THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
172 
These were busy times indeed, so busy that it was impos¬ 
sible for the visitor to find heart to occupy more of the 
chief’s attention than was necessary to take a somewhat 
hasty survey of the home grounds. It might be well to 
explain that the Holland bulb grower is, in regard to the 
necessity of rushing his work in the autumn, much in the 
same position as the nurseryman of the United States; 
they are both anxious to leave the bulbs in the ground till 
the ripening process has been thoroughly completed. This 
is necessary to the well-being of the bulb. This process 
brings the season comparatively late,and in order to cure it, 
sort and pack it, the work must be pushed with great 
celerity after harvesting has 
been done. Therefore, the 
life of the bulb man during 
harvest and packing season 
is, indeed, a busy one and 
there is little time to devote 
to visitors. 
We observed that the 
packing house work was sys¬ 
tematized by dividing men 
into groups, giving each 
group its own piece of work 
and making one man of the 
group responsible. 
The grounds about the 
packing house were occupied 
by the choicer and rarer 
varieties. These would 
naturally be grown in smaller 
quantities than the standard 
sorts. We noticed gladioli, 
ixias, narcissi and peonies in 
great variety. The main 
stock of bulbs, however, are 
grown in nurseries at some 
little distance from Leiden. 
It should be noted that this 
firm has branch nurseries 
at Sassenheim and Oegest- 
geest. Its branch nurseries are for the purpose of taking 
advantage of certain soil and local peculiarities which are 
desirable in growing special crops for which this firm is 
noted. 
Among the specialties which the DeGraaf Brothers have 
carried for a number of years is the Peony, and of these the 
Peonas moutan or tree peony has occupied an important 
place. When the grounds of the Cornell Experiment Sta¬ 
tion were being established some years ago,DeGraaf Brothers 
furnished an excellent collection of these root-grafted tree 
peonies. The collection of the Chinese herbaceous peony 
is also large and varied. Of Ixias more than 60 varieties are 
listed. The collection of Lilies is also exceptionally large. 
This is true of the Iris, of which English, Spanish and 
German Irises are fully represented. It is unnecessary to 
draw attention to the tremendous list of Narcissus and 
Tulips offered by this firm. No less than 200 varieties of 
hardy Daffodils are grown and offered for sale. Descrip¬ 
tions of these are to be found in the firm’s wholesale cata¬ 
logue for 1909 . 
Single tulips are represented in a classified list showing 
the early and the late flowering varieties, describing more 
than 200 kinds. This is followed by large collections of 
double tulips, Darwin tulips and Mayflowering tulips. 
The firm is represented in the United States and Canada 
by Mr. J. H. Bockmann, care of Maltus & Ware, 14 Stone 
Street, New York City. We are personally under obliga¬ 
tions to Mr. Bockmann for an exceedingly pleasant day in 
Leiden, and have a most grateful remembrance of a hospit¬ 
able Dutch restaurant and an attractive boat ride on the 
canal in addition to the in¬ 
structive visit to the grounds 
of this firm. 
TREE FRUITS FOR 
VIRGINIA 
The Virginia Experiment 
Station recommends the 
following varieties of or¬ 
chard fruits for planting in 
that state: 
Apples: Bough, Early 
Ripe, Summer Rose, Will¬ 
iams, Oldenburg, Benoni, 
Jersey Sweet, Maiden Blush, 
Mother, Baldwin, Tolman, 
Peck, Roxbury, Grimes, 
Bonum, Via, Winesap, Ar¬ 
kansas (Black Twig), York 
Imperial, Lankford, and 
Yellow Newtown (Albe¬ 
marle Pippin). 
Crabs: Blushing Maid, 
Red Siberian, Transcendent, 
and Whitney. 
Quinces: Champion and 
Rea. 
Pears: Bartlett, Bose, 
Clapp, Kieffer, Lawrence, 
Seckel, Sheldon, and Summer Doyenne. 
Peaches: Alexander, Early Crawford, Late Crawford, 
Old Mixon Free, and Smock. 
Plums: American Eagle, Bradshaw, Gueii, Grand 
Duke, Munson, Smith Red, Red June, Satsuma, Wild 
Goose, Yellow Egg, and Wooten. 
Cherries : Coe, Early Purple, Rockport, and Windsor 
(Sweet); Hortense, Large Montmorency, and Olivet (Sour). 
OBITUARY 
Hugo Beyer 
Died at New London, Ta. on May 18 . Mr. Beyer was a 
german seedsman,interested in small fruits as well as flowers. 
C. A. Allen 
At bloral Park (L, I.), New York, on May 21 , in the 
81 st yeai of his age. Mr. Allen was widely known as a 
seedsman, bulb grower and author. He was the possessor 
of a large horticultural library. 
The Crocus is a native of the Swiss mountain sides and the cooler parts 
of Europe. 
