70 GARDEN GUIDE 



bulbs, are usually planted in rows, often two rows, about six inches 

 apart, in the furrow. If the corms are over one inch in diameter they 

 are scattered promiscuously. 



Upon the approach of frost the corms are dug, and the tops left 

 on the corms. They are then stored in an airy place to dry thoroughly. 

 After several weeks the last year's exhausted corms and the old stems 

 may be removed and the stock cleaned. The best storage temperature 

 is from 40 to 45 deg., and in a rather dry atmosphere. If the corms 

 become heated they dry, and this causes them to start prematurely. 

 If too humid the corms rot or start growth. A shallow tray three or 

 four inches deep insures the corms against heating. 



PROPAGATION. (1) By seeds. By this method new varieties 

 are obtained, but the standard varieties, being hybrids, do not come 

 true when started from seed. (2) By cormels, or " spawn " (the small, 

 hard-shelled little cormels borne upon the old ones). These, if planted 

 during the Spring following the season in which they were produced, 

 will bloom one or two years later, or usually one year sooner than 

 from seed. (3) By the annual renewal of corms, of which there are 

 from one to six, produced above the old corm each year. 



THE PEONY 



Like many other plants intensely interesting because of their 

 charming blooms, the Peony first came to the attention of the world 

 as a medicinal plant. It was named after Paeon, a mythological doc- 

 tor, for the roots of the species officinalis have been used in the making 

 of a broth. 



Peonies are easy to grow ; they are permanent and when once 

 established are impatient of being moved. They are perfectly hardy 

 wherever Apples can be grown and can easily be protected in the colder 

 regions. They bear large and showy flowers, of a great range of 

 colors; some are delicately scented. The plants are so free from in- 

 sects that they prove themselves to be ideal for cut blooms or land- 

 scape flowers. 



|p There are a number of interesting species of the Peony. The 

 most seen is the Chinese Peony (Paeonia albiflora). This is the 

 standard Peony of which we have so many matchless varieties. The 

 plant of the narrow-leaved or Fennel-leaved Peony (P. tenuifolia) is 

 very beautiful, but its value is fleeting. It blooms in May, the pretty 

 scarlet flowers nestling among the dainty dissected foliage. Closely 

 following in season are the European Peonies (P. officinalis). These 

 are the old-fashioned crimson Pineys of the garden; they produce very 

 satiny-petaled blooms, which possess a not unpleasant soapy odor. 



