78 



made up. The remaining plants shall become the property of the 

 American Peony Society. 



Publicity. — The results of the study shall be published in bul- 

 letin form by the Experiment Station. All members of the Ameri- 

 can Peony Society shall be entitled to a copy of each publication, 

 and one hundred copies of each shall be deposited with the Secre- 

 tary of the American Peony Society for the use of members of 

 this organization. 



Progress of the Study 



The main object of this test was to deal with the Chinese her- 

 baceous peonies, or in other words, varieties of the species Pcconia 

 albiflora. It was decided, however, to include every form in the 

 genus Pceonia. A plot of ground was selected near the University 

 barns for this purpose, and the soil was prepared in the fall of 1904. 

 Soon the donations began to arrive at a rapid rate. At first it was 

 thought that characters of importance in classification might be 

 gleaned from a study of the roots themselves, and with this in view, 

 all the roots received (some 3500 in number) were carefully 

 described. After labeling, the plants were set in the field as they 

 arrived. An attempt was made to arrange them in alphabetical 

 order, but the fact that succeeding lots continued to arrive rendered 

 this impossible and all attempts at classified planting was for the 

 time abandoned. During the winter, it was found that it was 

 advisable to abandon this plot of ground on account of the en- 

 croachment of the large athletic field of the University. Another 

 plot of some two acres was selected on a farm recently acquired 

 by the University and known as the Mitchell farm. This land lies 

 about one mile from the grounds of the Horticultural Department, 

 and considerably beyond the suburbs of the town. The land had 

 been in sod for some time, but otherwise was a desirable piece of 

 ground for the purpose. It was prepared in the spring of 1905, 

 and all the peonies were moved and planted in one alphabetical 

 arrangement. The following spring, other lots of plants arrived, 

 and this made necessary a second alphabetical scheme. The total 

 number of varieties planted was 1933, and there were from one 

 to three roots of each variety. Most of these plants bore names, 

 but a few were sent in under number. The plants were set 

 in rows four feet apart, and the distance in the row was three feet. 

 In cases where only one plant of a variety was sent, two spaces were 

 left vacant; and where two plants were sent, one space was left 

 vacant. This caused the plantation to present a very irregular ap- 

 pearance when the plants began to grow. 



