IRISH GARDENING 



167 



Famous Netherland Horticultural 

 Centres. 



By Mr. J. van den Berg. 



IV. 



The Westland District. 



The Westland district is the most outstanding 

 centre in the cultivation of vegetables and fine 

 fruit, both, especially under glass. Although the 

 history of this horticultural centre dates back 

 very many years, the rise first took place after 

 the introduction of glass cultivation, about the 

 year 1890, the time when span-roofed glass-houses 

 first were used ; since then this district has de- 

 veloped enormously, and has become of great im- 

 portance. The Westland district is situated 

 between the cities of the Hague in the north and 

 Rotterdam in the south, running parallel with the 

 North Sea, and including the well-known nursery 

 places. Monster, Naaldwijk, Gravenzunde, and 

 Loosduinen. This district is to be considered 

 as a continuation of the bulb-growing district, the 

 soil being mostly similar to this, and also called by 

 the Dutch name Geestgrond, a sandy, fertile soil. 



The main crops of fruit and vegetables cultivated 

 in the Westland district are Tomatoes, Cucumbers, 

 Melons, Grapes, Peaches, &c., and the expanse of 

 glass used for these is enormous. Of what impor- 

 tance the cultivation under glass is to the nursery- 

 men, and what good results are obtained by this 

 method is clearly shown by the fact that between 

 the years 1904 and 1912 the cultivation vmder glass 

 was increased by 200 per cent., while in the same 

 years the outdoor cultivation increased only by 42 

 per cent. 



The cultivation in the Westland is carried 

 out imder three different forms of glass — namely, 

 frames, glasshouses and warehouses. The culti- 

 vation in frames, principally hotbeds heated by a 

 certain quantity of horse manure, is the oldest 

 method. The lights consist of one sheet of glass, 

 and they are principally used for the cultivation 

 of Cucumbers and Melons. Sown in January, the 

 first Cucumbers are saleable from April. Green and 

 yellow Cucumbers are cultivated, the first for the 

 export to foreign countries, the second for the in- 

 land market. In winter time the frames are 

 mostly used for the cultivation of Carrots. During 

 late years, however, the cultivation of Cucumbers 

 in hothouses has increased very much, whereby 

 nicer fruits are obtained, and so the nurserymen 

 are independent of the horse manure, which is 

 very hard to get. 



These hot-hoiises heated by hotwater pipes have 

 a measurement of 12 feet wide, 8 feet high, and 120 

 feet to 150 feet long, while mostly five or more 

 houses are bviilt together to prevent the loss of heat. 



Larger hothovises are used for Tomatoes, 

 which are double as wide as the first named, while 

 the hot and cold houses used for the cultivation of 

 Grapes are still bigger. The cultivation of Grapes 

 has reached, in the Westland district, an extra- 

 ordinary perfection, hardly to be surpassed. This 

 cultivation, introduced in 1647 by a priest of the 

 name of Franciscus Verburgh, and originally cul- 

 tivated along walls covered with glass, has enlarged 

 enormously during late years in hot and cold 

 houses, and fresh Grapes cultivated here are to be 

 found on the market in large quantity from the 

 beginning of May to the end of November. The 

 varieties of Grapes cultivated in the Westland 



district are Frankenthaler, Gross Colman, and 

 Black Alicante. 



Special attention is directed to the cultivation of 

 vegetables in the warehouses. These houses de- 

 rived their name from the fact that many different 

 kinds of vegetables are cultivated here, and they 

 accord in this respect with the warehouses in 

 which different articles are sold. A warehouse is 

 a very extensive glass plain, consisting of a very 

 great number of oblong glasshouses of 5 feet to 6 

 feet high, of which the partition walls are want- 

 ing, so that one complete house is obtained, there 

 being no walls whatever. The skeleton consists 

 mostly of iron, which is made rust-free, or of con- 

 crete. The roof is made of ordinary lights, and is 

 removable, and is usually taken off from November 

 to January, so that while digging and dvuiging, 

 the ground is exposed for a certain time to the 

 influence of nature, and obtains the natural 

 benefit. 



One such warehouse often covers an area of about 

 one and a quarter acres, and has a roof consisting 

 of 4,000 lights. In pre-war time the expenses for 

 such a warehouse without artificial heating 

 amounted to £1,500; thus readers may see the 

 extent of this sort of glasshouse, and will find that 

 the warehouse is a real glass palace. From the 

 beginning of January the warehouses are cropped 

 with Lettuces and Spinach as the first crop, after 

 that Cauliflowers as the second, and Tomatoes or 

 Cucumbers as the third. 



In addition to the cultivations already named, 

 with which are Peaches, Strawberries, Currants, 

 Beans, &c., the outdoor cultivation of Asparagus 

 takes a considerable place in the Westland dis- 

 trict, not as in Great Britain, where Asparagus is 

 used in a green state, but white, and it is cut from 

 the ground as it reaches the surface of the soil. It 

 is then trussed into bvmdles of IJ lb. weight. 



Just as we saw in Aalsmeer, the products of the 

 Westland nurseries are not exported by the 

 nurseryman himself, but they are brought to the 

 auction, called " Veiling," where they are bought 

 by exporters who only deal with the trade. This 

 system is adopted in nearly the whole Dutch fruit 

 and vegetable trade. Not to speak of all the profits 

 of this system, work and trouble in this way are 

 divided, and while the risk of cultivation is for the 

 nurseryman, the risk of trade is for the trader, 

 and each is able to devote wholly to the cultivation, 

 or to the trade. For this purpose in the Westland 

 district several buildings, with the appurtenances 

 of packing sheds, sheds for empty cases, &c., are 

 erected — all the property of the society of which 

 both parties, nurserymen and traders, are mem- 

 bers. Expenses and salaries of the staff are also 

 paid by the society. A sale depot is mostly situated 

 near a canal, and a side canal goes through it. At 

 the time the " Veiling " starts, the canoes with 

 fruit and vegetables arrive, each according to its 

 range number. In the sale depot, with the canal 

 in the centre, the buyers sit (amphitheatre-like) 

 on elevated seats, while on the other side is the 

 administration and an electrical auctioneering 

 apparatus. This apparatus, consisting of a large 

 clock face marked with figures and a pointer in 

 the centre, is fixed to the wall. 



Briefly, the procedure is as follows : — A canoe 

 with fruit and vegetables comes into the side 

 canal, and the buyers facing the apparatus 

 look from their places at the quality. Now 

 the pointer on the apparatus travels round 

 indicating the prices on the disc, from high 

 to low, whilst on a board beside the apparatus 

 numbers can spring out to indicate the various 



