TTBEROTS ABB EHIZOMATOUS FLOWEES. 67 



of their blooms, but for their singular seed- vessels, which 

 open and display the scarlet seeds within, and afford a 

 vivid addition to the winter bouquet. All the herbaceous 

 Paeonies delight in a deep, sound, alluvial loam, and 

 thrive even under the shade of trees, by which the dura- 

 tion of their bloom is prolonged. 



The tree Paeonies like the same soil, with an admixture 

 of heath-mould or silver-sand ; nor are they nice as to 

 aspect and exposure. The great difficulty in flowering 

 them well, is that they shoot their leaves and flower-buds 

 so early, that they are in great danger of being cut off 

 by spring frosts, except in the most favoured situations. 

 Various modes of protection in the open garden have 

 been devised ; such as temporary coverings of canvass or 

 oil-paper, and moveable screens of boards, to be left on 

 or taken off, according to weather. Others grow them 

 in large pots or boxes, retaining them in the greenhouse 

 till the bloom is over. In this case, the soil must be 

 renewed every second or third year. The different 

 species of Paeony hybridize together, and many beautiful 

 varieties have resulted from the circumstance. The 

 herbaceous kinds are readily propagated by root-division ; 

 the tree Paeonies are more difficult, but still may be mul- 

 tiplied by slips of the root, by cuttings detached at their 

 insertion on the stem, by layers half cut through behind 

 each bud, by grafting on the tubers of the common 

 herbaceous Paeony, P. officinalis, or better on the common 

 Chinese tree Paeony, P. Sinensis, as this latter does not 

 throw up suckers. The plants, once established, may be 

 left pretty nearly to themselves, and will require no 

 pruning. The nurseryman's list of varieties of Paeony, 

 new and old, is too long to be quoted here. Remarkable 

 species are, the slender-leaved Paeony, P. tenuifolia, 

 from Siberia, of which a double variety, obtained iu 

 Russia, has been propagated in Holland. The foliage is 

 light and graceful; the flowers very double, perfectly- 

 regular, and of the most brilliant crimson. The rose- 

 scented Paeony, P. fragrans, from China, has very double 

 pinkey-purple flowers, with a decided rose-like perfume, 

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