18 A Day in the Gardens of Haarlem. 



catalogue, hyacinths take the lead, and are followed by tu- 

 lips, ranunculuses, anemonies, and Polyanthus Narcissus. 



Of hyacinths, there are nearly 1500 varieties, of different 

 colors, both double and single ; the latter is generally more 

 highly esteemed by the connoisseur, as bearing larger flow- 

 ers. Of tulips, there are about 1000 varieties, and their cul- 

 ture is not so ardently pursued as is that of the hyacinth. 

 About the middle of the 17th century, a perfect mania for 

 tulips prevailed, and most extravagant prices were paid for 

 roots. The mania did not, however, so much consist in giv- 

 ing large sums for established varieties, as in a kind of bet- 

 ting, regarding the eventual superiority of promising seed- 

 ling flowers, or in an ardent desire for the possession of 

 breeders of high character, from which fine seedlings might 

 be expected. The early tulips, (as Due Yan Thol,) when 

 they first came into the market, were frequently held at ex- 

 orbitant prices, and the desire of the amateur to possess them 

 was frequently the means of involving him in bankruptcy. 

 The greatest varieties were sometimes disposed of by raffle, 

 and the gambling spirit increased to such an extent, that the 

 Government interfered. There is now, however, no law 

 limiting the price of roots, for there is now no danger that 

 $25,000, as one author says, will be given for a single tulip. 

 The English, however, still give large prices for rare varie- 

 ties, and Louis the Sixteenth, though an old variety, is still 

 held at eighty gilders, ($32) per single root. 



A great deal of attention is, at Haarlem, still given to the 

 cultivation of tulips ; every florist has his favorite breeder., 

 and will raise every year new varieties from the seed. A 

 breeder is a seedling tulip of some seven or eight years old, 

 young, vigorous, and mature. If such a tulip shows strong 

 growth and large petals ; if it is self or uniform colored ; if 

 the base of the petals be either pure white or bright yellow, 

 and the anthers and stigma very dark, its quality and prom- 

 ise is considered first rate. The bulb of such a breeder is 

 planted deeper than usual in a very warm place ; it is pro- 

 tected from the wind by a stake, and from the sun and rain, 

 until the capsules are perfected. The seeds are gathered 

 when ripe, and from these in a series of years, originate many 

 beautiful varieties, partaking of the good qualities of the pa- 



