852 



HORTICULTURE, 



June 2", 19<i8 



AMERICAN PEONY SOCIETY 



SIXTH ANNUAL MEETING AT ITHACA. N. Y. 



The meeting was called to order at 

 3.15 o'clock on Friday. .Inne 19. About 

 twent.v members were present. E. A. 

 Reeves acted as chairman of the mee'- 

 ingr. President C. W. Ward being un- 

 avoidahl.v detained in Michigan. The 

 treasurer also was unable to attend 

 but sent a report by mail which shows 

 the treasury to bo in a satislactury 

 condition. The secretaiT's reijort 

 showed the work of the Society to be 

 progressing. 



Reports. 



Mr. Leon D. Batchelor, who is in im- 

 mediate charge of the test collections, 

 submitted a report of the expenditures 

 charged against the appiiipriJtion 

 made by the Society at its last meet- 

 ing. This showed that a dressing of 

 .stable manure had been applied last 

 fall which served a.s a mulch during 

 the winter. It Is proposed to apply 

 cominercial fertilizers and lime the 

 present season, and another dressing 

 of stable manure in the fall. 



Mr. Batchelor invited suggestions as 

 to the best methods of procedure in 

 the care of the plots and matter con- 

 nected therewith. (Considerable dis- 

 cussion in regard to this ensued, which 

 finally resulted in the appointment of 

 a c-omraittee to center with the College 

 authorities and see what can be done 

 to better the conditions of the collec- 

 tions, which at present are not as sat- 

 isfactory as could be wished. The 

 chair appointed as that committee, C. 

 W. Ward, S. G. Harris and B. H. Farr. 

 Mr. Batchelor, in speaking for the 

 Nomenclature Committee, stated that 

 the work was proceeding along the 

 lines originally followed by Mr. Coit, 

 and that over two hundred descrip- 

 tif.ns had been made the present se^i- 

 son. 



Professor Wfietzel, chairman of the 

 committee on diseases, submitted a 

 letter which stated that he was un- 

 able to present the report he had in- 

 tended to have ready for the meeting. 

 The growers have sent in much good 

 material in the way of diseased speci- 

 mens, and he has under observation a 

 number of the organisms which he 

 suspects ar3 causing the trouble. The 

 work is well in hand and will be con- 

 tinued during the summer, when a re- 

 port will be published. 



Check List. 



Following the reading of the reports 

 various matters of business were dis- 

 cussed. The secretary made the state- 

 ment that the price of the check list, 

 five dollars, as fixed by the Society 

 last year, seemed to be too high, as 

 there has been but little demand for it, 

 although many inquiries have been 

 made about It, and he suggested that 

 the price be fixed at a figure which 

 would give it a larger distribution. 

 Mr. George moved that the ptice be 

 made two dollars, and it was voted 

 that it be made Uiat amount. 



Frauds. 

 Matters connected with the exhibi- 

 tions, advertising and frau;ls in the 

 peony txade were other subjects taken 

 up. The latter subject was brought 

 up by Mr. Farr, who had b?en badly 

 cheated by a certain prominent peony 

 grower of England. The discussion 



developed the fact that this c<mcern 

 has been systematically defrauding 

 American peony growers for years, 

 and measures for reprisal were dis- 

 cussed. 



Next Place of Meeting. 



The selection of a place for the next 

 meeting wa.-s the cause for coasiderable 

 discussion. The secretary read a letti r 

 from Mr. C. S. Harrison, iuvfiting the 

 Society to meet with the Minnesijla 

 Horticultural Socifjty at the Fair 

 Grounds between the twin eitiefe, Min- 

 neapolis and St. Paul. This invitaition 

 was coi robovated by a letter from Mr. 

 Latham, secretary of the Minnesota 

 Horticulturai Society. Both letters 

 were very cordial and enthusiastic in 

 their statements and called a.ttentiou 

 to the great business opportunities 

 which the region offers to peony grow- 

 ers. After the reading of these letters, 

 Mr. Brown, representing President 

 Ward, invited the Society to meet at 

 the Cottage Gardens, Queens;, N. Y., 

 stating thai Mr. Ward had long cher- 

 ished the idea of having the Society 

 meet with him on the Cottage Gardens 

 premises and had waited until such a 

 time as his plants would be in fine 

 condition for studying the varieties, 

 of which he has a very large number. 

 Next year should find them in such a 

 condition, and it is the belief of Mr. 

