THE MINNESOTA 



HORTICULTURIST. 



rOL. 33. NOVEMBER, 1904. No. 11. 



THE PAEONY. 



C. S. HARRISON, YORK, NEB. 



This belongs to the Runnculacea family. It derives its name 

 from a Dr. Paeon, of legendary renown, who lived about the 

 time of the seige of Troy. It is said he first used the roots for 

 medicine. In mediaeval days it was known as the gallant herb 

 of the sun, good for falling sickness, and the black seeds taken 

 before retiring would keep off the nightmare. Infused in sack 

 and taken just before and after the new moon, it was a sovereign 

 remedy for weakness of the back. In case of children the surest 

 way to ease them was to hang a bit of the root around the neck. 



There are several distinct native sorts. The officinalis, the 

 "piny" of our mothers, is a native of Switzerland and was intro- 

 duced into England in 1548. The tenuifolia, or fern leaved 

 paeony, is a native of Russia. It has extremely delicate foliage. 

 These are two varieties, double and single. The double is the 

 first of all to flower — following the tulips. It is like a General 

 Jacqueminot rose in beauty. The Edulis is a native of Tartary. 

 The roots are eaten. Then we have the Chinese and a unique 

 and distinct family of Japanese. These are mostly large single 

 and semi-double. Crosses have been made on a large scale be- 

 tween these varieties — mostly between the Chinensis and offi- 

 cinalis families. 



The old fashioned "piny" is not hardy in the west and north- 

 west. It has roots like the sweet potato, while the newer 

 sorts have roots more like the pieplant though much more solid. 



Fifty years ago we had about twenty-five kinds of choice 

 paeonies ; now we have over 2,000 varied sorts, and the number 

 is increasing. In short, we are on the eve of the most amazing 

 developments of this flower. In Europe and America new sorts 

 are being produced all the time from seed. 



