36 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



November, 



grower, or mere speculatoi's who advertise 

 themselves as extensive growers. 



Public auctions of bulbs take place on the 

 grounds at the blooming season, for delivery 

 when matured, and again at the time of lifting 

 and cleaning. Early ordei"S are invariably solic- 

 ited from American customers, and second rate 

 dealers are enabled to stock up at the auction 

 sales for this trade. Many of the bulbs handled 

 by these dealers give as good satisfaction as do 

 those purchased from growei-s direct, but such is 

 not always the case. 



But even by a visit to Haarlem and a direct 

 personal trade with 

 the dealers one is not 

 always sui;e of getting 

 the bulbs he is shown, 

 unless he knows his 

 man. I know one 

 gentleman who ATsit- 

 ing Haarlem was in- 

 vited by one dealer 

 to ride out and see his 

 Tulips in bloom. He 

 went and was delight- 

 ed. A day or two 

 after another dealer 

 invited him to visit 

 his gardens. Fancy 

 his astonishment ^^- '■ Cross section of Bulb 



when he was driven to 



Magazine 



the same Tulip grounds as he had been shown 

 by dealer No. 1, neither of the two owning any of 

 them, but an old Dutch gardener did, who sold 

 to the local dealer. He, of course, understood 

 the inwardness of all these visits. 



In visiting HoUand to buy bulbs one should 

 not tell the first grower called upon how soon 

 you are to leave. If he wants you for a customer 

 he is pretty sure to monopolize your time till you 

 have no opportunity to look further. After one 

 day spent very interestingly about his own place, 

 his carriage will be at your hotel the next before 

 you are up, to take you to sights which he in- 

 forms you you must see, and it is so ci\'illy and 

 prettUy done your day is captured, but in a way 

 very pleasant for you. Nearly all the growers I 

 met were gentlemen of wealth, refinement and 

 education. Their residences are most substan- 

 tially comfortable, their hospitality unbounded. 



The Crardens, These are all very much alike, 

 fancy a level field, 15 to 'M acres in extent, cut 

 up at every 300 yards or so by ditches or canals 

 large enough to float a boat. These are met at 

 right angles every 40 or 50 yards apart by smaller 

 ditches, which one can step over. As there is 

 always water in these, the fields never get very 

 dry, but with the soil being exceedling porous 

 and sandy, surplus moisture rapidly drains off. 

 These canals connect with the nearest commer- 

 cial system and are so arranged that manure can 

 be carried throughout the fields, and the bulbs, 

 etc., to the various stores or magazines in 

 boats. The bulbs are handled in large baskets 

 resembling our bushel baskets, but padded 

 inside to prevent injury of the bulbs. 



The surface of the bulb fields is about two 

 feet above the water. In summer the canals 

 are covered with the tiny green Lina natans. 

 Carts mth very broad tires are also used on 

 the fields, light wooden bridges being pro- 

 vided for these, and which can be raised to 

 allow boats to pass. At the end of the fields, 

 close by the canal, are manure holes, into 

 which cow or barnyard manui-e is dumped 

 to rot preparatory for use. 



The soil is very light, sandy, free from 

 stones, and so fine that a great deal of the 

 work in planting and lifting the bulbs (down 

 some four inches) is done by hand and with- 

 out tools. The soil is evidently stream de- 

 posits, and the bulb growers add very liber- 

 ally leaf mold and cow dung. This kind of soil 

 suits Hyacinths, Tubps, and Narcissus, but Hot- 

 teias or Spireas, Dielytras, Lily of the Valley, 

 and others of that class are gi'own in heavier, 

 more loamy soil, which is much darker in color 

 than the soil for Tulips, etc. 



Forsecuring healthy bulbs the crops are alter- 

 nated. Hyacinths are usually followed by Po- 

 tatoes, these by Tulips, then Potiitoes again, after 

 which Hyacinths, or most frequently Narcissus 

 or Crocus. All work is carried on systematically 

 and very neatly. During summer and fall work 

 is begun about five in the morning and ceases 

 about seven at night. 



