Geranium

an herbaceous flowering plant of both hemispheres. There are over 150 species. The common American woodland geranium is also called crane's-bill from the long, tapering seed pod. The oxalis, or wood sorrel, and the touch-me-not belong to the geranium family. The familiar house plants known as geraniums are closely related, but are really pelargoniums, the distinction being that the flower of the house plant is slightly one-sided, one of the petals having a spur or honey tube running down the flower stalk. Potted geraniums may be put into four divisions:

a. Rose geraniums with scented leaves. b. Lady Washington or show geraniums. c. Ivy geraniums with thick, shiny, angled leaves and two-lipped flowers,--a basket plant. d. Ordinary geraniums with zone-marked leaves.

Geraniums are propagated best by slips. Take about three inches of the end of a branch, break off the large leaves, and insert half its length in fine earth. Water thoroughly once in a while. Do not keep a geranium water-soaked.