Mr. Blaauw, of Holland, added a grand variety very recently in President Taft. 
Of Peonies originating in America those bv John Richardson, of Massachusetts, from 1857 to 1887. arc the most 
prominent. His Dorchester Grandiflora. Milton Hill, etc., are of the finest varieties in existence. George Hollis, also 
of Massachusetts, and H. A. Teny, of Iowa, have sent out some good varieties, but unfortunately for us the labors of 
these three Peony growers are ended. Mrs. Pleas of Indiana, Mr. Rosenfield and the Rev. Harrison, both of Nebraska, 
also Mr. Shaylor of Massachusetts, are the only ones who have very recently added to our Peony iists in America. 
In a monograph on the Peony written by Mr. J. Eliot Coit for Cornell University he gives seven most excellent 
reasons for the popularity of the Peony, as follows: 
1. They are easy to grow; anyone can raise glorious Peonies with less trouble than it takes to grow roses. 
2. Peonies well established are permanent features in the garden, or at least as permanent as is desirable. 
3. Peonies are perfectly hardy wherever apples can be grown, passing through the most severe winters without 
injury, and very easily protected where not hardy. 
4. The blooms are large, showy, of various forms, and of all shades of color from white to purple, and even pale 
yellow. 
5. Many of the new varieties are deliciously fragrant. 
b. They are practically free from insects and disease. No spraying, dusting, or hand-picking of worms is necessary. 
7. They are equally successful as a cut flower and for artistic landscape effects. 
The Peony Albiflora or Chinensis as it is more commonly catalogued has by the American Peony Society been 
divided into eight types as follows: 
SINGLE—Those with a single row of wide guards, and a center of yellow pollen-bearing stamens. 
SEMI - DOUBLE—Those with several rows of wide petals, and a center of stamens, and partially transformed petal- 
oids. Many of the reds are of this type. 
JAPANESE—These have wide guards the same as the Singles, but with the stamens and anthers greatly enlarged into 
narrow, thick petaloids of various colors, tipped with vestiges of the yellow anthers without pollen. 
ANEMONE—A step further in the process of doubling, with the stamens all transformed into short narrow petals, 
forming a round cushion in the center of the flower. 
CROWN -In this type wide petals are developed in the center of the flower, forming a high crown with the narrow, 
short petals forming a ring or collar around it. Often the crown and guards are one color, and the collar another 
or lighter shade. 
BOMB The next step in which all the center petals are uniformly wide approaching the guards, but distinctly dif¬ 
ferentiated from them, forming a globe-shaped center without collar or crown. 
SEMI-ROSE—Flowers in which the petals are all uniformly wide, but are loosely built, with a few pollen-bearing 
stamens visible or nearly concealed. 
ROSE—The process of doubling is completed, all stamens fully transformed into evenly arranged wide petaloids, 
similar to the guards, forming a perfect rose-shaped bloom. 
THE MODERN DOUBLE HERBACEOUS PEONY 
(Paeonia Herbacea Sinensis) 
By JOHN M. GOOD. 
Peonies and Peony Lovers. 
About Its Culture, Soil, Drainage 
The Peony is of such easy culture that it is not at all paticular like most plants as to the soil; they will 
grow in rich, in poor, in clay, in sand and in black soil and thrive in all of them. We prefer a sandy loam such 
as we have here in the fertile lands of the great Miami Valley of Ohio. Prepare your ground by digging at 
least two feet deep, your beds should be well drained so that all surplus water gets away quickly; Peonies will 
not stand wet feet. 
Fertilizers 
This is the particular part about Peony culture. If there is one thing that a Peony dislikes more than 
another, is to have manure come in direct contact with its roots, it causes disease; to avoid this we never use 
the land to plant Peonies soon after manure has been applied, until a couple of years have elapsed, giving the 
manure time to become disintegrated and thoroughly incorporated with the soil; neither do we cover the 
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