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The Florists^ Review 



bCTOBEB 12, 1916, 



Double Nosed Narcissus Bulbs. ■ Darwin, Cottage andTEarly Tulips. 



Narcissi and Tulips Succeed Admirably at Eureka^ the Climate and Soil Conditions Seeming IdeaL 



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titles of mother bulbs are being import- 

 ed from Holland to add to the stock 

 already at Eden. 



Tulips and Narcissi. 



The growing of tulip and narcissus 

 bulbs has proved a simple matter in the 

 vicinity of Eureka. Hyacinth growing 

 is more difficult, but climatic condi- 

 tions favor the eradication of the dis- 

 ease that is prevalent in Holland and 

 which is imported with the bulbs; Mr. 

 Ward believes that eventually the hya- 

 cinth should be grown successfully in 

 Humboldt county on a commercial 

 basis. 



The Darwin tulip, which just now is 

 enjoying a remarkable rise in popular- 

 ity, does splendidly at Eden. It aver-" 

 ages a fivefold increase; the harvest, 

 including blooming size, second size 

 and small bulbs, is five times the num- 

 ber of round blooming bulbs planted. 

 The early tulips do equally well. The 

 increase is usually three to six bulbs 

 added to the mother bulb, in some in- 

 stances seven. Some of the second size 

 bulbs on these clusters are as large as 

 the original blooming bulbs planted 

 late the preceding season. Narcissi are 

 as easy to grow as onions in an Indiana 

 marsh. 



Good Bulbs. 



At Eden bulbs ripen six weeks earlier 

 than in Holland and they have the ad- 

 vantage of a uniformly rainless season 

 for ripening, lifting and curing. And 

 everyone knows what difficulties the 

 Hollanders have had in that respect 

 this season and how it has delayed de- 

 liveries. 



While the Eden soil is light and fri- 

 able in texture and is thoroughly 

 drained during the winter rainy season, 

 it retains its moisture for a long period 

 after the dry season sets in; in conse- 

 quence the bulbs ripen slowly, evenly 

 and thoroughly, attaining large size, 

 with great solidity and with smooth, 

 brown skins that give the stock an 

 unusually fine appearance. They can 



be forced in less time than imported 

 bulbs and Mr. Ward asserts that the 

 colors are more brilliant, while the 

 blooms are larger and the stems longer 

 and stronger. 



The Commercial Aspect. 



In a general way the abovie facts 

 are well known as having been claimed 

 for other American bulb growing enter- 

 prises that never have reached an im- 

 portant commercial stage, but next sea- 

 son Mr, Ward's undertaking will re- 

 ceive the acid test of competition with 

 the Dutch stock in the open market. A 

 few small lots have been sold this sea- 

 son for trial and next season millions 

 will be offered. Mr. Ward believes he 

 can meet the prices of Dutch bulbs laid 

 down in this country, but he says he 

 is confident that if he cannot do so the 

 trade will buy his stock at better prices 

 as soon as it has had a thorough trial. 

 At any rate, the way the market in 

 Holland is turning is distinctly in favor 

 of the commercial success of his under- 

 taking. 



But let that suffice for the bulbs — 

 they really should not occupy first place 

 in this story of Mr. Ward's work, for 

 they do not occupy first place in his 

 plan of operation. His original purpose 

 and still the subject of his most intense 

 interest is the development of an Amer- 

 ican supply of those plants for which 

 the trade heretofore has depended ex- 

 clusively on Belgium and Holland, espe- 

 cially Azalea Indica. 



Bhododmdrons for Forcing. 



At Mr. Ward 's Long Island establish- 

 ment forcing azaleas played no part, 

 but the rhododendron for landscape use 

 was an important item and this may 

 have turned his thoughts in that direc- 

 tion. At any rate at Eden there is a 

 field of 20,000 3-year-old rhododendrons. 

 "Heretofore Holland and Japan have 

 been the sole sources of supply for forc- 

 ing rhododendrons," writes Mr. Ward, 

 "but the Cottage Gardens Nurseries is 



blazing the way for the production of 

 such stock in Califormia. When the 

 transcontinental railroads cease dis- 

 criminating against the home producer 

 by granting special low freight rates to 

 the Japanese and other foreign growers 

 which are denied the home nursery, Cal- 

 ifornia will come into her own and mil- 

 lions of dollars will be kept at home 

 which now are sent abroad for import- 

 ed stock which can be better grown 

 here." 



Boxwood and Conifers. 



Boxwood is another item, that already 

 plays a conspicuous part at Eden. One 

 of the illustrations gives a glimpse of 

 the standard and ball-shaped plants in 

 the field there. The Eden boxwood has 

 hardy, well ripened and well colored 

 foliage. This year's production con- 

 sists of 10,000 plants in various shapes 

 and sizes, but there are 50,000 young 

 plants for growing on. 



The Humboldt county climate seems 

 to be specially favorable for grafting 

 broad-leaved and coniferous evergreens 

 and because there is little frost the 

 stock of the latter includes a much 

 larger variety than can be grown in 

 any of the eastern nurseries that spe- 

 cialize on evergreens. There are rows 

 and rows of plants in all stages of 

 growth. 



Azaleas at Eden. 



But to go back to Azalea Indica: 

 The success that attended the first ef- 

 forts to grow these plants at the Eden 

 nursery was so great that last season 

 several carloads of young stock were 

 imported from Belgium for growing on 

 and shaping up. One of the accom- 

 panying illustrations shows how these 

 plants are grown in blocks under high 

 slat houses. The time consumed in pro- 

 ducing a marketable plant will not be 

 greater in California than in Belgium 

 and the season at Eureka is some two 

 months in advance of the season in Bel- 

 gium. This insures fully developed, per- 

 fectly ripened buds and early shipment. 



A Hotber Tulip and Ita Family of Seven. Darwin TnUpe, 26,000 of them. Onrlng at Eureka. 



Mr. Ward Believes Humboldt County^ California^ can Supply all America with Tulip Bulbs* 



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