MYTHOLOGY, AND HISTORY OF THE PEONY 



In 1872 the collection of J. Calot passed into 

 the hands of M. Crousse, of Nancy, who con- 

 tinued to send out selections from the Calot seed- 

 lings until 1879 and who later, from 1882 to 1898, 

 introduced a large number (over seventy-five) of 

 seedlings of his own. Under Crousse the peony 

 was bred up to such a point that it seems almost 

 impossible to improve upon his work. The name 

 Crousse attached to any peony can always be 

 taken as indicating merit. Among the vari- 

 eties of Crousse are: Modele de Perfection 

 (1875), Livingston (1879), Madame Emile 

 Galle (1881), Felix Crousse (1881), Madame de 

 Galhau (1883), Madame de Verneville (1885), 

 Avalanche (1886), Asa Gray (1886) Made- 

 moiselle Rousseau (1888), Monsieur Jules Elie 

 (1888), Marguerite Gerard (1892). 



Contemporary with Guerin, Verdier, Calot 

 and Crousse was Etienne Mechin, an ardent ama- 

 teur who, tutored by the celebrated horticulturist, 

 Bretonneau, began to collect peonies as early as 

 1840. By 1860, he had acquired a famous col- 

 lection comprising importations from China and 

 Japan, and seedlings of his own raising. Madame 

 Ducel (1880) and Raphael (1882)— a valuable 



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