A BUSINESS MAN'S PLEASURE IN HIS PEONIES. 255 



Blanc, Mignon, M. Martin Cahuzac, Evangeline, and dozens of 

 others of the world's finest varieties were blooming as I had never 

 seen them before. I was so delighted with Mr. Ruff's garden 

 that I spent two days in it, and I really wanted to stay a week. 



Monday found me in Faribault, and although I did not get 

 to meet Mr. Brand, I was delighted to find his wonderful Eliza- 

 beth Barrett Browning, and his splendid Mary Brand. His 

 Martha Bulloch was a wonder in size, but the charm of E. B. 

 Browning leads me to believe it will be recognized as one of the 

 world's great peonies. It gives me great pleasure that all three 

 of these varieties have a home in my garden, and if they blossom 

 in Ohio as they do in Minnesota it will be a pleasure to exhibit 

 them in our Eastern shows. 



It is no doubt a wise arrangement which prohibits an ama- 

 teur peony grower from selling roots, but in my case it has given 

 me great pleasure to give them away, and in some cases I find 

 an added pleasure in planting connected with my love for peonies 

 The greatest of all pleasures connected with my love for peonies 

 is to find that my friends are learning to appreciate and love 

 them too. There are certain friends I meet every week, and we 

 always talk about our peonies. I am glad to see them, and I feel 

 sure they are just as glad to meet me and to talk the latest 

 peony news. 



I occasionally meet flower lovers who have not yet learned 

 what a wonderful flower the peony is. A root of an extra fine 

 variety sent to them postpaid at the right time, with proper 

 planting instructions, not only makes a new peony enthusiast but 

 strengthens our friendship. It has many times given me pleas- 

 ure to send a root of a rare and fine sort to some other enthusi- 

 ast of whom I have heard, and it will be a great pleasure at some 

 time to have his opinion of my peony. 



Not the least of my peony pleasures comes when I am divid- 

 ing some particularly fine plant to find that I can make three, 

 four, five or a dozen plants where I only had one. It seems I 

 have only begun to tell you of the pleasures of a single peony 

 season, for I have not told them all by any means, but I realize 

 you have more important things to discuss than peony pleasures, 

 and so I will close with a reference to the pleasure I find in many 

 growers' well written peony catalogues. This kind of a pleasure 

 is available fifty-two weeks in a year, and while it is true I have 

 a fair library for a business man I have no books which are 

 more often in my hand's than the catalogues of the well known 

 peony growers of the United States, and of Europe. 



Peony pleasures are health giving, life giving, love giving 

 pleasures, which not only broaden our views of life and happi- 

 ness but also give us length of days. 



