268 



THE CANADIAN HORTTC tJLTURIST 



Novombcr. 1913 



other flowers can compare witli Dutch 

 bulbs in variety and brilliancy of color. 

 The secret of their accommodating nat- 

 ure lies in the fact that within the hya- 

 cinth or tulip every petal of the coming 

 flower is already stored. During the 

 five or six years of its life in Holland, 

 all the capacities of the bulb have been 

 steadily conserved, and we have but to 

 unfold its beauty, aiming at short 

 growth and intensity of color. Of 



course, there is an immense difference in 

 the quality of imported bulbs ; they vary 

 according to the character of the sea- 

 son. The most successful Dutch grow- 

 ers cannot ensure uniformity in any one 

 variety, year after year, because the sea- 

 sons are beyond human control. But 

 those who regularly visit Holland can 

 always obtain the finest roots of the 

 vear, although it may be necessary to 

 select from many sources. 



Such bulbs as Lilies, Iris, Moubretia, 

 Hyacinths, and Alstroemeria, suffer in 

 deterioration after the first year's flow- 

 ering. Indeed, it will be the cultivator's 

 fault if they do not increase in number 

 and carry finer heads of bloom in suc- 

 ceeding years. As outdoor subjects, 

 some of them are not yet appreciated 

 at their full value. Magnificent as Lil- 

 lium auratum and L. Lancifolium, 

 Album, and Rubrum must ever be in 

 conservatories, they exhibit their im- 

 posing proportions to greater advantage 

 and their wealth of perfume is far more 

 acceptable, when grown among hand- 

 some shrubs in the border. Very little 

 attention is needed to bring them along 

 year after year, in ever increasing love- 

 liness. I doubt if there are many read- 

 ers of The Canadian Horticulturist who 

 have seen the workings of the bulb in- 

 dustry of Holland. The writer feels at 

 this point that a few remarks would be 

 of great service after having held a 

 position with a noted Holland grower on 

 a two hundred-acre bulb farm, and with 

 four acres of glass for the early pro- 

 duction of flowers. 



CLASSIFICATION OF BULBS 



Bulbs are classified as parents, and 

 they are graded as first, second, and 

 third size parents, so that each three 

 year is the lengthy period for the bulb, 

 although each year some acres are lift- 

 ed. Most of the work is done by the 

 plow, which works very easily on the 

 Holland silt. At most places the silt 

 is only four inches deep, the subsoil be- 

 ing hard cement rock. I have seen some 

 hundreds of acres of land without a 

 stone or a hard piece of earth. 



The bulbs are planted with the plow, 

 women and girls being largely employ- 

 ed. The women work about twenty-five 

 feet apart, and as the plow turns over 

 the spit, the women plant the bulbs in 

 the furrow. Then each one waits for 

 the plow to come back again so that she 

 can plant her alloted piece again. When 



the planting is completed the fine har- 

 row and roller are used and the surface 

 becomes as flat as a table. This applies 

 to daffodils, narcissus, and tulips. When 

 the bulbs make their appearance, arti- 

 ficial manure is sown broadcast. It is 

 a grand spectacle to see a large staff 

 of girls with their long digging forks, 

 turning the top right over. The Dutch- 

 man has a sfjecial fork that enables the 

 prongs to go in only a certain distance. 

 The first year the bulbs are put down, 

 a crop of turnips is often grown, as 

 the importance of the bulbs is not reck- 

 oned on until the second year. Lifting 

 is done by means of the plow. They 

 are thrown into nets, taken to the ware- 

 house to be weighed, and after being 

 dried are hand-picked by women into 

 three sizes. 



Space does not permit me to dwell 

 upon so lengthy a subject. I should 

 like to mention that it may surprise the 

 reader as to the time it takes to put 

 up these orders for all parts of the globe. 

 The Dutchmen have a stock size board. 

 The same weight of the same size of 

 bulbs will contain the same number of 

 bulbs. The weights are put to the par- 

 ticular size and the order is executed 

 by weight. For instance, at any bank 

 in England, if one wants twenty pounds 

 in gold, it is weighed and the count 

 is correct. 



