150 DUTCH BULBS AND GARDENS 



and deformed. The more the channels through which the 

 sap runs into the stem are dilated by too much heat, the 

 tighter they close again when the sap has finished its action, 

 and the bulb becomes thinner than it should be, and it 

 is exhausted for the next year's growth and appears very 

 languishing. One can see very well how this comes to pass 

 when it is remembered that the next year's flower is actually 

 contained in the base of this year's stem, therefore what 

 weakens one weakens the other. If the bulb is very deep in 

 the earth and the ground is hard, it cannot spread and 

 enlarge itself with comfort, so the health of the bulb requires 

 it to be lifted every year. Besides the necessity of 

 separating and preserving the young bulbs which have 

 to be replanted, there is yet another advantage to be gained 

 in lifting, for then there is an opportunity of taking away 

 decayed bulbs before the disease is able to spread further 

 through contact with others. 



Having given some ideas on the cultivation of hyacinths 

 in general, perhaps it is as well to give in some detail an 

 account of the particular (or individual) care and attention 

 bestowed upon their bulbs by the Haarlem growers, and 

 perhaps some hyacinth lovers may feel drawn to imitate 

 their spirit. Haply if they meet with the same difficulties 

 they may benefit by their experience and observations, and 

 thus obstacles may be surmounted that stand in the way of 

 the development of the ideal flower. These obstacles are 

 often the result of soil, climate, and inexperience. 



As a general rule, hyacinths require a light soil, which 

 easily lets the water run through, but at the same time 

 such a soil is soon washed out, and it thus in a short time 

 loses its good qualities and richness. The sulphurous and oily 

 qualities in the soil, that the hyacinth delights abundantly 

 to suck out of the earth, would be washed away or evaporate 

 speedily in such soil, even if the bulb itself did not actually 



