424 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
These 300 acres were then in their natural unproductive 
state, covered thickly with heather or scrub and with a 
few pines scattered here and there. As it was “sour-land” 
and considered worth very little, it had never been cultivated 
and friend Van der Bom had to take many a jibe from his 
colleagues for saying he was going to grow trees there; he 
couldn’t even raise an umbrella on that land said some of 
them. Now there is as fine a block of 500,000 Norway 
Maples growing there as can be seen growing anyvLere— 
but we must not get ahead of our story. 
With the help of soil analyists and professional men em¬ 
ployed by the Holland government to give free advice in 
such cases, it was learned that the soil for 18 inches down 
was sterile and valueless, but that underneath this there 
no easy matter to get a railroad siding into the nurseries, 
but it was done—and now manure, lumber, moss and pack¬ 
ing materials are brought right into the nurseries in carloads 
and the American shipments are loaded in cars for Rotter¬ 
dam in the nurseries, as many as 30 solid carloads some¬ 
times being shipped at one time. 
The Union Nurseries still grow much stock in the Ouden- 
bosch home nurseries, but the experiment at the Maple- 
Farm has proved so successful that it will be largely ex¬ 
tended in the near future and eventually everything will be 
moved there except the offices. 
A large part of Holland has been reclaimed from the sea 
and is still below sea level. ■ To encourage the Hollanders to 
reclaim land from the “sour-land” or from the sea, the 
FIELD OF 7,000,000 SEEDLINGS, QUERCUS, AMERICANA, RUBRA, FAGUS, SYLVATICA, ETC., AT MAPtE FARM, 
AT UNION NURSERIES, OUDENBOSCH, HOLLAND 
was three feet of good light colored sandy loam, five feet 
down was a layer of rock-sand which when broken up pro¬ 
vided excellent drainage. The entire acreage was trenched 
by hand four to five feet deep, the subsoil was buried under 
the three feet of sandy loam, which remained on top. This 
was then treated with nitrogenous fertilizers which provided 
the missing elements required to get m.axium results. 
After laying fallow for some time, this “manufactured” 
land was planted with seedlings and the growth they made 
.surprised everyone. There are now huge blocks of Norway 
Maples one and one-half to two inch caliper which were 
whips three years back. In another block there are seven 
million beech and oak seedlings. Every visitor is surprised 
to see the vigorous growth Norway Maples make here, some 
trees have made six feet of new growth this season with 
leaves 10 to 12 inches across. The sandy nature of the soil 
gives them a splendid fibrous root system. 
The new place has been aptly named “The Maple-Farm.” 
The railroads in Holland are government owned, so it was 
Government offers prizes each year for the best products 
from these reclaimed lands. Last season the Union Nur¬ 
series took first prize at Breda for their exhibit of Norway 
Maples and American oaks from the Maple-Farm. 
American visitors are always welcome at the Union 
Nurseries and Mr. Van der Bom or either of his two sons 
take pardonable pleasure in showing what will interest 
them; he and his sons>speak English fluently. McHutchi- 
son & Company, the New York Import House, have repre¬ 
sented this firm as American agents since its inception. 
Please find enclosed a one dollar bill for renewal of my subscription 
to your excellent paper. I read it with great interest and do not want 
to miss a single copy. Wishing you great success I remain, 
R. R. No. 2, Lancaster, O. W. A. Ellinger. 
Enclosed find check for fi.oo to pay subscription for another year. 
Your valuable publication is invaluable to me, in other words I must 
have it. T. E. Burroughs. 
