THE PEONY 71 



At about the same season the shrubby or hardy tree Peonies (P. Mou- 

 tan) open their enormous glossy single or double flowers. The shrubby 

 Peony grows very slowly. It should be planted where it is sheltered 

 from the wind. 



The last groups to bloom are the,albiflora varieties. These often 

 begin to bloom in New York State for Memorial Day. For a suc- 

 cession of varieties to bloom, Rev. G. S. Harrison, who might be 

 called the Chaplain of American Gardeners, recommends the varieties 

 umbellata rosea, L'Esperance, edulis superba, Monsieur Dupont, 

 Richardson's rubra superba, Henry Woodward, Richardson's grandi- 

 flora. Mr. Harrison, speaking further of prolonging the blooming of 



A border of Peonies 



the Peony, says: " There is also a system by which the blooming of a 

 single variety can be prolonged. Take a row, say of Festiva maxima; 

 wait until the ground has frozen solid; leave the end of 'the row un- 

 covered. Then, farther on, put on mulching and increase the depth 

 until, at the farther end, it is a foot to eighteen inches deep; leave this 

 on. The covering keeps the frost in; then the plant will take some 

 time to push up through the mulching. You can apply this system to 

 the later varieties and so lengthen the flowering season considerably." 

 A word may be necessary to explain the method of doubling in the 

 Peony. TJie normal or single flower is composed of petals (we shall 

 call all the petals "guard petals" in this case) ; stamens or the male part 

 of the flower (these are yellow at the tip and bear pollen) ; the pistil, 

 each section of which we call a carpel (this is often red and bears the 

 seed). In doubling, the stamens become wider and wider until they 



