The immense cupped flowers of glorious pink of Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt 
are as prominent in the peony world as the former First Lady is in our national 
life. Nick Shaylor has about all that it takes to make a perfect peony, except 
fragrance. Its color is fine though sometimes touched with red, its performance 
the best, its form beautiful, its plant habit good. Minuet ranks very high among 
the best light pinks with Myrtle Gentry maybe a lap ahead. Hargrove Hudson 
is a large rather flat good colored, medium light pink with a fine stem and form. 
It is medium height. You will want to try this one. 
Long ago Walter Faxon set a goal for purity of color in pinks that had been 
hard to reach, but finally Mrs. Livingston Farrand went a step beyond. This 
flower is rather temperamental but when given plenty of room it makes a plant 
of good habit and flowers that are very large and gorgeous in color, but con- 
ditions have to be good for it to do its best. Tondeleyo is its darker ‘counter- 
part. Dolorodell is almost as good a color with a better performance record. 
Armance Dessert is a glorious light pink shading deeper to the center that we do 
not often see. Annisquam in an even light pink is a flower of beautiful form 
and plant habit. Hansina Brand, light, and Blanche ‘King and Martha Bulloch, 
dark, generally win the best flower in the show honors. Loren Franklin and Pres. 
F. D. Roosevelt rank high up among the dark pinks. 
There are several new ones that we should get better acquainted with in this 
ciass. They are Cathie Ann, tall, with some white, high built and a good cut 
flower, Pink Monarch, larger and not so tall, Ensign Moriarty, immense in flower, 
Anne Bigger, good all around and two Kelsey varieties, Ottawa and Donald, both 
tall with rather bending stems and flowers of refinement and beauty. Rosada is 
also very large and is high built and Armistice and Claud Barrow Jr. are two 
not yet known at all that seem well worthy of attention. 
In reds Philippe Rivoire is still the best all around one we have. Tempest is 
zlmost as good though it has some stamens. Some like it better as it probably 
performs better in some years. Longfellow is very brilliant in color. Grover 
Cleveland is a full double medium red that has almost been forgotten in the 
rush but that seems destined to return to favor, and Harry L. Richardson is an- 
other that has suffered a similar fate. Both should find a place in every good 
garden. A very dark red peony shown in several shows this year as Splendor is 
another that has certainly been overlooked if it is as good everywhere as it was 
this year in Mr. Van Loon’s exhibits. It was really a marvel in form and color. 
Ruth Elizabeth and King Midas both won almost equally high honors this year 
and they are both reds of superlative merit. Bonanza in a medium brilliant red 
‘and Burma in a darker shade also continued to win in the upper brackets. Sir 
John Franklin, Mark Twain, Judy Becker in bright'reds of varying shades are 
among the best flowers. W. E. Blanchette is the giant of spectacular color with 
Red Giant and June Giant not as well known, but just as big. Red Cloud is on 
the order of Le Cygne in form and a good color. Irene Jones is a rather deep 
red with well rounded form and medium size, good plant habit. 
The very new reds that appealed to me as coming good flowers were Rubio. 
Irwin Altman, Noel, Kinney, Ruth Clay. They all have good color and form and 
nice plant habit. Valencia also should not be omitted. Shawnee Chief is a very 
fine plant, fine color, very floriferous and seems likely to be a coming cut flower. 
DECORATIVE TYPES 
These are the ones that should especially appeal to our lady friends. They 
all have stems that stand up well in the garden, make fine spots of color, are grand 
for use in the house and for floral arrangements in shows and wherever needed 
for that purpose. They should not be disbudded unless you want a lage exhi- 
bition flower for some purpose. The side buds make very beautiful flowers and 
prolong the season for each variety a week or more, They often make great 
