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JUI.T 22, 1900. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



Part of the Peony Field of the Livingston Seed Co., Columbus, Ohio. 



AMERICAN PEONY SOCIETY. 



The Test Plots at CoraelL 



It has been suggested that as one of 

 the committee on nomenclature sent by 

 the American Peony Society to assist in 

 the work among the peonies at the Cor- 

 nell test plots this season, it would be 

 well for me to give an account through 

 the columns of the Review of the work 

 <lone, and the condition of the peonies 

 ill the plots as we found them, for the 

 Itenefit not alone of the members of the 

 society, but the large number of florists 

 «ho are more or less interested in peonies 

 and the work of the society. I am glad 

 to do this, especially in view of the criti- 

 <isms which have been made by some 

 members of the society, which were voiced 

 :iiid made public in President Ward's let- 

 ' r, read to the society at its last meet- 

 i'lg at Queens, N. Y. Mr. Ward, of 

 ' lurse, has not seen the plots for two 

 .' ars, and his impression regarding the 

 ' mditions at Cornell has been formed 

 i ' om hearsay and without being aware 

 ' ' the great improvement whicii has been 

 ' "•light about during the last year. 



Basis for Criticism. 



It might be well for me to mention the 



'^is from which these criticisms have 



isen, in order to make it more clear 



'i''it it was due to a few circumstances 



'f the very beginning, which, while un- 



'"itunate in delaying the work, were un- 



•''oidable, and for which no one could 



.instly be blamed. It must be admitted 



Jiiat the first results were disappointing, 



'""Cause the peonies were unfortunately 



I'ianted at a location that was later on 



'fquired by the college authorities for 



father purposes, making it necessary to 



move them to another place. This gave 

 the plants a check from which they had 

 not recovered when the meeting was held 

 at Ithaca in 1907, and it was at once 

 seen that it would require another year's 

 growth before it would be possible to 

 study the peonies properly. Members 

 who came expecting to see a fine display 

 of peonies in the field were disappointed. 

 The ground was a stiff, heavy clay, 

 which seemed as if it might be too wet, 

 and many members expressed the opinion 

 that peonies would not thrive there unless 

 the field was thoroughly drained. This 

 opinion seemed verified when, the follow- 

 ing year, 1908, after a cold, wet spring, 

 the majority of the plants still failed to 

 show typical blooms. 



In spite of all, the meeting in 1907 

 turned out to be a most interesting one, 

 and the members went home full of en- 

 thusiasm and the conviction that the work 

 was well on its way to a successful con- 

 clusion. We felt deeply indebted to the 

 university for the work it was doing for 

 the society, to Prof. Craig for his coop- 

 oration and hospitality, and to Dr. Coit 

 for the thorough manner in which he had 

 gathered together all of the known peony 

 literature and laid the foundation for 

 effective work, including the publication 

 of the check-list, containing a list of all 

 the names of the peonies catalogued at 

 the present day, some 2,700 in all, a large 

 proportion of which were represented by 

 the plants themselves in the test plots. 



It was suggested that a new plot be 

 planted, this time the object being to 

 form a collection of only the choicest 

 varieties, each large grower being in- 

 vited to send from 100 to 150 of what 

 he would consider the best varieties. 

 This suggestion was carried out, and the 

 following fall collectioas were sent in by 



a large number of growers, the new plan- 

 tation being placed alongside the old one, 

 but on ground lying a little higher. 



The meeting in 1908 turned out most 

 unfortunately for the welfare of the 

 society. President Ward was unable to 

 be present; Prof. Craig was in Europe, 

 dangerously ill; Dr. Coit had accepted a 

 permanent position in Arizona, and the 

 work of the society was in charge of 

 Leon D. Batchelor, who had but recently 

 taken charge, having had scarcelj time 

 to become thoroughly conversant with the 

 work in hand. The result was depressing 

 and discouraging for the society, and the 

 situation for Mr. Batchelor was a most 

 embarrassing one. 



The peonies in the original plot again 

 were not up to expectations, and it is 

 scarcely to be wondered at that under 

 the effect of so many depressing circum- 

 stances some of the members should be- 

 come impatient and indulge in open criti- 

 cism. For it seemed to many of us then 

 that the university had lost its interest, 

 and that there was danger that the whole 

 purpose of the experiment would fail. 



Suggestions for Betterment. 



Suggestions were made by some that 

 the peonies be moved to a more favorable 

 location, and by others that the old plot 

 be abandoned and the work concentrated 

 on the new plot. Fortunately, neither of 

 these suggestions was carried out, it 

 being decided that it would be unfair to 

 the original donors to fail to carry out 

 the tftst along the lines originally 

 planned. 



A committee of three was appointed — 



C. W. Ward, S. G. Harris and myself— 



to devise ways and means of improving 



the conditions of the plot and to confer 



rConcluded on pa&e S/S.l 



