MYTHOLOGY, AND HISTORY OF THE PEONY 



variability as to colour and form of flowers — all 

 combined to create a demand for this new 

 " Chinese peony," the name by which it began to 

 be called. As reproduction by division of the 

 roots was extremely slow on account of the limited 

 quantity of the several kinds, propagation by 

 seeds was resorted to. Cross pollination, either 

 accidental or directed by hybridisers, in time gave 

 rise to scores of novel forms of flowers. 



In 1858, H. A. Terry of Crescent, Iowa, one 

 of the pioneers among peony experts of this coun- 

 try, obtained from William Robert Prince, who 

 had inherited the Linnsean Botanic Garden, at 

 Flushing, thirty varieties of P. albiflora, includ- 

 ing Humei, Pottsii, Reevesii, Comte de Paris, 

 fragrans, festiva maxima, lutetiana, edulis su- 

 perba, plenissima rosea and Queen Victoria. 

 Many of these freely produced seeds from which 

 Terry soon had thousands of seedlings growing. 

 He selected the best for further propagation but 

 found that generally not five — often not one — 

 in a thousand were worth cultivating. During a 

 long life time — longevity and peony growing 

 seem to go hand in hand — Terry produced over 

 a hundred new varieties among which are a few 



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