A dining hall is a feature of the magazine of 

 about everj- large establishment. Here all hands 

 repair three or four times a day to partake of 

 coffee and other di-inkables, provided by the em- 



ployer, and their lunch. The laborers appear 

 happy and contented— many of them hving in 

 small cottages on the farm,— each with its neat 

 garden adjoining. 



The Magazines for storing marketable bulbs 

 are generally erected adjoining each other and 

 connected. I shall describe one of the best 

 arranged magazines I visited. It was built in the 

 form shown in figures 1 and 3. Along the passage- 

 ways light rails were laid, on which hand trucks, 

 to hold about three barrels, were driven from the 

 boat to the various parts where they are to lie 

 till packed for shipment. Sorted Hyacinths are 

 all kept in one wing of the magazine, laid in 

 regular rows one deep in the shelves (See fig. 1), 

 which are about 7 inches apart. Tulips occupy 

 another wing, all very carefully labelled and the 

 varieties kept separate by movable blocks of 

 wood. All other bulbs with dry roots are stored 

 similarly. Each department is under the charge 

 of one careful workman capable of flUing orders. 



Order filling is proceeded with in the following 

 manner. The paper labels for bags are all written 

 for each order soon after it is received, and are 

 then pasted on the proper sized bags, and these 

 for each customer are then tied together and laid 

 aside till the time for filling. In tilling a number 

 —perhaps 13 orders— the labelled bags are dis- 

 tributed through the various departments, the 

 Tulip man making up all Tulip bulbs, the Hya- 

 cinth man fills the Hyacinth part of all the orders 

 and so on. Then each original order is taken 

 separately, and the items as called for are handed 

 from the trucks by the man who filled them, and 

 when done are one by one taken away. The ma- 

 terial used in the bags for packing is chaflE of 

 buckwheat, and sawdust by some for Crocus, to 

 keep off a small insect which preys upon this 

 particular bulb. Other magazines are used for 

 storing the younger bulbs, these being usually 

 located at a distance from each other, near the 

 different corners of the garden, that the young 

 bulbs can be stored near where they grew. 



Propagation. It is interesting to see the various 

 bulbs in their smaller styles and the methods of 

 increasing them and producing variations. We 

 shall try to describe somewhat minutely regard- 

 ing one or two of the leading species. 



First then to speak of the Hyacinth. The area 

 devoted to their cultivation around Haarlem is 

 about 300 acres. This bulb is not a native of 

 HoUand, but of the Levant, but the pecularities 

 of the soil and climate of Holland are more fav- 

 orable to their production than any other section. 

 The original Hyacinth {Hfiacinthus Oi^ientali^) is 

 a very insignificant plant. New varieties are 

 produced from seed. In the year 1579 we have a 

 record of the existence of six varieties, all single. 

 Towards the close of the 17th century double- 

 flowered ones began to appear. In 1754 an 

 English writer describes upwards of 50 single- 

 flowered varieties and ninety double. About 



Aifaimemtnt of Storage Magazines on Bulb Farm. 



1754 we have the first records of their being 

 grown in glasses. 



In raising new varieties from the seeds of 

 fertilized flowers, clear colors are selected for 

 crossing. The seed is sown in August in pots 

 sometimes, but more frequently in beds, as this 

 promotes the growth and strength of the young 

 plants. During winter the seed beds are protected 

 with straw. The bulblets are lifted about mid- 

 summer and allowed to dry off with the leaves 

 on. When quite dry they are planted in poor, 

 sandy soil, but underneath this lean soil is put a 

 foot of the richest material possible, consisting 

 of fully decayed manure, river mud and sand. 

 The Dutch growers are particular to allow no 

 manure near the bulbs of either Hyacinths or 

 Tuhps. They rest in sand which prevents, me- 

 chanically, by its sharpness, the ready approach 



of worms and other insects, which attack the 

 bulbs, and the sand also produces more shapely, 

 cleaner, and harder skinned bulbs. Hyacinth 

 bulbs usually bloom at four years from seed, but 

 a five-year old bulb gives better and stronger 

 blooms. After their season of growth and when 

 the leaves have turned yellow the bulbs of the 

 Hyacinth are lifted and allowed to ripen off com- 

 pletely in a dry place. When the leaves and roots 

 are quite dead the bulbs are ready to clean, sort, 

 and store. 



