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The latter has the roots composed of several 

 ■oblong knobs banging by strings fastened to the 

 main buad : the stems the same height with the 

 preceding : the leaves are composed of several 

 ovate ioires, some of which are cut into two or 

 three segments; they are of a lucid green on 

 their upper side, but are hoary on their under : 

 the stems are terminated by large single flowers, 

 composed ot five or six large roundish red 

 petals. 



The flowers in boih sorts appear in May, and 

 are natives of several parts of Kurope, as Switz- 

 erland, Dauphine, Carniola, Piedmont, Sile- 

 sia, &e. 



Miller savs, that " it is scarcely necessary to 

 observe that the old names of Male and Female 

 have nothing to do here with the sexes, the 

 flowers of both being hermaphrodite." 



There arc several subvaricties of the Female 

 Peomj with double flowers, dilVering in size and 

 c )lour, cultivated in gardens. The Male Peony 

 also varies with pale, and white flowers, and with 

 larner lobes to the leaves: they also vary much 

 in different countries. 



" 1 here is the Foreign Peony, with a deep- 

 red flower: the roots are composed of rounilish 

 knobs, like those of the Ftwiile Peony : the 

 leaves are also the same, but of a thicker sub- 

 Ktanee : the stalks do not rise so high : the 

 flowers have a greater number of jietals, and ap- 

 pear a little later. It is a native of the Levant. 

 The large double purple Peony is probably a sub- 

 variety of this." 



The Hairy Peony, with a larger double red 

 flower : the roots like the common Female Peony ; 

 but the stalks taller, and of a purplish colour : 

 the leaves much longer, with spear-shaped entire 

 lobes: the flowers ^large, and of a deep red 

 colour. 



The Tartarian, with roots composed of oblong 

 fleshy tubers of a pale colour : the stalks about 

 two feet high, pale green : the leaves composed 

 of several Tobes, irregular in shape and size, 

 some having six, others eight or ten spear-shaped 

 lobes, some cut into two or three segments, 

 and others entire; of a pale green, and downy 

 on their under side : the stalks are terminated 

 by one flower of a bright-red colour, a little less 

 than that of the common Female Peony, having 

 fewer petals. 



'Jlie Portugal Penny, \\\lh a single sweet flower, 

 has not roots composed of roundish tul)crs, but 

 has two or three long taper forked fangs like 

 fingers : the stalk rises little more than a foot 

 liigli : the leaves are composed of three or four 

 oval lobes, of a pale colour on their upper side, 

 and hoarv underneath : the stalk is luminated 

 by a single Hower, which is of a bright r(.d co- 



lour, smaller than the above, and of an agree- 

 able svi'eet scent. 



The second species has a creeping root, put- 

 ting forth tuberous fibres, with tubercles the 

 size of a hazel nut, white, fleshy, of a bitterish 

 taste : the stem scarcely a foot high, and com- 

 monly single, but in the garden eigiiteen inches- 

 hio-hj'and several from the same root : the root- 

 leaves none : the stem round, very obscurely 

 siroovcd, smooth, as is the whole plant, naked at 

 bottom, having there only a lew sheathing scales : 

 the leaves frequent, alternate, the upper ones 

 gradually less, on a round petiole, channelled 

 above, quinate: the leaflet scut into very many nar- 

 row sctrments : tb.e upper leaves siinply multifld : 

 the fioXver sessile at the uppermost leaf, s iibglo- 

 bular, accompanied by two leaflets, one niuliifid, 

 the other simple, both dilated at the base. It 

 is a native of the Ukraine. 



Culture. — The single sorts are easily raised by 

 seed, and the double by parting ilie roots. 



The seed should be sown m autumn, soon 

 after it is perfectly ripened, or very early in the 

 spring, (hut the former is the better season,) on 

 a bedor border in the open ground where the 

 soil is rather light, raking it in lightly. It inay 

 also be sown in small drills. 



Theplants should afterwards be properly thin- 

 ned, kept perlecl 1 v free from weeds, and be occasi- 

 onally watered when the weather is hot and dry. 



As they should remain two seasons in the beds, 

 it is necessary in the second autumn to spread 

 some light mould over them, to the depth of an 

 inch ; and in the autumn following ihey may be 

 removed where they are to remain. Plants of the 

 double-flowered kinds are often produced from 

 these. 



The roots of the old double-flowered plants 

 may be taken up in the beginning of the autumn, 

 and divided so as to have one bud or eye or more 

 to each part, or crown, as without care in this 

 respect they never form good plants. And 

 where regard is had to ilie flowering, they should 

 not be too much divided, or the ofi'-sets made 

 too small, as when that is the case they do not 

 flower strong. But where a great increase is 

 wanted, they may be divided more, being left 

 loirger in the nnrsery-beds. 



They should be planted out as soon as possible 

 after they are separated, though w hen necesary 

 they may be kept some lime out of the eanh. 

 The large off-sets may be set out at once where 

 they are to remain; but the small ones are best 

 set in nursery-beds for a year, or till of proper 

 strength for planting out. 



The plants may afurwards be su Hired to re- 

 main several years unremoved, till the roots arc 

 increased to very large bunehes, and then he 

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