Descriptions of New Varieties of PcBonies. 361 



ed little or no attention ; for the English catalogues, up to 

 the present time, do not contain more than a dozen of the 

 new and fine sorts, while the French and Belgian cultivators 

 enumerate upwards of fifty. 



No plant makes a more splendid display in the garden than 

 the pceony, particularly the large double and showy sorts. 

 Hume?", Pottsie, Whitlej^, fragrans, &c., are well known, and 

 are among the finest hardy plants. But many of the new 

 seedlings far excel these in beauty ; and some of them bloom- 

 ing earlier, and others later, keep up the display for a long 

 time. 



To bloom the pseony in perfection, it is requisite that the 

 plants should be strong and well established ; but as many of 

 the new ones have only been introduced at a high price, and 

 consequently rather small plants, we have not been able to 

 see our collection in fine condition until the present year: 

 and with the hope that they may become better known, and 

 soon find their way into every garden, we add brief descrip- 

 tions of twenty-six varieties. 



Some very fine seedlings have been raised by our own 

 amateurs. Messrs. Cabot and Putnam, of Salem, and Mr. J. 

 Richardson, of Dorchester, have each raised quite a number 

 of plants, and among them a few very superb kinds ; they 

 have not, however, we believe, been increased sufficiently to 

 find their way into the trade. In a few years, no doubt we 

 shall find the production of seedlings as common with our 

 amateurs as the growth of seedling camellias or azaleas. If 

 accompanied with the same success, there will be little need 

 of importing the productions of our transatlantic friends. 



The following is the list of such as have bloomed freely. 

 Those designated as large, double and full, are similar in 

 appearance to Whitlejz and Hume? ; the others have generally 

 an outer row of large petals, and the centre is filled with larger 

 or smaller narrow ones, which give them somewhat the 

 appearance of an anemone. They are all beautiful, but the 

 full double flowers make the greatest display : — 



1. Anemon^flo^ra a'lba. — Outer petals, very large, of a fine 

 white ; centre ones, narrow, of a creamy yellow ; stigma, rose. 



VOL. XVIII. NO. Till. 46 



