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EVERYONE loves the Peony; in every garden it may be found, from the single clump 
beside the doorway of the humblest cottage, or the prized collection in the amateur’s 
garden, where they outrival the rose in fragrance and color, to the broad vistas of the 
millionaire’s estate, where, planted in great masses, they surpass the rhododendron in 
size and magnificence of bloom. And yet how few really know the modern Peony, for 
those commonly seen are but a few of the older, large-flowering varieties, or the early 
red “Piney” of the old-fashioned garden; rich in color, but of small size, fleeting duration 
and offensive odor. 
The early history of the Peony extends back many centuries, that of the European species being 
intricately woven with a haze of superstition, allegory and myth. In China it is said that the Tree Peony 
has been their chief pride and glory for 1,400 years, a theme for their poets and painters, and prized by 
their emperors for the beauty and fragrance of their flowers; and for more than a thousand years a record 
of the characters, qualities and parentage of the new varieties raised from seed has been kept. 
The Peony of today has been cultivated in Europe but a little more than a half-century. It is 
descended from Pceonia albiflora f a native of Siberia. Knowing this, I can well understand why it thrives so 
luxuriantly in the rich alluvial soil of our western states, and why it is tbe flower for the great Nortbivest , 
enduring , as it does , tbe most intense cold without injury. 
The modern Peony is an aristocrat whose birth was among the nobility of France, for it was under 
the care of M. Jacques, gardener to King Louis Philippe, that some of the first of the fine varieties of today 
originated. There was the Comte de Cussy, the Prince de Salm-Dyck and Modeste Guerin, all enthusiastic 
amateurs, who acquired collections by importing the best varieties from China and Japan about the middle 
of the last century, and from these began to raise the seedlings that have given us our present magnificent 
varieties. 
M. Jacques’ collection was inherited by his nephew, M. Victor Verdier, who raised a number of fine 
seedlings. The collection of the Comte de Cussy was inherited by M. Calot, of Douai, who continued to 
raise seedlings till 1872, when his collection passed into the hands of M. Crousse, of Nancy, who made care¬ 
ful selections from the Calot seedlings, and sent them out annually until 1879. From 1882 until 1889, M. 
Crousse sent out seedlings of his own raising. The Calot-Crousse varieties are noted for their uniform high 
quality, raising the standards of excellence to a height that has never been surpassed, unless it be by the 
splendid varieties introduced in recent years by that greatest of all the world’s hybridizers, Victor Lemoine, 
whose establishment at Nancy is the place formerly occupied by Crousse. All the Lemoine varieties are 
exquisitely beautiful, although so rare as to be but little known outside of the larger collections. 
Another famous French collection of Peonies, contemporary with those of Calot and Crousse, was 
that of M. Mechin, also an enthusiastic amateur, whose grandson, M. A. Dessert, of Chenonceaux, succeeds 
him, and is considered today the greatest living authority on Peonies. Among his most recent introductions 
may be found the latest and some of the most beautiful additions to the many fine varieties for which we are 
indebted to the French specialists. 
To these must be added the beautiful varieties raised by Kelwaj' & Sons in England; and in America, 
the varieties raised by three amateurs who have been especially prominent in the production of new Peonies, 
namely: John Richardson, of Dorchester, Mass.; II. A. Terry, of Crescent, Iowa; George H. Hollis, of South 
Weymouth, Mass., none of whom are now living, but whose best varieties equal in every way the best 
French and English productions. 
It will be seen, therefore, that nearly all of our modern Peonies are of comparatively recent intro¬ 
duction, and that by far the greater part of them have originated in one locality in France by a few enthusi¬ 
astic amateurs who have made the growing of Peonies their hobby. 
In the propagation of Peonies or the raising of new varieties, there is no easy, royal road to quick 
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