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8 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



June 11, 1908. 



what they wanted and could resell with 

 confidence. ' ' 



Speaking of dealers, "We have had 

 more inquiries than usual for price- 

 lists," said Mr. Peterson, "and I look 

 for a larger business in peonies this sea- 

 son than last. Many of the inquiries are 

 from florists who are planting for their 

 own cutting; others are from florists who 

 take orders for September planting, and 

 others come from nurserymen who find 

 the demand is turning to the finer sorts 

 and that they have got to clean up the 

 mixed lots and the common varieties anl 

 plant or buy for their trade what the 

 people want — the best, without much re- 

 gard for price." 



"As to whether it pays the florist to 

 grow peonies to sell the plants, the good 

 sorts, that cost $1 a plant, will after two 

 years' growth be profitable if the divi- 

 sions are sold even 'as low as 50 cents." 



Recent visitors to Peterson Nursery 

 have found that the peony show was 

 really a secondary spectacle compared to 

 the display of irises. As a show o^ color, 

 nothing finer could be imagined. Irises 

 are rapidly gaining favor for garden use. 

 Some of the best are: 



Sans Souci, standard golden yellow, 

 falls crimson brown; the brightest yel- 

 low there is. 



Harlequin Milanais, standard white 

 flaked violet, falls rich violet reticulated 

 with white; large, orchid-like. 



Mme. Chereau, tallest, white, elegantly 

 frilled with violet. 



Speciosa, standard lavender, falls dark 

 reddish purple; exceptionally fragrant. 



Gertrude is a beautiful violet blue. 

 This is a Peterson seedling. 



AT BLOOMINGTON, EX. 



My peonies have made a simply glor- 

 ious show this season and have attracted 

 a great deal of attention. The idea that 

 the popularity of the peony is on the 

 wane is simply ridiculous. There may 

 be a glut of the cut flowers in certain 

 wholesale markets in the height of the 

 season, but the peony is, and always will 

 be, the people's flower. It is eminently 

 adapted to decorating the graves of the 

 nation's heroes, and at Memorial day 

 has a place no other flower can fill at 

 this season. My Memorial day demand 

 was immense and taxed my best efforts 

 to fill. 



My grounds have been the wonder and 

 admiration of the city, while the peonies 

 were in flower. My peonies are on a 

 southeastern slope, 750 feet from east 

 to west, and rising thirteen feet in 200, 

 with the Bloomington and Normal electric 

 cars running along the lower side. The 

 frequent rains in May, and the bright 

 sun between showers, gave the plants a 

 growth and the flowers a brilliance of 

 color I nave never seen before. It was 

 a veritable exhibition for all who passed 

 and the show did much to add to the 

 popularity of the peony in this vicinity. 



F. A. Baller. 



THE PEONY CONVENTION. 



As announced in the Review last 

 week, the sixth annual meeting and fifth 

 annual exhibition of the American 

 Peony Society will be held June 19 and 

 20 at the State College of Agriculture, 

 Department of Horticulture, Cornell Uni- 

 versity, Ithaca, N. Y., and all consign- 

 ments of flowers for exhibition must be 

 so addressed. All entries must be sent 

 direct to the manager of the exhibition, 

 Leon D. Batchelor, Ithaca, so as to reach 



him at least two days before -the ex- 

 hibition. 



The premium list is practically the 

 same as last year and has been sent to 

 members by Secretary A. H. Fewkes, of 

 Newton Highlands, Mass. In a circular 

 accompanying it he says in part: 



"It is earnestly desired that all mem- 

 bers who can will attend this meeting. 

 The prospects for a successful meeting 

 are good. The weather conditions have 

 been favorable for the best development 

 of the peony, and advices from Ithaca 

 are to the effect that the plants in the 

 test collections have wintered well and 

 give promise of abundant bloom. The 

 supplementary collection of selected va- 

 rieties which was added last fall should 

 make the collections doubly interesting, 

 placing as it does the cream of the col- 



Tbe Kdltor Is pleased 

 wben a Reader 

 presents his Ideas 

 on any subjeot treated In 



e\*^ 



Am ezperlenoe Is tbe best 

 teacher, so do ire 

 leam fastest by ao 

 ezehanco of ezperlenoes. 

 Many valuable points 

 are broucht out 

 by dlsousston. 



Good penmanship, spelUntr and gram- 

 mar, thoucrh desirable, are not neces- 

 sary. Write as you would talk when 

 doing your best. 



WX SHALL BX GLAD 

 TO HKAR FROM TOU. 



lections of various growers side by side 

 in such a manner that the varieties may 

 be easily verified. 



