April,'22] MC LAINE: EUROPEAN NURSERY CONDITIONS 163 



better. Their trade with Russia, Germany and the central European 

 countries is gone, and with the other countries there is keen competition 

 and unending difficulties on account of disturbed trade relations and 

 rapid fluctuations in exchange. 



The nurseries on the continent are for the most part owned by old 

 and well established firms whose business has been handed down from 

 father to son for several generations. The nurserymen with whom the 

 writer came in contact were men who took a pride in their craft and in 

 the way the nurseries were cultivated and cared for. 



Holland 



The nursery districts in Holland are widely separated and each district 

 usually specializes in one particular type of stock according to the soil 

 or climatic conditions. The seven main nursery sections are located 

 in the following districts and specialize in the plants mentioned below: 



Veendam — Fruit stocks. 



Hillegom— Lisse — Sassenheim — Bulbs and Peonies. 



Boskoop — Ornamentals, Rhododendrons, Boxes, Laurels, Roses, 

 Hardy Azaleas, etc. 



Nardeen — Clipped and fancy Boxes and Yews, Lilacs and Ornamentals. 



Oudenbosch— Fruit seedlings. 



Zeeland — Forest seedlings. 



Aalsmeer — Cut flowers. 



The writer was only able to visit the Hillegom and Boskoop districts, 

 and the headquarters of the inspection service located at Wageningen. 



Bulb District. A large area in the vicinity of Hillegom and Lisse 

 is devoted to the growing of bulbs and one of the larger firms has about 

 six hundred acres devoted to their cultivation. Intensive cultivation 

 was noted throughout the entire district, and as the best land is exceed- 

 ingly valuable, it is not allowed to remain idle for any length of time. 

 The soil is of a light sandy nature ; the fields are small, usually protected 

 by wind breaks and are separated by small canals. The bulb land 

 s manured heavily every five or six years, and a field crop grown the 

 first year after manuring. The bulb crops are rotated each year; at 

 first tulips, then daffodils, etc. Two crops of the same species are 

 n'ever grown on the same land two or more years in succession. 



The Dutch government has maintained a phytopathological labora- 

 tory at Lisse for the past five years, where extensive experiments are 

 being carried on in connection with the diseases of bulbs. In 1910 

 a serious disease of narcissi and daffodils was found in this district. 

 According to Dr. Van Slogteren, the expert in charge of the investiga- 



