IRISH GARDENING 



'51 



Inilh-growing; and the bulbs cultivated in 

 Holland are planted and forced in nearly every 

 part of the world. The bulb-growing is carried 

 out on a narrow strip of land between the cities 

 of Alkmaar. in the north, and the Hague in the 

 soutii. while in the middle the cities of Haarlem 

 and Ijeiden are situated. This narrow strip of 

 land, consisting of a very sandy soil which bears 

 tiie Dutch name of " Geestgrond," lies just behind 

 tlie sand dunes, Holland's natural sandhills which 

 protect the country against the North Sea. Q'his 

 soil is extremely suital)le for growing bulbs, under 

 which Hyacinths, Daffodils, and Tulips take first 

 place, varied with a great many other crops, as : 

 Gladioli, Pgeonies, Montl)retia, Lilies, Anemones, 

 tul)erous Begonias, and Dahlias. It is remarkable 

 tliat all sorts of bulbs or tulx^rs, no matter from 

 what country or climate they are derived, I'an be 

 cultivated in this soil. 



Tulips and Daffodils are, however, also ciilti- 

 vated with success in other parts of the country, 

 as in the ]u-ovince of Sealand (in the south), in the 

 province of Friesland (in the north), and in the 

 drained Haarlem Lake — all ])laces where the soil 

 is very loamy. 



The bulb-growing dates l)ack to the end of the 

 sixteenth century, when the first Tulips and 

 Hyacinths were imported from the East. The 

 Tulip was at first the object of wild speculation, 

 which finally culminated in the great Tuli]> 

 swindle between the years 1634-1637, by which 

 many people were ruined. Somewhat later a regu- 

 lar development of the l)ull)-growing took place, 

 which was extended very much, especially during 

 the last century. 



In the spring, usually about Easter, when the 

 bulbs are in flower, this part of tlie country 

 presents a magnificent spectacle, and a stranger 

 visiting Holland at this time of the year will 

 not neglect to see the bul))-fields with their glorious 

 mixtiH'e of colours. In these fields the Crocuses are 

 first in flower, followed by the Daffodils with their 

 prevailing yellow colour; afterwards the Hya- 

 cinths with their sharp, strong coloiu'S, and later 

 the Tulips with their fine, soft colours. Then the 

 roads are crowded with motor-cars, cyclists, and 

 pedestrians, while trains and trams have to put on 

 many extra services. At the same time several 

 local flower shows are held for examining and 

 judging new and good varieties. But this flower 

 galaxy does not remain for long, liecause the 

 nurserymen soon pluck off the flowers with a very 

 small bit of their stems, so that all the strength 

 goes to the bulb. It is the bulb which represents 

 the trade value and not tiie flowers. These 

 jjlucked-off flowers which, through their short 

 stems, are of no value, are thrown away into 

 the ditches or sold by children along the roads and 

 in the cities. Jjater on in the simmier several fields 

 are to 1)6 seen covered with the flowers of the 

 tuberous Begonias, &c., and in the autinnn the 

 gladioli make a l)eautiful show; bvit all this glory 

 is very little in comparison with that which was 

 to be seen in spring. 



The bulb nurseries are composed of large fields, 

 enclosed by ditches or canals and divided into a 

 number of smaller plots by beech hedges. Every 

 small plot on its own is divided up by one or two 

 main paths into several beds on which the l)ulbs 

 are to be ])lanted. Very interesting and striking 

 are the large buildings in the nurseries, named 

 " l)ulb-houses," suitable for drying, keeping, and 

 ])acking bulbs. These houses consist of two or 

 three floors with glass doors on both sides, while 

 in the front usually are the offices, and in the back 



the dwelling of a foreman. Inside are the stands, 

 consistmg of a great number of tables on which 

 the bulbs are dried, and between which, by open- 

 nig the glass doors, the air has free entrance from 

 all sides. In the case of small bulb-growers, the 

 dwellinghouse and the Inilbhouse generally form 

 one complete ))uilding. Lastly, houses for forc- 

 ing bulbs and cultivating Amaryllis, Callas, 

 etc., are frequent in the nurseries. Two groups of 

 bulb-growers are recognised, the translation of the 

 Dutch names being the " exporters " and the 

 " growers." Both groups cultivate bulbs, Imt the 

 latter are small bulb-growers who sell their cro]) 

 to the former— the bigger l)ulb-growers— who, with 

 their own cultivated bulbs, send them all over the 

 world. 



Here follows a very rough and, on po])ular 

 lines, short survey of the cultivation and ])ropaga- 

 tion of the bulbs. We conunence in September, 

 the time of planting tlie bulbs on the beds which 

 were prepared a long time ago. The cultivation 

 requires changing the ground every year, so that 

 a field being planted one year with, let us say. 

 Hyacinths, then Tulips or Daffodils, the third 

 year fallow land, or is planted with some vege- 

 tables. So there is always land that can be dug 

 and dunged a considerable time before. After 

 planting the bulbs in lines on the beds they will 

 be covered for the winter with reed or sometimes 

 turf-dust against frost as well as blowing away of 

 the sandy soil. At the end of January this cover 

 will be partially removed, being taken wholly 

 away in March. In the flower time, in the month 

 of April, looking after sick l)ulbs requires 

 much time. The l)ulbs may be suffering from 

 several diseases showing on the leaves as well as 

 on the bulbs, and the sick bulbs have to lie taken 

 away very carefully to prevent infection of the 

 others. Except some diseases, hares, rabbits, mice 

 and crows are the cause of much loss to the bulb- 

 growers. In the middle of June, after the wither- 

 ing of the foliage, a start is made with the digging 

 up of the bulbs, and after cleaning them from soil 

 they are brought up to the bull)-houses. After 

 being dried in the bulb-houses on the stands, the 

 cleaning, peeling of the young bulbs, and sorting 

 into different qualities is mostly done by women 

 and children, who are allowed by the law to take 

 special holidays from school in this part of the 

 country for working in the sheds. 



Besides the natural propagation of the bulbs by 

 seeds and young bulbs produced round the old one, 

 the bulb-growers apply two artificial methods — tlie 

 cutting and the hollowing — directly performed 

 after the digging up. With a sharp knife several 

 deep cross-cuts are made in the base of the l)ulb 

 (tlie cutting) or the whole base is taken out with 

 a knife of special shape (the hollowing), and the 

 woinid done over with a little lime. The bulbs 

 operated on in this manner will be put for some 

 time on the stands and planted out in September. 

 The large numlier of Inilbs which develops on these 

 cut or liollowed l)ulbs have to be taken off the 

 following year, and they are full-grown after three 

 to five years. 



The export of the bulbs takes place at the end 

 of the summer to the United States of America and 

 nearly all countries of Europe, as Great Britain 

 and Ireland, Scandinavia, Germany, Russia, &c. 

 The l;)iilbs are packed in paper bags between saw- 

 dust or other fine stuff, and thus together in 

 boxes. 



The organisation of the bulb-growers is exlrs.- 

 ordinarily complete. The Universal Society of 

 Bulb-growers is the main society between th<r big 



