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The Florists^ Review 



17 



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s»^ GROWING BULBS HERE s^ 



WHY GLAD GROWERS MOVED. 



\inerica's Attraction for Hollanders. 



I'l-ansplaiit iiifjf one's stock of yiladioli 



III one part of the world to an entirely 



leront region, abandoninj^ various 



tliods of culture, peculiar to climate, 



atlier, soil and labor conditions of the 



Id country," and adapting oneself to 



\ ironnient altogether new, strange and 



,en is a wonderful experience, unique 



• i interesting. This is the experienc(> 



1^. Vos & Son, now at Mount Clemens, 



(li., coming from the Netherlands with 



collection of gladioli and settling in 



•MO United States. The reasons for this 



live are interestingly explained by Mr. 



i>s as follows: 



"Since gladioli are grown in almost 



. cry civilized country, one might think 



iiat these beautiful flowers flourish and 



in be grown in any climate and soil 



ith etjual or nearly equal results. Upon 



ij)erficial observation one might judge 



. : unwise for a grower of gladioli to go 



■irough such expense and trouble as to 



■ ime 4,(¥)0 miles or more from another 



iiuntry for the sole purpose of changing 



-oil and climate. We do not claim to be 



III absolute authority on the question at 



■take, but have learned much by actual 



■ \I)erienee in fifteen years of gladiolus 

 ■; rowing. 



Wet Weather in Netherlands. 



"As the name implies, the Netherlands 

 ire low; the French call our native coun- 

 try 'Pays Bas, ' i. e., 'Low liands. ' 

 llspecialiy where the Holland bulbs are 

 ;rown is the surface of the fields below, 

 i';ir below, sea level. Add to this the 

 i;ict that the narrow strip of land ada]it- 

 ihle for bulb culture lies about three 

 ■I' lies from the seashore and one will 

 '•adily understand that the water level 

 lUst be high and the ground moist. The 

 limate is not at all cheery, either. There 

 ire many years that one has jiractically 

 ' summer in Holland. The air is moist 

 nd foggy, anil anyone who has lieen in 

 (olland and lived there for any length of 

 ime knows the great number of rainy 

 '.•lys each year. All growers of gladioli 

 :ive learned how dctrimiMital to s[>eedy. 

 '■althy growth is a continual overdose of 

 Moisture. By it, the bulbs, great or 

 mall, are checked in their growth and 

 re more subject to disease than under 

 ■ss moist weather conditions. How well 

 I, we remember that when a summer was 

 xceiitiiinally cold and rainy we would 

 lid more bulbs diseasi^l with 'zwart 

 ■d,' i. e., black rot. than usual! There 



■ ere many varieties which tendi'<l to dis 

 •ise so badly th;it we had to cut them 



iim our stock list. Among tiiem arc tlic 



ell known varieties. War, ranaiiia. Mrs. 



rancis King, Olory of Ibdlanil, Mrs. 



rank Pendleton, etc. And w c roubi 

 c(> no other caus(> of tlie^c inuibics tliiiii 

 iic rain ;nid cold climate. 



"However, this is not the nnly reason 

 "1- our saying farewell to our native 

 "iintry and sailing for th(> United 

 "•fates. The two years during which we 

 ,rew our gladioli in Mictiigan made us 

 ■ware of the many ads .intakes over our 

 "rmer strite of existence and wnrk. r)tic 



great disadvantage in Holland is the 

 scarcity of land, causing high rent. It 

 is not at all uncommon for a grower to 

 pay one florin, eijual to lit cents, rent for 

 114 sijuare feet of soil. When we 

 arrived here and saw lows of glailioli 

 lilanted three feet ajiart we raised 

 our hands in amazement. 'Such wjiste 

 of land!' we thought. In Ibdliiiid it 

 is just the re\erse. .\ii open strip 

 of land e(|ual to a row of gladioli is 

 allowed between rows of bulbs three 

 feet wide. All cultivating must there 

 fore be done by hanil, crawling on hand 

 and knees through a, narrow ]iatli a 

 foot wide. The American method h;is 

 three advantages o\'er the Holland way. 

 I'"irst, it provides for easier and quicker 

 cultivation, since it can be done by 

 horse; secondly, it is therefore cheaper 

 as far as labor exjienses are concerned. 



and, tliiidly, It ;:i\es the (ilants more soil 

 and .•lir .•iioiiiid tliciii to .|r;iw those sub- 

 stances I'roiii which they greatly need for 

 s]ieed>' and \ i^orous growth. 



"'J'liose who lia\'<^ had some ex|ieiience 

 with the growing of gladjidi know that 

 one cannot grow them on ilie same piece 

 of land year afti'r year. "Irowers that 

 do so will find that their stock becomes 

 fearfully niixcl, bcc.-nise many of the 

 biilblets left in the ground cfune u]' 

 subseipiently and are dug ujt with the 

 true stock-. Ami'iica. with its ample re 

 sources of land, solves this problem. 

 One can abandon the land where one has 

 grown gladioli for two years and start 

 anew on virgin soil without great loss 

 or expense, retaining tliiiv stock abso- 

 lutely true to name. 



''Then, too, liow great an advantage 

 to gladiolus growers is the fine climate 



Gerrit Vos. . 



