The American Peony Society 
The American Peony Society was organized in 1903 and has done 
a wonderful work in making more popular the Peony as a garden flow- 
er. An appeal was sent out to Europe and America asking growers 
to contribute roots of every variety in their collections towards the 
formation of a great representative planting to be made at the 
experimental ground kindly placed at the disposal of the Society 
by Cornell University. Over three thousand named roots were 
collected and within three or four years most of the plants were well 
established. The Nomenclature Committee in co-operation with an 
expert horticulturist at Cornell worked over this collection for six 
years and the results of this work were pubhshed in a check list and 
three descriptive bulletins. Progressive nursery men are now re- 
vising their Hsts in accordance with these and the amateur regards 
these bulletins as the highest court of appeal in the matter of the 
correct naming of the many varieties now on the market. A Com- 
mittee is now at work on the pubHcation of an Illustrated Manual 
of the Peony, which will include all that is most valuable. We are 
also getting out a new ofl&cial list of varieties to be discarded, based 
upon the votes of the members of the Society. This will put about 
one hundred or one hundred and fifty of the older and poorer kinds 
out of commerce. Much of the credit for this work belongs to the 
Secretary, Prof, A. P. Saunders, of Hamilton College, Clinton, 
New York. Professor Saunders is an expert in raising Peonies from 
seed and his exhibits have captured a number of prizes at the annual 
shows. He is emphatic in his statement that any one who has sense 
will have no difficulty in raising seedUng Peonies, and he declares 
that "having your own seedlings to watch every year adds, as nothing 
else can, to the interest of the garden. " Membership in the Society 
is open to both professional and amateur growers. The initiation fee 
is $5.00 covering the dues for the year after the election; thereafter, 
the dues are $3,00 per year. Election takes place only at the annual 
meeting in June, but applicants for membership who remit their 
initiation fee to the Secretary at any time will receive the pubHca- 
tions forthwith. 
In spite of all the information that can be gathered from the 
Peony world, not half has ever been told about the beauty of this 
flower, of its vigor and hardiness, its fragrance, its exquisite coloring 
and its charm. Whether for outdoor display or as cut flower it can- 
not be surpassed and there is a great fascination in the raising of 
these plants either from roots or from seed. The Society has done 
wonders in promoting pubHc interest and cultivating a wider fellow- 
ship among those who know the delight of the garden. A Silver 
Medal is offered to any Garden Club that will arrange for a Peony 
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