954 



HOETICULTUEE 



June 2S, 1913 



AMERICANiPEONY [SOCIETY 



THE CLEVELAND MEETING. 



Extracts from President Farr's Ad- 

 dress. 



Reports from all parts are that this 

 has been a very unfavorable season 

 for peony blooms, the mild winter aud 

 exceedingly warm weather in March 

 and April having forced the plants 

 into premature growth, which was 

 checked by sudden freezing through- 

 out the country during May. and with 

 the result that the buds were, in 

 many- cases, destroyed entirely and 

 blooms have been less than fifty per 

 cent, of what they are in normal years. 

 Again, during the blooming season 

 the country has been visited by heavy 

 frosts, which have affected the de- 

 velopment of the late blooming va- 

 rieties, so that in many ways it has 

 been a most unsatisfactory season, 

 more so than we have had for some 

 years. 



Briefly reviewing the work of the 

 society during the last year, I would 

 state that the most important work 

 was the disposal of the large plant- 

 ings of peonies at Cornell University. 

 All of the old collection in the test 

 plot was sold to Doubleday, Page & 

 Co.. and the private collections were 

 sold to various individuals, with the 

 result that the society shows a net 

 increase in its treasury balance, after 

 covering all expenses, of over $700. 

 This amount added to our previous 

 balance, gives the society at the pres- 

 ent time a net worth of ajiproximate- 

 ly $1,500, a showing which we believe 

 no other society of so small a mem- 

 bership has ever been able to make in 

 so short a time, in spite of the fact 

 that our disbursements for premiums 

 and contributions toward the publica- 

 tion of the bulletins and work at Cor- 

 nell have been quite heavy each year. 

 The digging and shipping of the peo- 

 nies from Cornell was accomplished 

 under great difficulties, as during the 

 week that the committee in charge of 

 this was in Ithaca we had continuous 

 rains for four days. 



The next and most important work 

 of the society during the year was to 

 arrange with Doubleday. Page & Co.. 

 subject to the ratification of the so- 

 ciety, for the publishing of a complete 

 peony manual, comprising all of the 

 material in the present bulletins, after 

 they have been edited, revised and cor- 

 rected, together with such added ma- 

 terial as can be gotten together as 

 will make the book valuable for every- 

 one interested in peonies, and to the 

 public in general. It is the expecta- 

 tion that this work will be ready for 

 publication during the coming autumn. 



While the greater part of this work 

 has naturally devolved upon the com- 

 mittee appointed for this purpose by 

 the society, the committee feels that 

 every peony grower and every mem- 

 ber of the society should form a com- 

 mittee as a whole, to assist in every 

 way possible toward making this final 

 work as complete and as free from 

 errors as it can possibly be made. 



Information is especially desired 

 along the following lines: 



(1) A list of all varieties that are 



authentic that are not yet included 

 in the bulletins which it would be de- 

 sirable to include. 



(2) Any information which will be 

 of permanent value in the bulletins 

 concerning the diseases of the peony 

 and remedies for the same. 



(3) Methods of propagation and 

 cultivation. 



(4) Information regarding the 

 methods of handling the cut blooms 

 for commercial purposes, including 

 cold-storage, etc. 



(5) A list of the best one hun- 

 dred varieties in the writer's opinion, 

 for all purposes. 



(6) A list of the best fifty vari- 

 eties for landscape or ornamental 

 work. 



All correspondence on this subject 

 should be forwarded to Professor A. P. 

 Saunders. Hamilton College. Clinton, 

 N. Y., secretary of the society, and 

 also a member of the committee on 

 nomenclature. The publication of 

 this work brings to close the first 

 epoch in the history of the society. It 

 is not expected that the first edition 

 of this work can be made absolutely 

 free from errors, or that it will be com- 

 plete in every detail, as there are still 

 many varieties to be passed upon, but 

 to delay the publication of the work 

 until such time as it would be com- 

 plete would be merely to deprive the 

 members of the results of our work for 

 a number of years to come, and would, 

 in the long run. hinder rather than aid 

 the progress in the work of nomen- 

 clature. 



