July 9, 1910 



HORTI CULTURE. 



45 



grower a long distance away where the 

 season of bloom materially differs from 

 that in the locality where the exhibi- 

 tion is held, to compete on an equal 

 footing with the local growers who can 

 select their best blooms at the most 

 favorable time just before the show. 

 In judging exhibits from a different 

 latitude due allowance should be made; 

 Indeed, it has occurred to me that it 

 might be a good idea to form a sepa- 

 rate class for the encouragement of 

 exhibits from a long distance. 



The peony for Memorial Day has be- 

 come almost the national flower and 

 justly so for certainly nothing else can 

 so well serve that purpose, but it is 

 unfortunate that in many places there 

 is a tendency to consider that the 

 peony has served its purpose as soon 

 as Memorial Day is passed. There 

 should be no reason for this as the 

 varieties which follow later are su- 

 perior both in beauty and keeping 

 .qualities to those which may be best 

 for Decoration Day, and it is gratifying 

 to note that in many localities the 

 usefulness of the Peony for general 

 decorative purposes is being recog- 

 nized. In many \Mestern cities partic- 

 ularly there is a steady demand tor 

 blooms which are kept in storage un- 

 til well into July. The most valuable 

 varieties after the very early ones are 

 the very late ones which come in and 

 are in demand after the earlier ones 

 are gone. 



In narrowing the list of varieties 

 down to the "best hundred" much will 

 depend on the point of view. For the 

 florist fifty varieties would doubtless 

 be ample. For him a variety is of no 

 value if it does not keep well, ship 

 well and have the right shade of color 

 and it must be fragrant. 



The landscape gardener will con- 

 sider chiefly the habit of the plant, its 

 floriferousness and its general effect 

 at a distance when planted in masses. 

 The full size and heaviness of many 

 of the finest cut flower varieties ren- 

 der them unfit for this purpose and 

 both classes would debar entirely for 

 one reason or another hundreds of the 

 varieties which would appeal to the 

 amateur who would see much beauty 

 in many of the various forms which 

 would not appeal to the landscape ar- 

 chitect or which for some reason 

 would debar them from the commer- 

 cial or cut flower class. 



Many amateurs admire the semi- 

 doubles, the loose crown types and 

 ■other distinct types so that in select- 

 ing our list of the "best hundred" the 

 tastes of all classes must be taken into 

 consideration. 



I must confess that my own taste in 

 the selection of the varieties is largely 

 that of the amateur since my prime 

 motive in growing peonies has never 

 been for cut flowers as a specialty. 

 The single peony as a cut flower is 

 not a good seller but where can there 

 be found among all the doubles any- 

 thing to compare with such singles as 

 Stanley, Jupiter or La Fiancee for 

 large massing of color effect, their 

 upright habit and lightness of flower 

 enabling them to withstand the rain 

 and wind so destructive to the heavier 

 double kinds. There are it is true a 

 large number of inferior single varie- 

 ties which should be promptly elimi- 

 nated from our list which is true also 

 of a large number among the other 

 classes. 



VIS1T0R.S AT THE OPENING OK THE WaRETUWN CLUU HoUSE 

 See page 12, issue of July 2. 



We have previously been cautioned 

 against the tendency to name new 

 seedlings which are inferior to varie- 

 ties already in existence. There are 

 so many almost perfect varieties that 

 many Ijclieve it almost impossible to 

 make any additions that are genuine 

 improvements. The American Peony 

 Society should and it is to be hoped 

 will come to be recognized as the au- 

 thority competent to pass on the mer- 

 its of a new introduction and they 

 should be so conservative that their 

 certificate of merit granted to a new 

 variety should become a guarantee of 

 the value of that new introduction. 



The siilendid collection which will 

 be in existence at Cornell University 

 will furnish the Society with unusual 

 facilities for judging a new variety. 

 Whenever possible a specimen plant 

 of the new variety should be sent to 

 Cornell in order that it may prove its 

 merit among the older varieties al- 

 ready established. This cannot al- 

 ways be done while the originator is in 

 liossession of only a few plants which 

 he would not wish to disturb or part 

 with, neither is it possible for him 

 always to send flowers to the exhibi- 

 tion which may be held so far away or 

 at a season when his plants are out of 

 bloom. 



To overcome this 1 offer the sugges- 

 tion that a committee may be appoint- 

 ed in several localities to whom a new 

 variety might be submitted and if it 

 met with the approval of the sub-com- 

 mittee they might recommend the va- 

 riety and have it passed upon by the 

 Society as a whole at a later date. 

 This would necessitate some delay in 

 final recognition which would not be 

 unwise as the merits of a variety can- 

 not always be finally judged until after 

 several years have passed. 



Mr. Rosenfield has set us a good ex- 

 ample of conservatism in this matter 

 of naming new varieties for while he 

 has grown seedlings for many years 

 he has introduced but comparatively 

 few varieties and 1 am sure all who 

 have seen his "Karl Rosenfield" will 

 agree that it is a worthy addition to 

 our list and that even among the vast 

 number of reds there was room for 

 this one. There is room also for an 



early red to compare with and bloom 

 with "Festiva Maxima." And while 

 the standard established by the 

 French growers is high we should not 

 fail to recognize and encourage any 

 good thing which originates at home. 



I must not forget to mention the 

 courtesy of the Society of American 

 Florists in sending through the Secre- 

 tary an invitation to the American 

 Peony Society to meet with them dur- 

 ing their last meeting at Cincinnati and 

 make the suggestion that the Ameri- 

 can Peony Society and the Society of 

 American Florists should co-operate as 

 our interests are mutual. It was not 

 deemed advisable to attempt to have 

 a meeting with them last fall as at 

 that season of the year we would not 

 have blooms to show but it is possible 

 that in the future a joint meeting 

 might be arranged and we cannot fail 

 to appreciate the courtesy extended to 

 us and to reciprocate the friendly feel- 

 ing shown toward us. 



I am also pleased to be the bearer 

 of a message from our Honorary Pres- 

 ident, Mr. C. W. Ward, to the Society 

 expressing his regret that continued 

 ill health makes it impossible for him 

 to be with us at this meeting but he 

 wishes me to assure you that he re- 

 tains all his interest in the Society 

 and that he hopes in the near future 

 to be able to take an active part in its 

 work. 



Report of Nomenclature Committee. 

 As Professor Craig, Chairman of the 

 Nomenclature Committee, cannot be 

 present at this meeting I have been 

 requested to make a brief report of 

 the work accomplished. Part of this 

 ground I have already covered. The 

 two bulletins now published describe 

 340 varieties. In the second bulletin 

 also a number of corrections have been 

 made to the first list. 



It was realized last year that the 

 season of study was altogether too 

 short for any one locality to carry on 

 the work without extending it over a 

 number of years, and Mr. Jos. Dauphin 

 of the Cottage Gardens Co., and my- 

 self were appointed a special commit- 

 tee to assist Professor Batchelor, and 

 the season was greatly prolonged by 



