18 
I Northwestern Peony 
1 and Iris Society. 1 
T HE PEONY has always appealed 
to me as being one of the most sat- 
isfactory and attractive flowers in 
cultivation and is eminently 
adapted for this section of the country. 
It does splendidly in the milder climate 
of the more southern states, and does 
not disappoint in the more severe cli- 
matic conditions of Canada. 
The various combinations of color, 
the delicate and pleasing fragrance, 
the hardiness and vigor of growth, 
which, coupled with ease of culture 
and propagation, all tend to make the 
Peony the most valuable flower obtain- 
able. Even after the beauty of its 
flowers have passed, the stately bushes 
add continued beauty and interest to 
the landscape effect and remain so 
through the entire summer until they 
are cut down by heavy freezing in the 
late fall. They can be subjected to 
considerable abuse and still exist and 
give forth bloom from year to year. 
There is also a fascination about grow- 
ing Peonies that grows stronger with 
each succeeding year. Commencing 
with the more common varieties (and 
some of these have not been surpassed 
by the newer acquisitions) one soon 
has the desire to obtain the more choice 
ones, and it is only a matter of a few 
years until the “Peony bug” has gotten 
hold of you to such an extent that it 
is found necessary, (where one does not 
possess ample grounds) to encroach 
upon ground intended for other plant- 
ings to find space for the accumulated 
collection. How this interesting diver- 
sion deflects the tired business man’s 
mind from his strenuous office routine, 
is apparent by the large number of 
professional and business men in all 
walks of life who have made wonder- 
ful collections of Peonies. No other 
flower will give better results with 
careless or indifferent treatment than 
the Peony, but what is worth doing is 
worth doing well and I find it a real 
pleasure and diversion to work among 
my Peonies during the growing season. 
Anyone confined to an office all day 
needs physical training of some sort to 
keep him in the best of condition. I 
know of no better exercise than the 
vigorous use of a spading fork for a 
period of an hour or two especially 
when the day’s duties have been ex- 
tremely arduous, as it puts one in 
prime condition for a peaceful night’s 
repose. During the winter months we 
carefully study the various catalogues 
and make a preliminary selection of the 
varieties we contemplate planting the 
coming fall season. When spring ar- 
rives we tenderly care for the plants 
as they make their appearance and ad- 
mire them through their blooming 
period and make final selection of va- 
rieties. With the advent of summer 
we will continue the cultivation at fre- 
quent intervals to promote sturdy root 
growth, and when the fall months dis- 
place the summer season we are en- 
grossed in our planting activities. 
t3l)e Slower (Brower 
Thus a pleasant Peony year is passed 
by the “Peony Bug.” 
W. F. Christman, Sec’y. 
Making Gifts of Flowers. 
Comparatively few people make gifts of 
flowers, and defend themselves by saying it 
puts money into a most perishable thing, as 
if a gift that cost money must be a sub- 
stantial thing that cannot easily perish. A 
receiver of substantial gifts needs an apart- 
ment to store gifts in and register that he 
has friends, and he must place gifts in a 
room with reference to the degree of friend- 
ship existing. Precedence is often carefully 
studied, and the fruitful study often not ap- 
preciated. If one will stop and think of what 
it means to keep all the substantial gifts of 
his life and the friendships of the givers, he 
may easily arrive at the fact that it is quite 
a misdemeanor to make anybody a gift that 
will not perish of itself. If one is going to 
make a money gift, he should give it in raw 
money and let the receiver buy the gift of 
his choosing ; then if the party gets tired of a 
hammered brass placque the giver is exempt 
from the blame of having sent the imperish- 
able thing as a gift. 
But it is a raw thing to send money for a 
gift, except in charity. Few friends would 
feel anything but as paupers at having 
money sent them. The making of money 
gifts can easily become a matter of barter, 
and the true spirit of giving eliminated. A 
gift of flowers that costs much is the only 
way to put money successfully into a gift. 
It can be so beautiful it can never be for- 
gotten, and yet never in the way of other 
friends and never needing chamber room. 
