THE PLANT WORLD UNDER CARE. 



221 



very useful. Even through the worst 

 droughts of midsummer the foliage re- 

 tains its fresh, glossy greenness, un- 

 touched by insects or diseases, and this 

 can be said of very few other plants 

 in the rloricultural world. 



A few of the leading varieties in this 

 class of peonies, and which are most 

 generally successful, are 



Edulis Superba 



Festiva Maxima 



Jeanne d'Arc 



La Tulipe 



Duchess de Nemours (Calot) 



Mad. Calot 



Mad. de Verneville 



Marechal MacMahon 



Marie Jacquin 



Modele de Perfection 



Modeste Guerin 



Couronne d'Or 



Mad. Barillet-Deschamps 



Mad. Ducel 



Mons. Dupont 



Sarah Bernhardt 



Marie Lemoine 



Octavie Demay 



Avalanche 



Claire Dubois 



Mons. Martin Cahuzac 



The above will give a wide range of 

 color, form and season. 



Next in importance to the above 

 class is the mountain or tree peony. This 

 species bears its flowers some two 

 weeks earlier than the above, and, un- 

 like the Chinensis peony, the growth 

 of each year does not die away above 

 the surface of the ground. On the con- 

 trary, this growth increases slowly in 

 size each year, and in fall the foliage 

 falls off as with a deciduous shrub. 

 This is an exceedingly interesting class 

 of plants which has been developed to 

 a high state of perfection by the 

 Japanese, with whom it has been a 

 favorite flower for hundreds of years, 

 and, while it is a fairly hardy plant, 

 yet in severe northern latitudes it 

 should be given protection in winter. 



Blooming at about the same time as 

 the above, comes Paeonia Tenuifolia, 

 a brilliant red flower, both single and 

 double, of medium size. The foliage 

 of this species is particularly attractive, 



MARIE LEMOIXE. 



being very deeply cut, as in a very fine 

 fern. 



Following this, and before the 

 Chinese peony blooms, comes Paeonia 

 Officinalis, whose chief variety is Rubra 

 Plena, the old fashioned red peony of 

 our grandmothers' gardens. The color 

 of this flower is exceptionally brilliant, 

 but, compared with the Chinese varie- 

 ties, the flower is only moderate 

 in size, is not agreeably fragrant and 

 comes on rather short and not very 

 strong stems. 



While there are other species of 

 peonies found in various parts of the 

 world, the above four embrace all that 

 are worthy of general cultivation by 

 the amateur, and no diversion of man 

 will be found so alluring and fascina- 

 ting as the cultivation and study of 

 this truly wonderful flower. 



"Not interested in it." occasionally 

 we hear said of Arcadia or one of its 

 publications. And then we are not dis- 

 couraged, but increase efforts in that 

 particular direction, because our mis- 

 sion is to interest people in nature, as 

 well as to assist those already inter* 

 ested. 