Another question may arise, what do 

 they do with their flowers? In the 

 early part of the year, when narcissi 

 and daffodils are scarce on second size 

 stock, women go with carts and crop 

 all the buds. It is an amazing sight to 

 see five or six cartloads of buds coming 

 across the fields to be stood in vases of 

 warm water and placed in a temperature 

 of 85 degrees with steam, to burst open 

 for markets on the Continent. 



A word as to the greenhouse depart- 

 ment on one of these bulb farms. The 

 commercial line is one of the greatest 

 importance. Unless one can see the 

 workings of that enterprise, these few 

 rambling remarks will prove but a poor 

 description. When I say that I 



have had sixteen women, with men and 

 boy helpers, for six weeks boxing, the 

 extent of the industry may be realized. 

 At times three thousand boxes, three 

 feet by two feet and three inches deep, 

 are laid out and covered with ashes. 



When forcing bulbs in Holland, re- 

 cord is kept of the time at which the 

 bulbs go in the houses, also the temper- 

 ature of each house, three times a day, 

 together with the outside temperature, 

 velocity of the wind, and weather fore- 

 cast. This procedure is essential dur- 

 ing the flowering period, as the strength 

 of the bulb is kept up to a pitch. Tulips 

 are forced in Holland simply by placing 

 the boxes on benches covered with 

 straw. 



The industry is a profession by itself 



—one that needs careful study. On I lie 

 farm where the writer was, some two 

 hundred hands were employed. Every- 

 thing was kept scrupulously clean. 

 Cleanliness is their motto. The green- 

 house walls, pipes, and four acres of 

 glass were washed by girls and men. 

 To go around at the night time througli 

 Iwelve large houses, each full of bulbs, 

 with thermometers at both ends and tlu 

 middle and to record all temperature- 

 and weather conditions is by no meanr 

 an easy task during the bulb season. 



Roses from Cuttings 



With proper greenhouse conditions, 

 roses can be propagated from cuttings at 

 almost any season of the year, although 

 the summer months are not preferred. 

 To get good results from cuttings of any 

 kind bottom heat is usually necessary. 

 .'Vt the same time the air temperature 

 must be comparatively cool. A tempera- 

 ture of sixty-five to seventy degrees for 

 the former and fifty to fifty-five degrees 

 for the latter gives the best results. 



Florists propagate most of their rose 

 cuttings during the winter months. Dur- 

 ing that time the greenhouse temjjera- 

 ture is not too high and bottom heat can 

 be applied to the cutting bed by a steam 

 heating system. If the greenhouse tem- 

 perature becomes too high, the buds 

 start out before the cuttings are pro- 

 f)erly rooted and failure results. 



In the case of roses that are grown 

 out of doors, cuttings four or five inches 

 long and of the new wood are cut in the 

 late fall when the plant has become fully 

 dormant. These may either be buried 

 in sand for several weeks until the ends 

 become caloused, or they may be placed 

 directly in the cutting bed. Sand, three 

 inches deep, and firmly packed, makes 

 the best bed. The cuttings are placed 

 in the sand with only one bud above the 

 surface. Bottom heat is applied and the 

 bed kept well watered. In from two to 

 three weeks roots half an inch to an inch 

 long will be formed and the cuttings are 

 removed to three-inch flower pots. When 

 the plants become too large for the small 

 pots they are transplanted to more suit- 

 able quarters. 



Cuttings from roses that grow in the 

 greenhouse during the winter are han- 

 dled in much the same way. Sometimes 

 one leaf is left on and other times the 

 leaves are removed. For the amateur, 

 who grows roses entirely out of doors, 

 the best method is to take the cuttings 

 of the new wood in the early spring while 

 the plant is still dormant. These may 

 then be started in an ordinary hot bed, 

 the bottom heat being obtained by the 

 use of horse manure. Sand is the best 

 surface material. The bed must be kept 

 well, watered and on warm days the sash 

 should be slightly raised to prevent the 

 temperature from becoming too high. 

 When the cuttings are properly rooted 

 they can then be potted. 



