1894.] ESSAYS. 41 



smaller ditches, 40 or 50 yards apart, which are so narrow that one can 

 step across. As there is always water in these the fields never get very 

 dry, but the soil being exceedingly porous and sandy surplus water 

 rapidl}' drains off. Only in seasons when heavy rains occur late in 

 Spring are the bulbs likely to suffer from too much moisture ; they 

 will then ripen very late and, being soft, keep and ship poorly. 



Tliese canals usually connect with the nearest commercial canal 

 system, and the plan of their arrangement is such that manure can be 

 carried to all the fields from the barns, and bulbs and other crops to 

 the various stores or bulb magazines, in boats. The surface of the 

 fields is about two feet above the water in the canals and ditches. 



At each end of the large plats are holes, in which barnyard or cow 

 manure is left to rot in readiness for digging. It is brought from the 

 yards in boats and pitched direct into the holes. It is distributed 

 over the fields from carts with very broad wheels, before digging time. 

 All the manure used in the bulb ground is old, thoroughly decom- 

 posed, and fine. The soil is so very light and free from stones that a 

 great deal of the work of planting and lifting is done by hand, with- 

 out the use of tools. One of the workmen usually accompanied us as 

 we examined the bulbs, and frequently scooped out with his hand in a 

 moment a row of a dozen or more hyacinths planted four inches deep. 

 The soil is in fact a fine sand ; evidently stream deposits. It is 

 enriched with liberal quantities of old manure. The light colored, fine, 

 sandy soils are best suited for the cultivation of hyacinths, tulips, 

 crocuses, and narcissi. Spireas, dielytras, lilies of the valley, and 

 others of that class require the darker, heavier soil, also found in the 

 vicinity of Haarlem. In order to secure healthy bulbs it is found 

 necessary to alternate crops. Thus hyacinths are usually followed by 

 a crop of potatoes, these by a crop of tulips, then potatoes again, fol- 

 lowed by narcissi or crocuses. The fine roots of the potato, decaying 

 in the soil, leave there a uecessai-y element of bulb food. All work 

 of these gardens is done neatly and systematically. The bulbs are 

 usually planted in beds of an exact width, the lines containing exactly 

 the same number of bulbs. Almost invariably the whole establish- 

 ment bears a well cared for appearance. From early Summer till 

 Autumn work is begun daily at about five in the morning and ceases 

 about seven at night. Women and men are employed in about equal 

 numbers. A dining-hall is a feature of every large establishment. To 

 it all hands repair four times daily to partake of coffee and other drinks 

 provided by the employer, the work people bringing their own lunch 

 baskets. Suflacient time is allowed at meals, and I cannot remember 



