140 



riOETICULTURE 



July 29. 1916 



THE NEW PEONY SOCIETY 



Editor HonTicuLTURE: 



Replying to Mr. Fewkes iu your 

 last, permit me to say, that I am very 

 well acquainted both with the east and 

 west. I lived some years in Boston 

 and in Chicago and have seen the 

 mighty empire of the west grow up 

 from babyhood. 1 have spent years on 

 cur bleak frontiers in Nebraska and 

 Minnesota. In '57 1 commenced preach- 

 ing in the latter state, and had a tract 

 of country 100 miles in extent where 

 I was the only minister or surgeon. I 

 worked with the people and suffered 

 with them. 1 have known families to 

 live for weeks on corn meal and salt, 

 and others live a long time on fish 

 alone. I was once reduced to potatoes 

 and tallow, and didn't know the his- 

 tory of the tallow, and didn't want to 

 know. I have been nearly drowned — 

 nearly frozen — traveling when the 

 mercury was 40 below. I have had the 

 great timber wolves howl along my 

 track at night almost broken hearted 

 beiause they couldn't have young 

 preacher raw and warm for supper. 

 So I love the west and am a part of it. 

 Living for years on the storm swept 

 prairies. I became much impressed 

 with the need of home adornment and 

 so of late years when my church 

 nerves gave out — after building sixteen 

 churches and paying for them, I have 

 been preaching the "Gospel of Beauty," 

 which is next to the gospel of grace. 

 My attention was turned to the peony 

 as the cheapest and most satisfactory 

 flower, and so I pushed it, issuing 

 three editions of the peony manual 

 and writing it up in papers having 

 over a million circulation. I was 

 charter member of the national Peony 

 Society and appreciate the kindness 

 shown me. I also appreciate the 

 patient labors of those who have taken 

 the kinks out of the tangle of the 

 names. 



The fact stands out the east does 

 not understand the west, or appre- 

 ciate their need. We found that 

 in Minnesota they were raising the 

 finest peonies on earth, and there was 

 an enthusiasm there which was mani- 

 fest nowhere else. We made stren- 

 uous efforts for the Society to meet 

 at the Twin Cities. One year we ar- 

 ranged for a meeting with the Horti- 

 culture Societv where we could stage 

 the finest flowers in the land. Plans 

 were also laid to awaken the interest 

 of the great northwest — the Dakotas 

 and Manitoba. Then we gave the most 

 cordial invitation tor the National 

 Society to meet with us. Our request 

 was as promptly turned down as 

 though it was the cry of a child for 

 the moon. Other efforts were made 

 and we concluded that it would take 

 about 100 years to set the Society to 

 come to the Twin Cities. Other floral 

 societies could meet there. They could 

 even cross the continent. The parks 

 of the Twin Cities are equal to any 

 and there are .some of the ablest 

 florists of the land, but no, the Peony 

 Society could not go where they were 

 most needed. Some of us have done our 

 best to awaken an interest among the 



people. The pioneer days are past. 

 The time for the home beautiful has 

 arrived. I am an old man of S3 and 

 I am impelled to do what I can and 

 leave this a more beautiful world. 

 There was no use in waiting, we were 

 ignored. The most promising field 

 was neglected. We thoroughly can- 

 vassed the matter — whether to or- 

 ganize an auxiliary society, or go 

 alone. Should we organize as an af- 

 filiated society we might be outvoted 

 by those who hug the Atlantic coast. 

 The organization is yet somewhat ten- 

 tative. If it is best for us to come 

 under the wing of the National Society 

 all right but it must be a national 

 society and not a local one. 



York, A'eftr. C. S. Hakiu.sox, 



My dear Mr. Editor: 



I have noted the editorial in your 

 issue of July Sth entitled 'As Between 

 Societies." You of course know that 

 I have always favored the banding to- 

 gether of local interests into an Asso- 

 ciation, whenever such an association 

 might tend to advance the business 

 interests of its members. I can see no 

 objection to the organization of thn 

 new Peony Association of the North- 

 west. There is no moral, legal or 

 business reason why these gentlemen 

 should not form an association for the 

 purpose of bringing themselves to- 

 gether, get better acquainted with 

 each other and promote the interests 

 of the peony throughout their section 

 as much as they possibly can. 



I am not at all in sympathy with a 

 certain spirit that seeks to relegate the 

 progress and advancement in floricul- 

 tural and horticultural matters exclu- 

 sively to the care of national organiza- 

 tions. There is no reason why a half 

 dozen peony growers, either at York 

 Nebraska, or somewhere else in the 

 United States should not combine to- 

 gether and form any sort of an associa- 

 tion that is not antagonistic to the 

 laws of our country. Neither is there 

 any reason why such an association 

 should not co-operate with a National 

 Association covering the same subject. 

 There is no reason why such national 



association should have any antipathy 

 or should seek to curb or in any way 

 control any such local organizations. 



The United States is a very large 

 country. It is several thousand miles 

 from the Northwest to the Atlantic 

 Coast, where the American Peony 

 Society usually holds its annual meet- 

 ings. It is a very expensive journey 

 and it is practically impossible for 

 northwestern growers to bring any 

 peony flowers to any of the national 

 shows held in the Bast and exhibit 

 them in creditable conditions. Conse- 

 qiiently, in organizing the Northwest- 

 ern Peony Association, those gentle- 

 men interested in the promotion and 

 culture of the peony in that section 

 are doing just what average business 

 men of good sense ought to do in every 

 section of the country that is far re- 

 moved from the centers usually pat- 

 ronized by the national associations. 



At the "time of the organization of 

 the American Peony Society consider- 

 able opposition developed among a 

 certain section of the members of the 

 Society of American Florists and a 

 lieony committee was organized within 

 the ranks of the Society of American 

 Florists, the principal object of which 

 was to nullify the efforts of the peony 

 growers themselves to organize into an 

 independent national society. 



The sooner the opposition to the or- 

 ganization of societies throughout the 

 United States which are designed to 

 promote and advance the interest of 

 floriculture and horticulture ceases, 

 the better it will be for the entire 

 fraternity. With a country 3,000 miles 

 in breadth and two-thirds as long, 

 north and south, with a population 

 already reaching 100,000,000 and in 

 the not far distant future destined to 

 rise to the enormous number of 

 200,000.000, there is no reason why 

 there should not be many local organi- 

 zations, regardless of whether they be- 

 come closely afl^liated with national 

 oreanizations or not. 



The only thing that horticulturists 

 and floriculturists of the United States 

 should seek to avoid is anything that 

 will hinder the progress or stand in 

 the way of advancement in these 

 lines, whether that progress goes for- 

 ward along certain lines and according 

 to the rules that a few individuals 

 would like to prescribe or not. The 

 fact that progress is being made ought 

 to be sufficient. Yours sincerely, 



Eureka, Cal. Chas. W. Ward. 



FA>.:r Beuui.ng i.\ C 



. . llorsTox. Texas. 