If one sends a costly bouquet of flowers 
to one who does not care for flowers, it is a 
good object lesson all around. It tells a life 
story of both sender and receiver. It may 
awaken an interest in flowers. It may be 
there are people so homely they have never 
thought to love flowers until startled by a 
bouquet in the hand sent by an interesting 
friend. Flowers come out of the brown earth 
that does not seem good under feet to some 
people, and they have not noticed that there 
is nothing homely in the world but misuse 
of things. Flowers make such splendid use 
of a plain thing in its relations, only very 
high-headed people have overlooked flowers 
among the beautiful. 
The greatest friendships we have ever 
known are among flower-lovers. Just look 
earnestly over a fence to a strange woman’s 
winter garden of bulbs, and she will come 
to you if she sees you. Many a lasting 
friendship starts over a flower garden fence. 
A costly gift of flowers tells a long story, 
as the receiver tries to keep it from fading 
and sees it go little by little till only the 
greens remain. If there were no more com- 
ing it would be a sad experience, but there 
are, and different ones, and it is not the 
things that cannot perish that make us 
happy longest. We think of the sending 
friend that lives to send more flowers, and 
can never forget the friend who long ago 
sent many. It may be a costly bouquet that 
did not cost the sender money. A really 
needy person, who could not afford to put 
money in flowers, may get the flowers given 
to him over the garden fence of a stranger, 
or he may grow them himself. Wherever 
there is a will for flowers to give, there is a 
way to get them, and there is one beautiful 
thought about flowers, that the seeds and 
roots and bulbs of them cost very little'. It 
is the labor of somebody that makes flowers 
expensive, and when one can afford to give 
expensive flowers he is helping the grower 
of them to live a life among them .— Suburban 
California. 
If our mild winter is followed by an 
early spring, flower growing will boom. 
February, 1919 
The Glad Philosopher’s 
[ Musings. I 
This is the season of the year when 
all the faithful 33rd degree members 
of our craft occupy the long winter eve- 
nings with making plans for our spring 
plantings, and with delightful antici- 
pation we scan the flood of new cata- 
logues that are now pouring in, for 
mention of new varieties we have not 
as yet tried out, and as we read the 
alluring descriptions we cannot resist 
the covetous desire to add them to our 
collections. What matter if some of 
these alleged novelties be old varieties 
masquerading under new aliases, or if 
really new, are inferior to ones we al- 
ready have ? Did not America’s once 
greatest showman discover, and pro- 
claim it as a truth, that his countrymen 
liked to be humbugged ? 
In ordering varieties as yet unknown, 
it is sometimes well to remember the 
saying, “ the best is always the cheap- 
est.” In general practice, the cheapest 
is not often the best, but in the selec- 
tion of flowers, fruits and vegetables, 
the cheapest is oftenest those kinds 
that have withstood the test of time, 
and are cheap only because they have 
been long established. By reason of 
their great merit they have outlived 
many other varieties that gave promise 
for a brief season, then went the well- 
traveled road to oblivion. Being in 
greatest demand, they were raised 
more generally, and the universal law 
of supply and demand prevailed. The 
Gladiolus America, the Peony Fesliva 
Maxima, the Iris Mad. Chereau, the 
Geranium S. A. Nutt, the Concord 
grape and the Hubbard squash are but 
few examples of highest quality with 
lowest prices, and these are cheapest 
because being long-time the best, the 
demand stimulated a far greater sup- 
ply to meet it. 
As garden tools are about double 
their price of two or three years ago, 
the G. P. is glad that he has always 
made it a rule to clean his hoe, spading 
fork, etc., after each time of using. 
Long ago he discovered that it pays to 
buy only the very best implements, 
and then to take good care of them. 
What a long time it takes to break 
away from established custom and 
overcome prejudice. Most people con- 
tinue to demand three-quarter inch 
garden hose when one-half inch hose 
is cheaper in cost, and being stiffer, 
will wear about twice as long as the 
larger sized. Very few dealers in hard- 
ware carry five-tined spading forks, 
but anyone who has ever used one will 
never want a four-tined fork again. 
If people would refuse to buy un- 
riveted hose and rakes the manufac- 
turers would soon cease making them. 
However, blame it all on Barnum, he 
put the manufacturers wise ! 
The Glad Philosopher. 
