA. From Teucer, son of Scamander, and father-in-law of Dardanus, king of Troy. Of the numerous species of Teucrium, it will suffice to select a few of the most desirable; as, 1. The Many-flowered; red flowers; native of Spain. 2. The Canadian; yellow; blowing in 3. The Virginian; red; August and September. |