10 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



May 25, 1005. 



Kelvvay gives interesting notes on rais- 

 ing moutan seedlings and in regard to 

 grafting says: "First procure a suffi- 

 cient quantity of tubers of P. Siaensis; 

 cut these into lengths of about six 

 inches; then take grafts from the sorts 

 you wish to increase ai>d insert these 

 into the upper end of the tubei" in the 

 ordinary Avay of cleft-grafting, tie se- 

 curely and cover the junction with graft- 

 ing wax so as to exclude the air. These 

 should now be potted into 5-inch pots, 

 using a rich compost; the pots should 

 be plunged into frames unlieated; give 

 a good watering, and cover the frames 

 with a thin mat to partially exclude 

 light. In the winter they should have 

 an extra mat to protect them from se- 

 vere frost. The best time to perform 

 this operation is August and Septem- 

 ber." Tree peoni«s do well on officinalis 

 stock, as I know from experience. The 

 Japanese, I believe, graft on moutan 

 stock alone; but one difficulty with that 

 is that shoots from the stock can not be 

 distinguished from shoots from the scion 

 until blooming, whereas shoots from 

 albiflora or officinalis stock are detected 

 at once. Layering as suggested Dy 

 some writers, though slow, would doubt- 

 less yield most satisfactory plants. 



The Chinese peonies of the Peonia 

 albiflora stodc come next in season of 

 bloom. The varieties as known appear 

 to be the results of variation of the 

 stock, hybridization, or the crossing 

 with other species, having entered in 

 very little if at all, as far as one can 



by, has been in full bloom on June 4. 

 The latest of the choice seedlings raised 

 by Mr. Richardson, named Milton Hill, 

 last year had secondary blooms still left 

 in July. We may therefore by selection, 

 starting with P. tenuifolia, get about 

 six weeks or a little more of flowering 

 season for peonies. It would be desir- 

 able for dealers in peonies in their cata- 

 logues to give more explicit statements 

 of season of bloom, especially the earli- 

 est and latest varieties, as an aid to 

 purchasers. 



In considering the qualities of a 

 peony, color and form are of the first 

 importance. Freedom of bloom is also 

 an important feature, for some varieties, 

 while of good form and color, are such 

 shy bloomers that they are not desirable 

 for the general cultivator with few va- 

 rieties. Extra freedom of bloom, on the 

 other hand, is a feature especially de- 

 sirable. One other point of much im- 

 portance is strength of stem. Many 

 fine peonies haxei such weak stems that 

 they flop over hopelessly from their own 

 weight. Others stand erect, thereby de- 

 veloping their flowers much better and 

 showing off to infinitely greater advan- 

 tage in the garden. Lasting quality 

 both on the plant and as cut fiowers, is 

 a feature of importance, especially to 

 the dealer in c«t blooms. 



Seedlings of P. albiflora varieties re- 

 quire four to six years to bloom. The 

 seed should be planted as soon as ripe 

 in rich mellow soil; if protected by 

 frames so much the better. They are 



TTTT. 





V*^4 r'f.'S'*' j/i 



^'^ 



John F. Cowell. 



judge from the character of the foliage. 

 They are in bloom about the first of 

 June for the earlier varieties and extend 

 into July for the last blooms of the 

 later varieties. The single varieties are 

 usually among the earliest to bloom, 

 but some double varieties are nearly as 

 •early. In the past two years, the early 

 Richardson seedling, George B. Sower- 



best left without disturbance until 

 blooming, but if planted too thickly, 

 will have to be transplanted. Very double 

 flowers rarely set seed, yet an occa- 

 sional capsule will develop on an other- 

 wise sterile plant. Harrison says that 

 "seedlings will often bloom single for 

 years and then turn double." I have 

 never seen such a case. Doubtless seed- 



lings may improve in size and quality 

 with age, but as far as my experience 

 has gone, the first bloom, if strong, is 

 a very close indication of what may be 

 expected as the permanent character of 

 a seedling. 



It would be highly desirable for peony 

 dealers to insert in their catalogues af- 

 ter the names of varieties the name of 

 the originator. It is only fair credit, 

 and adds much to the interest in these 

 and other plants to know something of 

 th^r history, who raised them and 

 whjen. This is done somewhat, but rarely 

 systematically as it should be. Messrs. 

 W. A. Peterson, of Chicago, and C. W. 

 Ward, of the Cottage Gardens, Long 

 Island, in their catalogues for 1904, note 

 the originators of peonies very fully, 

 also the Lemoines of Na,ncy, France, 

 do the same, though not as fully; on 

 the other hand, the Kelways, of Lang- 

 port, England, list their own seedlings, 

 but ignore the names of other growers. 



JOHN F. CX3WELL. 



John F. Cowell is a Buffalonian, but 

 Boston claims him as her own, for he 

 was born in one of the suburbs of that 

 city and spent his early life in landscape 

 gardening in that vicinity. So early as 

 at the age of 18 ye^ he undertook 

 landscape operations of considerable 

 magnitude on his own account and it 

 was in his early life that he became 

 familiar with all the practices of horti- 

 culture, gaining a particularly thorough 

 knowledge of hard-wooded plants. At a 

 little later date he became a teacher of 

 botany and, after spending some years in 

 travel, he located at Buffalo. At first 

 he was engaged in railroad construc- 

 tion, in the engineering department, but 

 he spent ten years in the schools of 

 Buffalo as an instructor. In 1894 he 

 entered the employ of the park depart- 

 ment, taking charge of South park when 

 it was little more than a barren tract. 

 His genius for landscaping was quickly 

 apparent, for he worked a veritable 

 transformation scene and made the park 

 Buffalo's pride. Nowhere are there bet- 

 ter outdoor plantings than those created 

 here by Prof. Cowell. The glass is not 

 of large extent, but shelters one of the 

 finest collections of plants in the coun- 

 try, a large number of the subjects be- 

 ing those collected by Prof. Cowell on his 

 numerous trips of exploration, for he is 

 an indefatigable traveler and has 

 searched many climes in search of botan- 

 ical novelties. 



Prof. Cowell's personal traits have en- 

 deared him to all with whom he has come 

 in contact. He is an active member of 

 the S. A. F., having been at one time a 

 member of its executive committee. He 

 also is a member of a large number of 

 scientific bodies and has contributed in 

 numerous instances to botanical litera- 

 ture. 



SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FLORISTS. 



Rates to Washington. 



The New England Passenger Associa- 

 tion has authorized a rate' of one and 

 one-third fare on the certificate plan, in 

 co-operation with rates announced by the 

 Trunk Line Association, for persons at- 

 tending the S. A. F. convention at Wash 

 ington, D. C, August 15 to 18, 1905. 

 Wm. J. Stewabt, Sec'y. 



