72 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



but are loosely built, with a few pollen-bearing stamens visible, 

 or nearly concealed. 



Rose. The process of doubling is completed, all stamens full}' 

 transformed into evenly arranged wide petaloids, similar to the 

 guards, forming a perfect rose-shaped bloom. 



Twelve years ago, when I attended my first Peony show here. 

 Baroness Schroeder was the acknowledged queen. She was 

 beautiful, and among the most costly, being among the very few 

 for which as much as five dollars was asked, and it was common talk 

 then, that the "Peony Boom" had probably reached its height, 

 and would doubtless soon decline. The Baroness is as beautiful 

 today, but no longer queen, for many kinds now bring from ten 

 to fifteen dollars, and twenty-five to thirty dollars is not at all an 

 uncommon value for a number of varieties, and never were these 

 rare varieties more sought after than today. 



Among the most talked of Peonies today, besides those of the 

 American growers previously mentioned are first of all Lemoine's 

 Le Cygne, winner of the first prize for the finest single specimen 

 bloom, followed closely by Kelway's Glorious. Along with these 

 should be mentioned Lemoine's Alsace Lorraine, Evangeline, 

 Enchantresse, La Fee, La France, Mirabeau, Mignon, Mont Blanc, 

 Sarah Bernhardt, Solange and Primevere, the nearest approach to 

 yellow; Dessert's Therese, Francois Rosseau, Mad. De Treyeran, 

 Rosa Bonheur, Tourangelle, and Mons. Martin Cahuzac, the 

 darkest of all Peonies. Kelway's James Kelway, Kelway's Queen, 

 Marchioness of Landsdowne, Miss Salway, Phyllis Kelway, and 

 Venus are all varieties of rare beauty. 



Many of the new introductions are only know^n by reputation, 

 for the expensive kinds are often not allowed to come to perfection, 

 being too frequently divided for the purpose of increasing the stock; 

 it is only when they are grown in private gardens, or in specimen 

 collections, where they may remain for at least four years, that real 

 merits are revealed. Consequently, ever^,■^vhere, as they develop, 

 we discover new treasures, and alas, too, some few disappointments. 

 Among the pleasant surprises in my collections that I had an 

 opportunity to see in perfection for the first time last year was 

 Galathee, a wonderfully full, strong growing, beautifully formed, 

 flesh white, of great size; Philippe Rivoire, dark garnet, of unusual 



