18 
BOTA3NICAI. INDEX. 
HYACINTH CULTIVATION IN HOLLAND. 
BY C. E. VAX GOOR, HAARLEM, HOLLAND. 
I rjMONG tlie flowers we keej) in our rooms during the long, cold winter, cer- 
i tainly the Hyacinth belongs to the most beloved ones; therefore, I hope to 
please the readers of Mr. L. B. Case’s Botanical Index by trying to give 
them an idea how Hyacinths are grown in Holland. 
Years ago, when the Hyacinths were still so high in price that they were 
only to be had by the rich, there were just a few gardens around Haarlem 
where these bulbs were grown, and the stock was small at that time. Since the rail- 
ways and steamers go direct to nearly every part of the world, the nurserymen of 
Haarlem are producing more stock, and have arranged new nurseries for this valu- 
able plant, so that at present in spring the country around Haarlem for many miles 
to the north and south, is in reality a flower garden. The nurseries generally lie 
along the dunes, (low sand hills), and the soil is almost pure sand, varying in color 
from white and yellow to brown and grayish black, which great difference enables 
the nurserymen to give the Hyacinth every year a different and at the same time a 
quite fresh soil. During the winter, those places where Hyacinths are to be planted 
next autumn, are spaded three and sometimes even rive feet deep, in order to bring 
the soil in which the Hyacinths have grown one year, down deep in the ground, and 
also to get a fresh soil on the surface. In March and April the soil is enriched with 
only cow manure, after which vegetables or potatoes are planted, and it is dug again 
in autumn about fifteen inches deep before it is ready for the Hyacinth. 
Fig. 87. Fig. 88. 
[For the use of these four cuts (Nos. 87, 88, 89 and 90) we are indebted to the kindness of Janies Vick, 
who prepared them for use in his “Floral Guide,” (No. 3, 1877,) from specimens selected by himself 
while on a visit to Holland. — L. B. Case.] 
By the last of August the nurserymen begin planting the bulbs, in oblong, 
rectangular beds, about 3$ feet in width — the depth varying according to the differ- 
ent ages of the Hyacinths, and to the color of the ground, as also to the height the 
soil lies above the level of the water.* By the end of November all the Hyacinths 
are covered with reed, (mulching), about one inch thick, which reed is taken away 
in February or March, when frost is over; and if the leaves which are now just 
coming out of the ground look yellow, they are lightly covered again till they are 
quite green, when the reed is taken away. 
About the 15th of April generally the Hyacinths are in bloom. It is at that time 
the environs of Haarlem present that splendid sight for which it is renowned. Flow- 
ers everywhere, and when there is no wind the air is rilled with their rich perfume. 
I do not think there is a place in the world that ever offers such a sight. When the 
flowers begin to wither, they are all carefully cut off in order to prevent the bulb 
from becoming too much exhausted, and are strewed over the land where potatoes are 
planted to prevent the sand from being blown away by the winds. This bed of flow- 
ers is also of great benefit to the land, as there is some manure in it. 
^Nearly all the splendid Hyacinth and Tulip grounds around Haarlam are the beds of what were once arms 
of the sea, reclaimed by a series of dykes and ditches. The lower grounds are still affected by the sea — some i>or- 
tions of the year, however, more than others. 
