8o BULBS 



About 1850 thirty export firms were~established in Haarlem and 

 environs. That number has now increased to 150. Besides these 

 there are in the bulb trade 2,000 independent bulb-growers, who do 

 not export, but regularly sell their bulbs to the exporting firms. 

 The latter also cultivate on a large scale. The area used for bulb 

 cultivation has, according to the last official statistics, a circumfer- 

 ence of 7,400 acres in the provinces of North and South Holland, 

 and is still extending annually. 



In connection with the always growing demand for land of good 

 quality, the prices of bulb land have risen enormously on this 

 account. One acre of good bulb land in the centre of the bulb dis- 

 trict sold at .300 or ^335. The exports amount at present to 

 nearly 10,700 tons annually, which means that the export has 

 doubled during the last seven years. 



Bulbs are being exported into nearly all countries and parts of 

 the world. Almost 70 per cent, of the whole production is sent to 

 England ; the next best customers are America, Germany and 

 Russia. 



The success of the bulb culture in our country is mainly due to 

 the extraordinary favourable condition of soil and climate. 



The more the culture increased, the more the bulb - growers 

 joined together and arranged their business. In 1860 the general 

 society for the purpose of bulb cultivation was established, and has 

 at present thirty local sections, with 2,000 members. It has its 

 own newspaperman exchange at Haarlem, and regularly holds ex- 

 hibitions. Moreover, there are special societies for the purpose of 

 looking after the interests of the exporters and the bulb-growers. 

 The central exporters' society has a mutual cash and intelligence 

 office under the management of a lawyer. This office is in posses- 

 sion of information about more than 20,000 foreign consumers of 

 bulbs. There are also four chambers of labour in the bulb 

 district, which corporate bodies mainly attend to the interests of 

 labour. 



Haarlem is the seat of all these societies, and that town can 

 still be looked upon as the centre of the whole bulb trade. 



The supremacy of Holland as a producer of bulbs 

 is, however, being questioned by English growers, who 

 are not only putting large supplies on the home market, 

 but are even disposing of considerable quantities to the 

 Dutch bulb-growers themselves. The Scilly Isles have 

 worked up a substantial trade in bulbs to supplement 

 their business in spring flowers, and West Cornwall is 

 now doing the same. What proportion of the Scilly 

 bulbs goes to Holland I cannot say, but one grower in 

 West Cornwall told me he had himself executed orders 