' ' Prof. Whetzel, as chairman of the 

 committee on diseases of the peony, will 

 make a report for that committee which 

 undoubtedly will be of much interest. 



"To those who did not attend the 

 meeting last year it may be said that 

 all who did, have a pleasant remembrance 

 of the hospitable manner in which the 

 society was received, and in all probabil- 

 ity are looking forward to meeting again 

 where so much of interest is at hand, 

 and where pleasure and profit may be 

 combined. It will pay you to go and see 

 what has been done and what is under 

 way in the interest of better conditions 

 in the peony business of the country. The 

 regular business meeting will be held at 

 3 J), m. on the first day, June 19. 



"The test collections are now in the 

 immediate charge of Leon D. Batchelor 

 and he requests all members and others 

 who issue catalogues or price lists of 

 peonies to favor him with copies of them 

 if they have not already done so." 



Appleton, Wi.s. — Miles Meidam, whose 

 greenhouses are located on Cars-er street, 

 recently purchased the house and lot 

 owned by W. ('. Rogers, on the same 

 street. The consideration was $3,500. 



EUROPEAN NOTES. 



The principal horticultural exhibition 

 of the year in France was opened in 

 Paris May 23. The extensive range of 

 buildings devoted to the show was full 

 of interest from end to end, and the art 

 of arranging, in which the French excel, 

 was simply perfection. 



Novelties were not very abundant, but 

 a few awards were made, among the 

 most notable of which were the follow- 

 ing: Lupinus polyphyllus Moerheimi, 

 raised by B. Ruys, of the Moerheim 

 Nurseries, Dedemsvaart, Holland, and 

 exhibited by L. Ferard, Paris; Clematis 

 Mile. Yvette, a mauve flowered variety 

 of the l^uginosa type, exhibited by 

 Houry & Sons, Orleans; Zonal Pelargo- 

 nium Dagata, a vigorous variety, with 

 large semi-double pink flowers and 

 trusses five inches across, from Andre 

 Charmet, of Lyon. 



A grand feature of the show was the 

 great display by Vilmorin, Andrieux & 

 Co., of Paris. Part of this exhibit con- 

 sisted of a rock garden, with a stream 

 of water trickling among the stones and 

 verdure. Another section was composed 

 of banks of annuals, in which stocks, nas- 

 turtiums, aquilegias, schizanthus, etc., 

 were prominent, flanked by sweet peas 

 in pots, with all the most popular varie- 

 ties in fine form; probably the largest 

 display of sweet peas ever seen in France 

 at a flower show. Vilmorin 's exhibit 

 will help to extend the culture of sweet 

 peas in France. 



G. & A. Clark, of Dover, England, also 

 exhibited a fine table of vases of sweet 

 peas, especially good Henry Eckford, 

 St. George, Helen Lewis and Helen 

 Pierce. 



Massive groups of rhododendrons, 

 many of the plants eight feet in diam- 

 eter, were exhibited by the famous grow- 

 ers, Moser & Sons and Croux & Sons. 

 Hundreds of plants from two feet to 

 eight feet in diameter were exhibited by 

 each. 



Aug. Dessert, of Chenonceaux, had a 

 busy time among the peonies. He put 

 up a fine collection and their popularity 

 was apparent from the hosts of admir- 

 ing visitors who plied the attendants 

 with questions. In herbaceous peonies, 

 La Fiancee, pure white, in the bud re- 

 sembling large Niphetos roses, was prom- 

 inent; also Sarah Bernhardt, a blush 

 pink. In tree peonies, Athlete, an im- 

 mense rosy pink flower; Comtesse de Tu- 

 dor, blush, and Comte de Flandre, blush, 

 caught the eye. In Japanese, Augusta 

 Dessert, a single rose colored flower, and 

 Lakme, a gigantic single white, were 

 popular. 



Fine beds of roses in pots, of such 

 varieties as Mme. Norbert Levavasseur, 

 Baby Rambler, Mrs. Cutbush, etc., were 

 pretty features. By the way, Norbert 

 Levavasseur (of Levavasseur & Sons, 

 Ussy), who was present, received the 

 warm congratulations of many friends 

 on his election to the office of mayor of 

 Boulogne, where he resides. 



W. Atlee Burpee was among the vis- 

 itors, and in his opinion the grandest 

 exhibits were the rhododendrons and 

 Vilmorin 's display, regarding which he 

 spoke in terms of the highest praise. 



Bee. 



Sedalia. Mo.— Chaa. A. Pfeiffer 's busi- 

 ness this season has been heavier than 

 last year, he says, and the demands on 

 his time and strength have also been in- 

 creased by the unseasonable weather and 

 the hard times. But as results are what 

 count, he says he is contented. 



