THE INTRODUCTION OF THE TULIP, AND THE TULIPOMANIA. 29 



been settled by a legal decision. But as the edict promising legal adjust- 

 ment never arrived, the contending parties were left to settle the matter 

 between them as best they could. 



Many discontinued trading and came to terms with their creditors 

 paying 5 per cent, or 10 per cent, to get out of their bargain to take the 

 Tulips. Munting tells us that his father had, in 1636, sold to one in Alkmaar 

 a few bulbs for seven thousand florins, on the following conditions : — That 

 the sale should remain binding if there should be no fall in prices within 

 six months, otherwise the buyer could refuse the Tulips upon payment of 

 10 per cent., but " as the fall occurred within the six months, my father 

 received seven hundred florins for nothing, but he was obliged to keep his 

 bulbs. He would have preferred to deliver the bulbs, and receive the 

 seven thousand florins." 



The caution displayed by the buyer seems to show that he was fully 

 alive to the possibilities of a crisis. 



Munting also gives extracts of several of the transactions, from some 

 ledgers kept during the craze, some of which are mentioned in " 't Zamen- 

 spraeken " of Waermondt and Gaergoedt. 



The example given below shows payment in kind. For one 1 Viceroy ' 

 Tulip the following goods were given : 



Florins 



2 loads of wheat value 448 



4 „ of rye „ 558 



4 fat oxen ..'.......„ 480 



8 fat pigs .......... 240 



12 fat sheep „ 120 



2 hogsheads of wine 70 



4 barrels of 8 florin beer 32 



2 barrels of butter „ 192 



1000 lb. of cheese „ 120 



A complete bed . . . . . . . .- „ 100 



A suit of clothes ,, 80 



A silver beaker 60 



Total 2500 



The following is another example of a bookkeeper's entry : " Sold to N. N. 

 a ' Semper Augustus,' weighing 123 azen, for the sum of 4600 florins. 

 Above this sum a new and well made carriage and two dapple grey horses 

 and all accessories, to be delivered within four weeks, the money to be 

 paid immediately." Munting also gives a list of bulbs sold by weight in 



public auction, among which are : 



Florins 



59 azen Admiral Lief kens 1015 



214 „ Van der Eyck . 1620 



523 „ Grebba 1485 



106 „ Schilder 1615 



200 ,, Semper Augustus 5500 



410 „ Viceroy 3000 



1000 „ Gouda 3600 



Referring to the \ Viceroy ' sold in kind, we find at that time the value of 

 a sheep was ten florins, or 16s. 8d. One can estimate what an enormous 

 amount these sums represented. 



