EARLIER FLOWERS 



in a cluster of fringed and cut collar and crown- 

 petals of the tenderest flesh pink. There is a cer- 

 tain bright elegance about this flower. Here, too, 

 is Alexandre Dumas, so rich, so striking in its 

 deep-pink guards and its ruff of amber and tuft 

 of tall crown-petals standing away from the ruff. 

 Fresh interest in the peony mounting high as 

 these notes were transcribed, I inquired diligently 

 of Mrs. Edward Harding as to her opinion of the 

 three best of the family. Her answer follows: 

 "Three peonies stand absolutely at the top, un- 

 touched, unequalled : They are Le Cygne, Solange, 

 and Walter Faxon. The next rank so closely in 

 quality and beauty that it is difficult to draw a 

 line. Any three of the following varieties, added 

 to the three which I have just named, will give 

 you the six finest in the world. You have only to 

 close your eyes and choose, or select according to 

 your special predilection for tint, form, or fra- 

 grance. Mme. Emile Lemoine, Mrs. Edward 

 Harding, Festiva maxima. Glorious, Milton Hill, 

 La Fee, Avalanche, Baroness Schroeder, and 

 Therese. Doubtless there will be clamorous criti- 

 cism because Therese is not named in the first 

 three. But large, fresh, free-blooming, and beau- 

 tiful as this variety is, in my opinion it still can- 



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