PEONY CLASSIFICATION 



PROGRESS OF THE STUDY 



LEON D. BATCHELOR 

 During the past season, the entire original planting on the Cornell 

 Experiment Station grounds was gone over carefully by Messrs. Farr, 

 Dauphin and the writer. From comparisons with the originator's 

 descriptions, the varieties described on the following pages seem to 

 be correct as they occur in our plots. With this list as a standard, it is 

 to be expected that we may be able to identify many of the synonyms 

 that still exist^in great confusion among the collections. The coming 

 season's work will consist in making descriptions of sorts the identity 

 and synonyms of which are well established. The commercial collec- 

 tions started in the fail of 1907 should produce characteristic blooms 

 the coming season, thus making it possible for the committee to check 

 these and acquaint the growers with the results. The work will be 

 begun, as in the year 1909, at the Wyomissing Nursery, Reading, Pa. 

 and Cottage Gardens Nursery Co., Queens, N. Y. 



TPIE METHOD OF DESCRIBING VARIETIES' 



"It is well known that peonies seldom produce blooms which are 

 typical of the variety until the young plants have become established. 

 This usually takes two to five years, depending on the variety. Even 

 after the plant is well established, its condition as to vigor may cause 

 variation in the type of flowers it produces. It is therefore a very 

 difficult matter to describe any given variety with great accuracy, and 

 allowance must always be made for varietal variations." For example, 

 Marie Jacquin was described as a typical single when the plants were 

 first started here; to-day, after having become well established on our 

 heavy soils, this variety produces typical semi-double blooms. Mons. 

 Martin Cahuzac produces a loose, semi-double bloom, with many visible 

 stamens, on poorly established plants, especially on a light soil, while 

 clumps of this variety, well established on a clay loam, bear flowers of 

 a compact, semi-rose type with only occasional concealed stamens. 

 Aside from the influence of the length of time the plants have been 

 established, the kind of soil often makes a difference in the characteristic 

 bloom of a variety. As an example. Golden Harvest produces a bloom 

 with a deeper shade of pink on a light, sandy soil than when grown 



'Bulletin 2 ^9, p. 121 



343 



