438 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ May 29, 1890. 
turned it in at the bottom of the trench, and a j^ood watering should 
be given after planting. 
From the time the plants commence free growth liquid manure 
may be given, but not to such an extent as to cause the plants to 
run. If the weather is dry give plenty of clear water, and if it is 
wet give a sprinkling of pure blood manure or guano, that the rain 
may wash in, hut be certain of its purity. The finest Celery that I 
have tasted was grown by my brother at Westley Hall Gardens. 
It was Veitch’s White ; but i think he can claim more credit for 
his treatment than for the variety, good as it is. He used blood 
manure from the Westley Works, to which he thinks the quality of 
the Celery was due. Earthing-up should be done periodically and 
with care, and finished by November ; then there is not much fear 
of any harm being done by frost, yet as winter approaches have 
close by or between the trenches some covering material ready 
for use. When the curative properties of Celery are generally 
oomprehended by the community a better supply will be demanded. 
The present supply is bad. If the masses could obtain three sticks 
for Id., instead of as now 3d. for one stick in midseason, they would 
soon find out that raw Celery is better than the doctor, and that 
boiled Celery is better than the doctor, dentist, and chemist 
combined. 
Celery when well grown is a profitable crop, and a land cleaner 
and improver. I should like to see the time when three to six 
sticks of Celery can be procured by our town labourers and artisans 
at the price of one or two now. Then, and not till then, will the 
producer be doing his duty to his landless brethren. No doubt 
some may think that lower prices would not be sufficiently remune¬ 
rative—that is because they do not go on the plan of small profit 
and quick returns. 
Turnips are always in demand, and a constant supply should be 
maintained by frequent small sowings of approved varieties from 
February until August. Some growers say till September, but I 
have never found any crop to repay for the trouble spent in pro 
ducing it after the first week in August. The Turnip may follow 
any crop but that of its own order, and the soil that best suits 
them is light loam. This at the time of preparation should receive 
a good dressing of lime or marl. Sow the seed broadcast, and 
when the plants appear the hoe should be unsparingly used among 
them. Each plant should have a square foot of space. If the 
weather is dry time spent in watering will be repaid with crisp 
-sweet Turnips instead of a stringy mass. If they are attacked 
with the fly sprinkle the plants in dewy weather with soot and 
lime. The Six Weeks and Yellow Globe are useful varieties. 
—G. A. Bishop, The Gardens, Wightwick Manor. 
SPRING FLOWERS AT HOME AND ABROAD. 
{Continued from page 38S.') 
IIoME-GEOiVN Bulbs. 
It is difficult to estimate the value of the bulb importations to 
this country. It probably approaches a million sterling, and is 
certainly growing rapidly. In a few years the seven figures will be 
required to mark the sum, if they are not already. This is a large 
amount to send away for spring flowers, and it is a natural question 
for a business-like nation to ask, if some of it could not be kept at 
home without sacrificing the flowers ; in short, if we could not grow 
them ourselves. The question has already been debated in a per¬ 
functory manner, and, as might be expected, has been answered in 
various ways. Let us see if any further light can be thrown 
upon it. 
The character of the soil in which the Dutch grow the bulbs 
which they export in such enormous quantities is pretty well 
known, and on the presence or absence of land of a similar de¬ 
scription in this country depends whether they can be grown 
equally well here or not. The soil on the bulb farms is pure 
sand to a depth of 3, 4, or more feet, overlying a solid sub¬ 
stratum of clayey peat, which holds the water. A good depth 
of sand over a retentive subsoil is, then, the first requirement, 
and the first thing to be imitated. Understand that it is not 
all ready to the bulb grower’s hand even in the favoured districts 
To bring land under cultivation is usually a matter of considerable 
trouble and expense. In the centre of the bulb-growing districts 
there is an illustration of this. A considerable portion of land is 
being gradually brought into cultivation to meet the increasing 
requirements of the trade. Much of it is a considerable height 
above the level of the farms, and is covered with dwarf stunted 
shrubs, which afford a cover to game. Whatever may be the 
altitude of these sandy uplands, they are cut away until the 
water is reached. They consist entirely of sand, and an arith¬ 
metical calculation will give an idea of the labour required to 
clear a square mile of ground 100 feet above the water level. 
Canals are cut as the work proceeds, so that barges can proceed 
up to the foot of the sand cliffs, and convey the material away. 
