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quent emibassies for many years. They were allowed to explore 

 extensively, and covered the territory from Canton to Pekin, de- 

 scribing everything. From the account of this expedition, published 

 in London in 1669, is taken NeivholT's account of the tree peony: 



" In the province of Suchue, near to Chung King, grows a cer- 

 tain flower called Meutang (Moutan), in high esteem amongst 

 them, and therefore called ' King of Flowers.' It dififers very 

 little in quality from the European rose, but is much larger, and 

 spreads its leaves further abroad. It far surpasses the rose in 

 beauty, but falls short in richness of scent; it has not thorns or 

 prickles, is generally of a white color, mingled with a little purple ; 

 yet there are some that are yellow and red. This flower grows 

 upon a bush, and is carefully cherished and planted in all gardens 

 belonging to the Grandees, for one of the most choice flowers." 

 (Phillips, 1824.) 



Nothing was done to secure this plant in Europe till about 1790, 

 when Sir Joseph Banks of England became interested in the old 

 accounts, and instructed certain merchants trading at Canton to 

 inquire for the " Meutang," the name by which the peony is known 

 in China. The first shipment of plants all died cii route, but in 

 1794 some live plants reached England. Later on many other 

 importations were made, consisting of several diflferent varieties, 

 and for a while very high prices were paid for the plants. From 

 England they were introduced into France and were largely dis- 

 seminated throughout that country by M. Noisette, a nurseryman 

 of Paris (Phillips, 1824). 



In " Memoires des Chinois " by the Missionaries, Paris, 1873, 

 we learn that the moutan had been the pride and glory of the 

 Chinese for 1400 years ; and its varieties, two or three hundred 

 in number, were cherished with no less consideration than the 

 Dutch florists do their tulips. It was a theme for their poets and 

 painters, and prized even by their emperors, not only on account 

 of the beauty but of the sweet perfume of the flowers. 



It is a curious thing that this species has never been found wild 

 or native to any place by Europeans, for these earliest writers 

 always state that it is found only in the gardens of the Chinese 

 (Anderson, 1817). Robert Fortune states in 1880 that the tree 

 peony is found wild on the mountains of the central provinces of 

 China, but does not state clearly whether he actually found them 

 wild himself, or whether it was merely a rumor he got from the 

 Chinese. There are several Chinese traditions of its origin, one 



