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states that at that time (1828) his collection contained forty varie- 

 ties, combining a great diversity of shades and colors. We find 

 also that in 1862, at great expense, he obtained some twenty varie- 

 ties of tree peonies from European gardens and introduced them 

 at Flushing, Long Island. He further says : " I have also origi- 

 nated from seeds during the past fifteen years twenty-two most 

 gorgeous varieties, whose flowers are of the largest size, and com- 

 prising white, roseate, crimson, lilac, purple, and variegated shades.'' 

 (Prince, 1862). 



Hovey in 1836 states that he had never seen but three varieties 

 of tree peonies in America, with the exception of a seedling raised 

 by Prince. He says that he has no way of knowing just when the 

 first tree peonies were introduced into America, but thinks it must 

 have been about 1820. It is certain that a plant of P. moutan var. 

 papaveracea was imported from England in 1826 by Mr. William 

 Lathe of Cambridgeport. Later this plant passed into the posses- 

 sion of J. P. Gushing, Belmont Place, Watertown, where it at- 

 tracted considerable attention. In 1836, Col. Perkins of Brookline, 

 Mass., owned a tree peony which he had imported direct from 

 China. Hovey thinks that this was the P. moutan Raimeii ofi 

 Sabine. At this same date (1836) Mr. Wilder of Hawthorne 

 Grove, Dorchester, possessed several of the latest seedlings from 

 France. These were all tree peonies. 



In 1856, Mr. H. A. Terry of Crescent, Iowa, obtained from 

 Prince at Flushing, L. I., some thirty varieties of P. albiflora, 

 including Humei, Pottsi, Reevesi, Fragrans, Festiva Maxima, 

 Lutetiana, Edulis Superba, Plenissima rosea, Queen Victoria, etc. 

 Many of these produced seed freely, and Mr. Terry soon had 

 thousands of seedings under way. He dealt only with the herba- 

 ceous peonies, and has done a great deal to advance the culture of 

 peonies in the West. Some of his best productions are: Grover 

 Cleveland, Carrie, Esther, La Reine, Mrs. Pleas, Maud Hutchinson, 

 and Morning Star. " I am now in my eightieth year," writes Mr. 

 Terry, " and do not know how long I will continue to grow peonies, 

 but I want to be surrounded by them as long as I live. They are 

 like my children, very dear to me." (Watson, 1904.) 



John Richardson of Dorchester, Mass., an enthusiastic lover of 

 ornamental plants, has done much to advance the interest of the 

 peony in America. Records of peonies in his garden go back to 

 1857, when some fragrant forms were recorded; but how much 

 longer he had been growing them is not known. From 1857 to the 



