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During growth it is a good plan to apply liquid manure, if the 

 soil is well drained. Coarse stable manure, especially if it is fresh, 

 should never be left about the plants in the summer, for it is very 

 apt to promote disease. It is doubtful whether commercial fertil- 

 izers will pay on peonies. Stable manure is certainly the best fer- 

 tilizer for them. 



In early spring the buds begin to push with the very first warm 

 days, and as soon as the soil has dried out sufficiently the bed' 

 should be dug over rather deeply, worldng the manure in and 

 thoroughly pulverizing the soil. After this, shallow cultivation 

 should be continued at intervals to maintain the dust mulch and 

 keep down weeds. 



Herbaceous peonies will do well for many years without being 

 moved, provided they are well taken care of. It is advisable, 

 however, to dig them up every seven or eight years and divide 

 and replant them. The tree peony may be left in its place per- 

 manently with good results. Many very large tree peonies have 

 been recorded as having attained a height of eight or nine feet, 

 and bearing in one season over five hundred blooms. 



Labeling. — Many persons, especially nurserymen, find it quite 

 difficult to keep the names of the varieties of peonies true. Thifs 

 trouble is occasioned by the fact that once a year the plant dies 

 down to the ground and there is nothing to which to attach a label. 

 Stakes moreover are easily misplaced or knocked down. As it is 

 absolutely necessary to keep some sort of label with the plant at 

 all times, the following has been devised and described by Jack- 

 son (1904), and I will quote his description here : 



"A label that is cheaper, simpler to prepare, and less con- 

 spicuous, as far as that feature may be desired, is a zinc label 

 attached to an iron rod. Such labels I have used for over twenty 

 years with entire satisfaction. The rods to which the labels are 

 attached are two feet long, made of heavy wire one-quarter of 

 an inch in diameter; an eyelet is bent in the top and the rod gal- 

 vanized after the eyelet is bent. This is an important point, as 

 galvanizing seals the opening of the eyelet. Such label rods are 

 made to order by wire makers in Boston for five dollars a hundred. 

 Shorter or lighter rods are less desirable as they do not go into 

 the ground far enough to have a good hold, or are liable to be 

 bent in gardening operations. Rods with an end flattened and 

 an eyelet punched in it, as sometimes sold, are undesirable, being 

 so sharp as to be dangerous in a garden. They are also too short, 