 \\ aid that considering that the most 

 important thing for the Society to set- 

 tle is sitill in the line of aomenclatuie 

 matters, no greater help could be 

 given this work than by meeting as 

 su.ggested. He could offer the best of 

 accommodations fur holding an ex- 

 hibition and would place all the con- 

 veniences of the establishment at the 

 disposal of the exhibitors and visiting 

 members. Ithaca was also suggested 

 as the best place for the meeting. 

 After a thorough consideration of the 

 merits of the various places proposed, 

 it was unanimously voted to hold the 

 mciting at Queen.?, N. Y., the members 

 feeling in doing so that they were not 

 disparaging the merits of the other 

 places but believed that the chance is 

 a most opportune one for studying a 

 large commercial collection in the in- 

 terest of nomenclature. 



Election of Officers. 



The election of officers resulted as 

 follows: President, C. W. Ward; vice- 

 president. C. J. Maloy; secretary, A. 

 H. Fewkes; treasurer, J. Howe Hum- 

 phreys. E. A. Reeves was elected to 

 succeed himself as director for three 

 years. 



A resolution was passed expresing 

 appreciation of the work done by the 

 college in furthering the nomenclature 

 work undertaken by the society and as- 

 serting the belief that the society 

 should co-operate with those in charge 

 of bringing the work to a successful 

 termination. 



A vote of thanks was given Mr. Bat- 

 chelor for his work on behalf of the 

 society and the courtesy and attention 

 extended by him to all present. The 

 exhibition was a small one, there be- 

 ing only two exhibitors. Professor 

 Saunders of Clinton, X. Y., who had 

 entries in all the amateur classes, and 

 r. C. Thurlow Co., of West Newbury, 

 Mass.. who had exhibits in the classes 



for Hf'y blooms, and the general col- 

 lection. The riowers staged froin the 

 tost collections heljied out the exhibi- 

 tion greatly. 



A. H. Fewkes, B. H. Farr and R. T. 

 Brown were elected judges to examine 

 the exhibits and award prizes. 



Report of the Secretary. 



The present membership of the socie- 

 ty is forty-nine, not including four 

 honorar.v members. 



It is gratifying to note that the 

 nienibership is steadily increasing, 

 slowly to be sure, but in a substantial 

 manner. Those who have dropped out 

 ai e few and are greatly overbalanced 

 b.v the new members which are annu- 

 ally admitted. 



Since the last meeting the work of 

 the society has been progressing. The 

 Committer on Diseases has sent out 

 a large number of circulars of inquiry 

 which have brought out much infor- 

 mation, but which has not as yet been 

 reduced to an orderly conaltion. 



The Nomenclature Committee have 

 the result of the work done by Mr. 

 Coit last summer, in press, in the form 

 of a bulletin, which will be issued 

 shortl.v. 



The secretary has the Proceedings 

 of the Society for the five years from 

 i90S to 1907, inclusive, in the hands of 

 the printeis. and will distribute copies 

 to the members at the earliest oppor- 

 tunity. 



In response to the circulars sent out 

 liy Pi of. Craig last .luly, in regard to 

 forming a suiiplementary test collec- 

 tion, a large number of roots were sent 

 in and were planted in accordance with 

 the expressed wishes of the society. 

 These as well as the older collection 

 were top dressed with stable manure 

 last fall, which served as a mulch dur- 

 ing the winter. 



The exhibition held during the meet- 

 ing last .lune was somewhat disap- 

 pointing, owing principally to the lack 

 of growers in the immediate vicinit.v 

 of Ithaca, and the dates being unfavor- 

 able to those at a distance. 



In regard tc the diseases of the 

 peony, we can not be too watchful or 

 too persistent in our endeavor to learn 

 all that can be found about their na- 

 ture. Fnd about different means to 

 lirevent them. To the commercial man 

 the matter is not of a directly serious 

 nature, but to the amateur and in- 

 directly the commercial man. it is 

 most serious. 



I have in mind a peony garden near 

 Boston which was .stocked with many 

 rare and choice varieties. Many of 

 the plants had reached their third and 

 fourth years, and were fine large 

 plants. During last summer the wilt 

 and hlack rot attacked many of them, 

 cau-sing iliuch loss and distress to the 

 owner. !n the fall large roots were 

 dug lip which were completely de- 

 stroyed. 



This is but one instance; there are 

 many others who are sufferers and so 

 situated that they can not change their 

 plants to new ground but must either 

 give up growing the peony or find some 

 means of checking or preventing the 

 spread of tliese diseases. 



A. H. FEWKES, Sec. 



