THE AQUARIUM, OCTOBER, 1894. 



135 



export, and in April, when the hyacinths 

 and tulips are in bloom, the surround- 

 ing country, when seen from a distance, 

 looks as if the ground had been painted 

 to represent immense mosaics of every 

 imaginable color. The odor from these 

 fields at that season, especially when 

 there is no wind blowing, is simply be- 

 yond description. 



Why the Dutch excel any other na- 

 tion in growing flower bulbs, hyacinth 



above the water level, he can under- 

 stand what is meant by the phrase : 

 '*' The Lord has created the world, but 

 Holland was made by the Dutch." 



The soil in which the bulbs are grown 

 in, is for the most part sand, the so-called 

 dune sand, heavily fertilized with cow 

 manure. The color of it differs; in some 

 sections it is white or yellow^ in others 

 brown or gray. This is of great im- 

 portance, as it enables the culturist to 



A Scene in Holland. 



bulbs especially, is easily understood 

 when we consider their favorable cli- 

 mate, their soil, and last, but by no 

 means least, their tenacity and faculty 

 to turn to account anything and every- 

 thing. When one sees in Holland the 

 peasants, standing in their boats and 

 dredging with a dip-net (not much 

 more than twelve inches in diameter, 

 and fastened to a long pole), the mud 

 from the bottom of the ditch that sur- 

 rounds his land, for the purpose of fer- 

 tilizing the soil and to keep it raised 



grow the bulbs in different soil each 

 following season. The land lies slightly- 

 above, in some cases even below the 

 level of the sea, and is protected by 

 dykes ; it was formerly sea bottom and 

 still contains a certain percentage of 

 sea- salts. 



In preparing the soil for bulb plant- 

 ing it is spaded up during the winter 

 three to five feet deep, bringing the 

 bottom soil to the surface and vice 

 versa. In the early spring this soil is 

 enriched with cow manure and vege- 



