296 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
AMERICAN PEONY SOCIETY 
The Meeting of the American Peony Society which took place at Ithaca, N. Y., on June 19 and 20, 
was very Successful from Every Point of View. There was a Better Attendance than usual, 
and a good deal of Important Business was Transacted 
Among those present were: Messrs. B. H. Farr, Reading, 
Pa.; R. T. Brown, Queens, Long Island, representing the 
Cottage Gardens Co.; S. G. Harris, Tarrytown, N. Y.; 
Geo. H. Peterson, Fair Lawn, N. J.; E. B. George, Paines- 
ville, Ohio, representing the Storrs and Harrison Co.; C. J. 
Maloy, Rochester, N. Y., representing Ellwanger & Barry; 
Edwin A. Reeves, Cleveland; O. H. Dickinson, Springfield, 
Mass.; Geo. F. Carter, Syracuse, N. Y.; Prof. A. P. Saund¬ 
ers, Clinton, N. Y.; J. J. Styer, Concordville, Pa.; Wm. J. 
Engle, Dayton, O.; Dr. A. J. Knapp, Evansville, Ind.; 
John Connon, Hamilton, Canada; James Cowan, Oshawa, 
Canada; Albert Lahodnev, Hempstead, Long Island. 
The exhibition was 
held in one of the 
large rooms of the 
Agricultural De})art- 
ment of Cornell Uni¬ 
versity; it was made 
up largely of a repre¬ 
sentative collection of 
cut blooms from the 
Society’s plot on the 
grounds of the De¬ 
partment. There were 
besides a few exhibits 
from amateurs. 
The judges’ awards 
were as follows: 
Class 2. Amateurs. 
For the best collec¬ 
tion of not less than 
25 varieties, one bloom 
of each. First, A. P. 
Saunders, Clinton, N. 
Y.; Second, Mrs. F. S. 
Kellogg, New York Mills, N. Y. 
Both of these collections were well staged and showed 
good cultivation, Professor Saunders’ collection embracing 
a wide range of color, especially in the yellow and light pink 
varieties. 
Class 3. For the best new seedling of American origin 
not previously exhibited. 
A. P. Saunders, CHnton, N. Y., for the variety Jean 
Bancroft, a beautiful blush with cream center and showing 
immense blush guards. 
In addition to the above, T. A. Havemeyer, Esq., of 
Glenhead staged a collection showing high cultural skill, 
but owing to the difference in the season between Mr. Have- 
meyer’s locality and that of Ithaca, many varieties were too 
far advanced to do the collection justice. 
The exhibition was open to the public and drew on both 
days a large number of visitors, many of whom expressed 
surprise at the variety in form and color to be found in the 
modern peony. Almost everyone who came in to the exhibi¬ 
tion also paid a visit to the plot, which is located about a 
mile away on farm land in the country. The weather on 
both days, cool yet sunny, left nothing to be desired. The 
dates of the meeting, which it was hoped would cover the 
time of full midseason, fell a little earlier than that, on 
account of the cool weather which has prevailed for some 
weeks past in the northern part of the state. Nevertheless, 
there was an excellent showing of all the early and early mid¬ 
season varieties. The members of the Society made an 
excursion to the plot on Thursday morning, and there spent 
a couple of hours very profitably in studying old and new 
varieties, comparing 
notes, and discussing 
problems of identifica¬ 
tion and culture. 
The business ses¬ 
sions of the Society 
were held on Wednes¬ 
day afternoon and 
evening. Outside of 
the routine business, 
the principal matter 
in hand was the ques¬ 
tion of the disposal 
of the surplus plants 
in the plot. There is 
to be a permanent 
planting at Cornell of 
a representative col¬ 
lection of three plants 
of each variety de¬ 
scribed in the bulle¬ 
tins of the nomen¬ 
clature committee. 
This planting is already partly completed, and will be 
brought to a close by the end of the present season. As 
the work of identification and description to be done on the 
Cornell collection is now completed, it is not necessary to 
retain the whole plot any longer. The main part is to be 
sold as a whole, and the question^ of its disposal was dis¬ 
cussed at length in the sessions of the Society. As to the 
smaller collections, the original donors having consented 
to the plan, these are to be listed and offered for sale 
separately. This will afford an excellent opportunity to 
anyone who wishes to add to his stock, to obtain a repre¬ 
sentative set of varieties in strong clumps four to .seven 
years old. 
The funds obtained by the Society from these sales will 
be devoted to the publication of an illustrated Peony Manual 
containing accurate descriptions of all the standard varieties, 
cultural directions, and much other material indispensable 
to the peony grower. A special committee on publication 
A PORTION OF THE EXHIBIT AT THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN 
PEONY SOCIETY, CORNELL UNIVERSITY, JUNE 1912 
