Jun« 27, 1908 



HORTICULTURE 



847 



the most impressive of all dark tiowers I have ever seen ; 

 Aiigiistin d'Hour, deep red ; M. d\\ Eibert, brilliant 

 red ; Annandine Mechin, deep crimson on red ; De- 

 laeheii, deep amaranth, very old and very good; Adolph 

 Eosseau, amaranth; Francois Ortegal, very dark; Sou- 

 venir de I'Exposition de Universelle, clear red, another 

 good old one; Rubra Triumphans, another of the old 

 guard; Emile Lemoine, deep red; Richardson's Rubra 

 Superba, very dark, late; Felix Crousse, red, distinct 

 and worthy of the name. Other good reds are Henri 

 Demay, violet purple; Jussieau, black purple; Louis 

 Van Houtte, crimson ; Calot's Louis Van Houtte, cherry 

 red ; Prince Talindyke, purple crimson ; Ville de Nancy, 

 brilliant crimson and Violacea Superba, deep violet 

 purple. 



Rose color peonies, good color: Modeste Guerin, 

 bright rose; Mme. Forel, deep rose; M. Krelage, deep 

 rose; Edulis Superba, well named; M. Boucharlat- 

 Aine, bright color. 



Pink peonies, all good : Triumphe de I'Exposition 

 (le Lille, peach pink; Delicatissima, chaste, old and 

 good ; Dr. Bretonneau, clear color ; Albert Crousse, light 

 pink; General Bedeau, pink shaded lavender, unique; 

 Jenny Lind, salmon pink; Mme. C. Bancel, deep color; 

 Pottsii Alba, an old gem ; Grandifiora Carnea, flesh 

 white. 



White peonies, and their next of kin: Whitleyi; I 

 wonder how many cognomens this superb variety has 

 been afllicted with; it's the oldest and one of the very 

 best; Festiva Maxima, finest in its class; Alba Sulfurea, 

 very early; Madame Crousse, a gem; M. Dupont, large, 

 fine late; Couronne d'Or, a fine late variety; la Tulipe, 

 blush and red markings; Mad. de Verneville, pure 

 white, flaked red, fragrant, early ; Marie Lemoine, large, 

 late; Duchesse de Nemours, pure white, very fragrant 

 late ; Charlemagne, flesh white ; Bernard Palissy, blush ; 

 Virgo Marie, pure white, one of the best; and dear old 

 Albiflora, the mother of so many. 



In a class which is undefined there are varieties of 

 decidedly different coloration ; for instance. Golden Har- 

 vest is classed among the white with this description — 

 blush guard, collar clear yellow, centre white with car- 

 mine stripes and tips. Apropos of Golden Harvest, 

 among ten varieties of the very best the question was 

 asked, which of the ten is the best? This was asked at 

 seven different points. Mr. A. Loefiler, an enthusiastic 

 amateur, picked Golden Harvest. An artist of repute 

 in Chicago did the same; so did three others. My 

 opinion of Golden Harvest is that it is a gem of the 

 first water and is one of the most beautiful of all gar- 

 den peonies ; it is dwarf, free, well furnished with foli- 

 age and is not affected by the wind. Add M. Boucharlat, 

 white and yellow : Solfaterre, very beautiful, blush and 

 lemon. 



^~^^Jdw^ Ihrrh^ 



A Test of Peonies 



^\'hat we want is plants that will stand everything 

 witiiout being discouraged — those that will be prolific 

 and sure bloomers. 



We had the most remarkable spring on record. April 

 and May changed places and the mischief was to pay. 

 AVarm days brought out the buds and it seemed as if we 

 would have flowers in a few days. Then early in May, 

 we had a succession, not of frosts but of freezes which 

 froze the ground. It was a fearful test. Then came 

 mild days to encourage them. Many recovered and we 

 thought they would be all right. Then a bitter cruel 

 freeze sneaked in and caught everything unawares and 

 we asked. Can any living thing 'endure this? Our old 

 favorites gave it up. Of one thousand Festiva Maximas 

 not a dozen decent blooms. The faithful L'Esperence, 

 our dependence for Decoration Day, gave up the strug- 

 gle. Calls poured in, but most of the peonies were 

 nipped in the bud. Yet there were some that just glo- 

 ried in tribulation and paid no attention whatever to 

 little trials like those. Golden Harvest maintained her 

 never-fail reputation and ought to stand away at the 

 front — hardy everywhere in Manitoba and the Dakotas. 

 The plants covered with flowers of exquisite beauty. 

 They need but a strong and long stem to stamp 

 them as perfect. Charles Verdier was a glory 

 of bloom. Faust, M. Jules Elie, Sarah Bernhardc, and 

 Louis Van Houtte answered the roll call promptly. I 

 was surprised at the vigor of the M. Duponts. They 

 were by far the best and grandest of the whites— splen- 

 did, solid hemispheres, seven inches across, centers 

 flecked with carmine, so distinctly marked you could not 

 mistake them. La Sublime, literally deluged the plants 

 with crimson beauty. Couronne d'Or never did better. 

 Baroness Schroeder sent out a flower for every stem. 

 One thousand Queen Victorias, usually so hardy, gave 

 up in disgust; not a decent flower on the whole mass. 

 Rosenfield's Triumphs, bred for hardiness and beauty, 

 carefully selected out of thousands, and blooming qual- 

 ities carefully noted for years before putting them on 

 tlie market, were on hand promptly. Karl Rosenfield, 

 the ideal crimson and the iinest among seven hundred, 

 was all right, arrayed in royal splendor. Ak-sar-ben, 

 brilliant crimson maroon; Grace D. Bryan, splendid 

 large pink; Crimson Victory, radiant in loveliness; Prai- 

 rie Splendor, with delicious perfume and magnificent 

 bloom, seven inches across, with Prairie King with full 

 globe of brilliant soft violaceous red, all sustained the 

 test. These are very robust, the stems are from forty to 

 forty-eight inches tall. Just what we liave been looking 

 for to endure the trying climate of the West. 



Jeanne d'Arc and Golden Harvest. As these bloomed 

 this year, it was hard to tell the difference in the flow- 

 ers. The former is probably the mother of the latter. 



There is this difference, a row of Jeanne d'Arc planted 

 last fall did not produce a flower. A row of Golden 

 Harvest planted the same time was covered with bloom. 



Yorl-, Nebr. 



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