The great bulk of the Hyacinths which are 

 grown for sale are, however, raised from offsets. 

 In order to obtain these in great numbers several 

 devices are in practice. One way is to scoop out 

 the lower part of the large bulbs, allow them to 

 calluse over in a dry shed for a few weeks, and 

 plant them. Next year an immense number of 

 bulblets about the size of round peas will be 

 found around the mother bulb. Another slower 

 mode of multiplication is to make four incisions 

 from the crown of the bulb to its base, cutting 

 into the third scale of the bulb. Bulbs obtained 

 in this latter way are less numerous, but much 

 stronger, and are fit to sell and flower one year 

 earlier than bulblets from the scooped out bulbs. 

 To secure the greatest number possible of offsets 

 the mother bulb is cut in two, dried off for three 

 or four weeks and planted. The result next year 

 is an extraordinary number of very small bulb- 

 lets, which, by extra care and space, make large, 

 sound bulbs in four years. 



Bulb Notes. Hyacinth culture here is by no 

 means a mere pastime. The bulbs require atten- 

 tion in the ground. They are subject to disease 

 and rot. In wet seasons great care is required in 

 getting them ripened and properly dried for ship- 

 ment. The most of the bulbs leave HoUand in 

 August. They are shipped to Russia, Germany, 

 France, America and England. In England they 

 are much grown as window plants. One grower 

 for Covent Garden markets sells annuaUy about 

 60 thousand bulbs flowered in pots. They wiU be 

 as popular here before long, as no skiU is required 

 to grow them successfuUy, if suppUed with 

 plenty of water and fresh cool air. 



With TuUps as with Hyacinths, new varieties 

 are raised from seed, those already in commerce 

 from offsets. One or two flowering bulbs, be- 

 sides a number of offsets, are usuaUy found at 

 the base of each mature bulb that has bloomed. 

 One can almost certainly teU a blooming Tulip 

 bulb by the stem-mark running lengthwise from 

 base to crown. 



In HoUand Tulips are set out in October, and to 

 obtain the finest flowers the natural earth is re- 

 moved from the beds to the depth of 18 inches. 

 Horse dung to the depth of six inches is first put 

 in, then the bed is fiUed with a mixture of rotten 

 dung, earth and sand, which has been turned fre- 

 quently in sunny weather to kill the worms; also 

 sifted sharp,clean sand surrounds the bulbs, which 

 are planted about four inches deep. Before 

 l)eing set the scales at the foot of the bulbs 

 are slightly raised to permit roots to escape 

 more freely. At blooming time the flowers 

 when open are covered from rain and the 

 sun's heat; in this way they are made to last 

 as long as a Carnation, and their size and color 

 are enhanced and intensified. 



The bulbs are hfted as soon as the leaves 

 turn yeUow. If aUowed to stand they get 

 soft and the skin comes off. There is no 

 danger in lifting TuUps soon after flowering, 

 if fairly cared for. In HoUand where this is 

 necessary they are Ufted from the flowering 

 bed, and again laid into the ground for 8 or 

 10 days in some out-of-the-way place where 

 no rain or moisture can reach them. They 

 wlU then be sufficiently ripened to lift, 

 clean and to store till planting time. 



A Talk on Artificial and Natural 

 Manure. 

 [Paper by Mr, Samuel Beaton read before the Preston 

 and Fulwood Horticultural Societyt England.] 



The subject is one claiming the atten- 

 tion of all ranks of horticulturists— the 

 window, cottage, amateur, and professional 

 gardeners alike. Manure is a compound 

 material, which when added to the soil in- 

 creases its fertility, either directly or indi- 

 rectly, and undergoes certain changes. 



Artificial manures are the outcome of science, 

 and although condemned by some, they are, when 

 applied with humus {decayed organic matter), 

 invaluable, containing in a nutsheU the entire 

 wants of plants. Natural manures are simply 

 the residue of animal and vegetable matter. 