While the old planting at Cornell 

 has been abandoned, it must be borne 

 in mind that the final permanent 

 planting of all of the varieties that 

 have been passed upon by the various 

 bulletins has been carried out, and 

 samples, consisting of three plants of 

 each variety, have been planted in a 

 permanent position, where they will 

 remain at all times open to the in- 

 spection of members and others inter- 

 ested who shall visit this collection 

 and study it. At the last meeting of 

 the society the desirability of estab- 

 lishing other similar selections in dif- 

 ferent parts of the country, where the 

 blooming season, owing to latitude, oc- 

 curs at a different period, and where 

 it would be more accessible to the 

 general public, was discussed. The de- 

 sirability of establishing such a col- 

 lections at Arlington farms, under the 

 protection of the United States Gov- 

 ernment, was discussed, and it was 

 voted unanimously by the society that 

 the establishment of such a collection 

 would be desirable and that steps 

 should be taken to bring about such 

 a planting, which should be known as 

 representing the work of the Ameri- 

 can Peony Society, and which should 

 at the same time be accessible to the 

 large number of people that constantly 

 visit Arlington. 



I am glad to state to the members 

 that Professor Beal, who now has 

 charge of the work at Cornell, is 

 enthusiastic about the peony, and 

 is very anxious to maintain the col- 

 lection at Cornell and continue the 

 peonies, and to assist the society in 



every way. The department is now 

 carrying on an active study of the 

 fungus disease which, in various lo- 

 calities, has attacked the peony. My 

 own opinion of this disease is that it 

 is transient and due largely to con- 

 ditions prevalent during certain sea- 

 sons, notably during the season just 

 passed. It is a question whether the 

 blight of the buds, that is sometimes 

 noticed, is caused by the fungus, or 

 whether the blight is caused by 

 weather conditions, such as freezing, 

 etc., which weakens the plant to such 

 an extent that the fungus follows the 

 injury. At any rate, it is the opinion 

 among a large number of growers that 

 while the disease should be stopped, 

 and a remedy found to combat it, 

 that it is not of sufficient importance 

 to warrant any public agitation on the 

 subject. 



Hart Bros, won a merited gold medal 

 with their group of Nephrolepis vari- 

 eties. 



J. M. Gasser Co. made a very at- 

 tractive display of roses and some 

 beautifully arranged floral baskets. 



City Forester John Boddy. managed 

 the exhibition with excellent judgment 

 and contributed not a little to its suc- 



C. Betscher, C. Merkel & Son, A. P. 

 Saunders. B. H. Farr, Cottage Gardens 

 Co. and Martin Kohankie were among 

 the successful prize winners. 



E. A. Reves made a mammoth dis- 

 play of 100 named varieties of Paeonia 

 albiflora comprising about 3000 blooms. 

 A gold medal was his reward. 



Rose Milady carried well from 

 Cromwell. Conn., and attracted much 

 attention. Carnation Princess Dag- 

 mar from Patten & Co.. Tewksbury, 

 Mass.. also showed up good. 



Officers were elected as follows: — 

 President. B. H. Parr, Reading, Pa.; 

 Vice-President, E. B. George, Paines- 

 ville, O.; Secretary, A. P. Saunders, 

 Clinton, N. Y.; Treasurer, J. H. Hum- 

 phrey. Germantown, Pa.: director for 

 three years. Geo. C. Thurlow. West 

 Newbury, Mass. The next meeting 

 will be held in Chicago. 



W. P. Edgar, S. A. P. vice-president 

 for Eastern Massachusetts, has issued 

 a pamphlet giving full details of the 

 contemplated trip to the Minneapolis 

 Convention. It is planned for the 

 party to leave Boston on Friday, Au- 

 gust 15th, for Montreal, where they 

 will be the guests of the Montreal 

 Florists" Club during Saturday. On 

 Sunday some time will be spent at 

 Niagara Falls. Monday will be spent 

 in Chicago and the party will travel 

 from Chicago to Minneapolis. Monday 

 night, via the Chicago. Milwaukee & 

 St. Paul R. R., arriving Tuesday morn- 

 ing. 



The St. Louis County Plant and 

 Flower Growers' Association meets 

 Wednesday. July 2. 



