PROPAGATION 



ally produee peonies inferior to those which we 

 already have, is becoming widely appreciated. 

 There promises to be a more definite effort to 

 raise only those seeds which are the result of a 

 careful selection of the parents and of hand 

 pollination. 



Hand Pollination 



Many beautiful peonies which have been de- 

 veloped within the last fifteen years are the result 

 of careful cross-breeding. Although the breed- 

 ing of plants is in itself a life study, there is no 

 reason why the amateur may not, with a little 

 knowledge, enjoy some of its delights and 

 rewards. 



The first thing for the novice to learn is the 

 constiTiction of the flower which he wishes to 

 breed. A flower is usually composed of two sets 

 of organs — the non-essential and the essential. 

 The non-essential are ( 1 ) the catyx or green cup 

 at the base of the flower, composed of sepals, and 

 (2) the corolla, composed of petals. The essen- 

 tial organs are (3) the pistil and (4) the stamens. 

 The pistil has three parts, the stigma, on which 

 the pollen or fertilizing dust is placed, the ovary, 

 which contains the seeds, and the style or slender 



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