PURCHASING 



order to make comparisons of the habit of growth 

 and the quality of stock, as well as to enlarge one's 

 acquaintance with the flowers of the different vari- 

 eties, it will be of advantage for one to visit a 

 number of nurseries, whether the lists of peonies 

 offered for sale are large or small. 



A convincing reason for seeing the flowers in 

 bloom before ordering is the fact that probably 

 no words in the English language convey so many 

 shades of meaning as those expressing shades of 

 colour. When one reads in a catalogue that a cer- 

 tain flower is " Tyrian rose " or " Bengal rose " 

 or " Solferino red," unless one possesses a colour 

 chart, or is familiar with the terminology of the 

 peony trade, or has perhaps the good fortune to 

 have lived in Tyre, Bengal or Solferino, as the 

 case may be, the description will probably be un- 

 mtelligible. How many beginners go to the dic- 

 tionary to find that " amaranth " is " a name given 

 to mixtures of colouring matters of which the chief 

 constituent is magenta " ? Most of us, I fear, learn 

 the definition through experience when the flower 

 appears. One may, of course, like magenta: but 

 if a bluish pink, or purplish red bring tears to the 

 eyes of others as they do to mine, it is no laughing 

 matter to own an amaranth peony. 



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