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PEONY PEOPLE PLAN m 

 Jir PUBLICITY PROGRAM 



Amerkan Peony Society holds its twelfth annual exhibition at Boston 

 with meager competition, live need for interesting a greater number of 

 persons is keenly felt and plans are laid to publish a buUetin for that 

 purpose. Also, a committee is appointed to prevent distribution of old 

 sorts in the guise of novelties. 



HE annual meeting and 

 exhibition of the American 

 Peony Society was held at 

 Horticultural hall, Boston, 

 June 19 and 20, in connec- 

 tion with the exhibition of 

 the Massachusetts Horti- 

 cultural Society. Weather 

 conditions in June are so 

 variable that it is always 

 difficult to fix on a proper date for a 

 peony show. The show this year was 

 an extensive one, the quality good and 

 the postponement from June 12 proved 

 to have been a wise move, the local 

 peonies being about at their best. The 

 majority of the exhibits came from 

 Massachusetts, but there were several 

 large lots from New York, which ar- 

 rived in fine shape. 

 The peony society is 

 not a strong one, but 

 is doing an excellent 

 work and is worthy 

 of increased support. 

 In order, however, to 

 let the public see the 

 value of the peony, 

 efforts should be 

 made to interest the 

 retailers and classes 

 for baskets, vases, 

 tables and other ar- 

 rangements for ar- 

 tistic effects should 

 be encouraged; so 

 also should the ama- 

 teur growers. The 

 premiums now are 

 too stereotyped and 

 attractive only to a 

 few large growers. 



Business Session. 



The business meet- 

 ing of the society 

 was held June 19, 

 with President B. H. 

 Farr presiding. Mr. 

 Farr, in his extem- 

 poraneous address, re- 

 ferred particularly to 

 the peony garden be- 

 ing established at 

 "Washington and ex- 

 pressed the hope that 

 all members will con- 

 tribute some plants 

 for it. Secretary A. 

 P. Saunders, in lieu 

 of a report, gave an 

 excellent informal 

 talk and brought up 

 many points, both 

 valuable and timely. 



OFFICEBS ELECTED. 



President. 

 Bertrand H. Farr, Wyomissing, Pa. 



Vice-President. 



A. H. Fewkes, Newton Highlands, 

 Mass. 



Treasurer. 

 J. H.' Humphreys, Germantown, Pq,. 



Secretary. 

 A. P. Saunders, Clinton, N. Y. 



1916 Meeting Place. 

 New York City. 



Bertrand H. Farr. 



(Perennial President of the American Peony Society.) 



He specially urged action toward sup- 

 pressing the sending out of old kinds 

 as novelties and hoped the society 

 would help to stamp out this practice. 

 A communication was read from Mrs. 

 Francis King, Alma, Mich., urging the 

 society to use the Ridgeway color 

 chart. President Parr said that the 

 society for ten years has used the 

 French chart and that he considers it 

 superior to the Ridgeway. It developed 

 that many of the new garden clubs arei 

 advocating the use of the Ridgeway, 

 but the members felt they already had 

 a better chart and the suggestion of 

 changing found no favor in the meeting. 

 A discussion over the small number 

 of amateur competitors arose and the 

 general feeling was that it was neces- 

 sary to provide more 

 small classes for 

 amateurs, as herein 

 lies the future hope 

 of the society. 



Secretary Saunders 

 spoke on the desira- 

 bility of issuing a 

 peony bulletin at an 

 early date, as a 

 means of interesting 

 a greater number of 

 people, especially 

 among the amateurs, 

 and after some dis- 

 cussion it was voted 

 to empower the sec- 

 retary to publish one. 

 This, it was felt, 

 would help to inter- 

 est the widespread 

 membership and 

 bring in new mem- 

 bers. 



Registration. 



Messrs. B. H. Farr, 

 A. H. Fewkes and R. 

 T. Brown were ap- 

 pointed a committee 

 to draft rules for the 

 operation of the reg- 

 istration committee. 

 Action taken in 1907 

 on this matter was 

 rescinded by this 

 new appointment. It 

 was felt that only 

 through its plan of 

 registration of varie- 

 ties can the society 

 exert its influence 

 against the dissem- 

 ination of old sorts 

 as novelties, and it 

 is hoped to evolve a 



