WHAT CONSTITUTES QUALITY IN BULBS? 



to bottom illustrates sizes Nos. 1, 
2 and 3 of Tulip bulbs. 
Throughout this catalog you will find that we stress the quality of “Bulbs 
in a Class All Their Own.” Just what constitutes this peculiar character- 
istic called “quality”? What causes some bulbs to be more reliable bloomers 
than others? What causes the differences in size besides their age? And, 
finally, why is there so much difference in prices charged not only for 
mixtures, but for named varieties as well? 
To begin with, we handle only extra selected, hand-picked bulbs. While 
being cured and handled in Holland, they are treated with the utmost care 
—in marked difference from the common run of bulbs generally offered. 
When it comes to the matter of packing the bulbs, we call special attention 
to the fact that they are packed in buckwheat chaff. This acts in the 
nature of a shock absorber between the bulbs. It insures these perfectly 
cured, hand-selected bulbs a soft bedding throughout their journey 
from our packing sheds in Holland, to your door. Naturally bulbs packed 
in this fashion bulk larger. This method of packing alone adds consider- 
able to the ocean freight, not counting the extra labor and cost of the 
buckwheat hulls. 
The results of such careful treatment and handling never fail to show in 
the customers’ gardens. Many disappointments and failures with tulip 
bulbs are directly traceable to the careless methods employed in curing, 
sorting, packing and shipping. Moreover, we guarantee our bulbs to be 
true to name, or we will replace them if proved otherwise. This insures 
our customers’ success with any color schemes they may plan. 
Then there is the matter of size. Naturally larger bulbs, carefully handled, 
will bear more perfect flowers than those produced by smaller bulbs of the 
same variety. It is our duty to select for our customers just the size bulbs 
of the different varieties that we feel will give the best results. 
To explain sizes and varying prices in still another way: Prices vary a 
great deal. This is understandable if you know how bulbs are sorted 
in Holland. The large size is called No. 1; medium size is known as No 
2, while the small ones are No. 3. Naturally No. 1 bulbs are worth more 
than No. 2 bulbs mixed with No. 1 size. Again straight No. 2 bulbs 
would be worth more than No. 2 and No. 3 bulbs. The illustration. 
alongside will help the reader to understand why different sizes cannot 
be expected to produce the kind of flowers which straight No. 1 bulbs 
will produce. 
Just as individuals of the human race vary in size, so do bulbs of different 
varieties of tulips vary. The variety Indian Chief, for instance, perfects 
a much larger bulb than the largest Clara Butt we have ever seen. Thus 
as our packages of bulbs reach you, you will find that the bags of the 
various varieties differ in size, even though all the bags contain the same 
number of bulbs. 
And what has been said of tulip bulbs, holds good in connection with all 
other bulbs and all the classes listed in this catalog—as a matter of course. 
You can rely absolutely upon the uniform quality and subsequent per- 
formance of every bulb that comes from ‘“Tulipdom.”’ 
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