By these means, steadily pursued over a long period of years^ 
the whole face of many parts of the country has been altered, and 
barren wastes converted into fields of flowers. 
Before proceeding to matters of cultivation it will be well to- 
ask if the natural conditions here indicated exist in any part of 
Great Britain. Knowledge of how to produce is useless without 
the means of production, of which the first essential is the soil. 
Have we got it ? that is the question. With suitable land the rest 
is easy, for capital will command skilled labour. I do not believe 
that the ordinary soil of three-fourths of the United Kingdom 
could, under any course of culture, be made to produce suitable- 
bulbs for sale in sufficient numbers to make them a profitable crop,. 
but then neither would it in Holland. Reliable authorities to- 
whom I have spoken on the subject have told me of natural con¬ 
ditions closely corresponding with those above described in this 
country, and if on investigation their observations prove to be- 
accurate, a great obstacle to bulb-growing for profit in England will 
have been removed, or rather be proved to have never existed. I 
had better not indicate the precise localities where these gold fields 
exist, or the present owners of the land may find themselves 
embarrassed by a shower of tempting offers from persons for whom 
Wheat at 30s. a quarter has lost its attractions, in the face of a 
possible £50 per acre from the culture of bulbs. 
Nothing can be more significant of the confidence of the Dutch- 
growers that the bulb trade is entirely in their own hands than the 
manner in which they receive any suggestions as to the possibility 
of cultivating Hyacinths and Tulips on a large scale in Great 
Britain. To talk of this nature they listen with polite complacence,, 
but can never be persuaded to treat the matter as one worthy of 
serious consideration. Possibly the thoughts of many ar& 
expressed in the frankness of one. “I wish they would try to 
grow bulbs in England. They would want a good many to begin 
with, and that would improve our trade, but they would be sure to 
fail, and so we should never suffer.” I gather that their confidence- 
lies chiefly in the natural conditions under which their vast 
industry is pursued, but also, to some extent, in difficulties of cul¬ 
ture . The latter is but a weak support. Their system of manage¬ 
ment is now pretty well known, and though there are, no doubt,, 
many details more or less important which are not made known 
to casual visitors, the principles are very well understood. The 
majority of the bulbs are raised by inducing the formation of 
small bulblets through cutting old bulbs, the young “ fry ” being 
removed, planted and grown for three or four years until they are 
of a saleable size. Only a few, such as Scillas, are raised from 
seed. The only addition made to the soil is cow manure, but it has 
to be employed in such quantities that its purchase is one of the 
most serious items of expenditure. Cutting down, lifting, drying; 
and cleaning are all important points in the method of procedure. 
The two latter are of special importance. No matter how large- 
and well ripened the bulbs might be the purchaser would not- 
accept them if coarse and dirty, although he knows that they would- 
flower well. Foolish ? Not at all. His customers would certainly 
refuse them if they were not clean and well finished, so that it 
would be useless for him to buy. This is why ordinary garden 
soil would be useless to cultivate bulbs for profit. They might 
turn out large and heavy, but their appearance would spoil them. 
The bulb growers do not dispose of rough, ill-shapeu bulbs for 
retail distribution ; they are sold to the market growers, and the- 
latter put their own polish on. 
Not only the cultivation of the bulbs then, but also the pre¬ 
paration of them for sale, has to be considered. The latter entaila- 
much labour, for large growers distribute several millions yearly,, 
and every individual bulb has to receive the hall mark. The- 
labourers are brought up on the farm, however, and know exactly 
what to do in the most expeditious manner. When bulb-growing 
begins in England the first thing to be done will be to import 
skilled labour from the Dutch farms, and the question of culture 
will be quickly settled. Many labourers add materially to their- 
wages in Holland by raising bulbs in their own gardens and selling 
them to their employers. It is a common thing to see whole- 
strings of cottage gardens filled with Tulips which are grown for 
sale to the large merchants and exporters. It is not easy to see 
how time is found for planting and tending them, as the farms^ 
claim attention in the busy season from daybreak to dusk ; but 
the Dutch workman is a marvel of perseverance, patience, and 
thrift, taking a deep interest in his work, anxious to make a little- 
if anything can be made, and well content to divide his few 
leisure hours between the tending of his flower beds and the dis¬ 
cussion of his halfpenny cigar, two occupations which he pursues- 
simultaneously, apparently deriving about equal enjoyment from, 
both. He is businesslike to the backbone, and any British land- 
owner who finds he has suitable soil at command has only to offer 
