1882/ 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



249 



finding of this double variety adds another to 

 a Jong list, showing that nature as well as 

 ''the skill of the florist" is equal to the task of 

 raising double flowers. — Ed. G M.J 



Feuit of the Paper Mulberry. — "M. C," 

 Atlanta, Ga., writes: "We mail to you a box 

 containing a "nondescrijjt" a party in Middle 

 Georgia sends us for a mulberry. It is unlike 

 anything we have ever seen. Is it not an ao- 

 normal condition rather than a natural growth?" 



[This is the fruit of the paper mulberry — 



Broussonetia papyrifera — the tree from which 

 the Chinese make much of their paper, and the 

 fruit of which is rarely seen in this country. 

 It is the general impression that the trees intro- 

 duced into this country were male, and the in- 

 crease has been by root cuttings from these 

 original trees. If, now, some of their descend- 

 ants have taken to bearing fruit, it will add an- 

 other instance to a list by no means short, that 

 plants can, at times, change their sexual charac- 

 ters independently of seed. — Ed. G. M.l 



Literature, Travels i Personal Notes. 



COMMUNICA TIONS. 



BULB CROWING IN HOLLAND. 



BY BURNET LANDRETH. 



Hillegom is our objective point and to reach 

 it we go from quaint old Amsterdam to Haar 

 lem, through a country of windmills and ditches 

 — water on every side — ditches, canals, rivers, 

 the divisions between fields, not fences, but open 

 ditches three to thirty feet wide, navigable for 

 long narroAV flat boats on which the farmers 

 transport their hay, potatoes, cattle, manure as 

 wagons are almost unknown ; indeed they could 

 not be used for want of bridges — the boat is all 

 important. The size of the fields vary from two 

 to ten acres, seldom more, principally down in 

 rye grass for pasturage. Another striking 

 feature is the noble avenues of Linden trees; 

 every farm house has its line of approach and 

 every town its avenue— sometimes trimmed flat 

 on both sides like a wall, the branches inter- 

 lacing, at other times standing alone and trim- 

 ed like so many columns. 



Finally we reach Haarlem and put up at the 

 Hotel Funckler, dining with a lot of gay army 

 officers just the same kind of rollicking boys as 

 they alwaj's are. 



We find ourselves in an historic city. It gave 

 birth to Coster who it claims was the real in- 

 ventor of printing— what a lot of fellows invent- 



ed printing! It gave the Spaniards trouble to 

 take, tho' they did it after killing ten thousand 

 in the siege and two thousand more in the 

 massacre which followed. It was a nursery of 

 art and to-day possesses fine pictures. 



It is a town of sixty thousand inhabitants and 

 with its suburban surroundings is the seat of 

 residence of large numl)ers of wealthy merchants 

 from Amsterdam thirty minutes distant, and 

 here may be mentioned the refinement seen 

 among these true Dutch people. They are 

 courteous and sincere, they are highly educated, 

 wealth}', always doing for themselves or others 

 — none can be charged with idleness. None 

 are drones, as too often is the case in this 

 country with those who have been favored with 

 wealth left to them by others. In Holland it is 

 disreputable to have nothing to do— however 

 wealthy, however high in social position. 



The business communities speak English very 

 generally, so intimate are the commercial rela- 

 tions with Britain; it is taught in all the schools 

 and in the towns English habits are more to be 

 observed than elsewhere on the continent. In- 

 deed the better class of people are so English in 

 appearance as often to be mistaken as sucli. and 

 this applies particularly to the young ladies- 

 blue eyed, light haired, rosy cheeked, splendid 

 teeth and altogether lovely. Many odd sights 

 are to be seen in the streets and particularly 

 in the market place. They seem to do many 



