- 
r 
” TULIP. 
‘cisely known, but it early made a profound im- 
pression in that country, and began to be culti- 
vated with an enthusiasm, which speedily rose 
into the famous tulipomania. This was origin- 
ally a violent and spendthrift passion for the 
newest and finest varieties of the tulip; and it 
eventually became, and for some time continued, 
a system of gambling speculation, in which tulip- 
bulbs were sold at enormous prices, somewhat in 
the manner of the transactions of the Stock-Ex- 
change; and it rose to its greatest height in the 
four years succeeding 1633. The bulbs were sold 
by weight, in perits or grains; and some brought 
prices which would have purchased a small 
estate. “The variety called Semper Augustus,” 
Beckman tells us, “ was often sold for 2,000 flor- 
ins; and it once happened that there were only 
two roots of it to be had, the one at Amsterdam, 
the other at Haarlem. For a root of this va- 
riety one agreed to give 4,600 florins, together 
with a new carriage, two grey horses, and a com- 
plete harness. Another agreed to give twelve 
acres of land for a root. Those who had not 
ready money promised their moveable and im- 
moveable goods, house and lands, cattle and 
clothes.” The traffic in tulip~- bulbs engaged 
men of all ranks, and absorbed more attention 
than any department of useful commerce, and 
organized itself into a regular system, and occa- 
sionally worked out for some of its votaries pro- 
digious profits, and terminated in such general, 
rabid, and destructive gambling that the Dutch 
government felt obliged to interfere with it and 
put it down. In one instance, it brought a pro- 
fit of more than 60,000 florins to one dealer in 
four months ; and in multitudes, it was pursued 
with such reckless disregard of principle and de- 
cency, that a bulb was sold several times or even 
many times over without being seen or possessed 
by any of its purchasers. “It was followed,” says 
Beckman, “not only by mercantile people, but 
also by the first noblemen, citizens of every de- 
scription, mechanics, seamen, farmers, turf-dig- 
gers, chimney-sweeps, footmen, maid-servants, 
and old clothes-women. At first, every one won, 
and no one lost. Some of the poorest people gained 
in a few months houses, coaches, and horses, and 
figured away like the first characters in the land. 
In every town some tavern was selected which 
served as a Change, where high and low traded 
in flowers, and confirmed their bargains with the 
most sumptuous entertainments. They formed 
laws for themselves, and had notaries and clerks, 
During the time of the tulipomania, a speculator 
often offered and paid large sums for a root which 
he never received, and never wished to receive. 
Another sold roots which he never possessed or 
delivered. Oft did a nobleman purchase of a 
chimney-sweep tulips to the amount of 2,000 
florins, and sold them at the same time to a far- 
mer; and neither the nobleman, chimney-sweep, 
nor farmer had roots in their possession, or wished 
to possess them. Before the tulip season was 
499 
over, more roots were sold and purchased, be- 
spoke and promised to be delivered, than in all 
probability were to be found in the gardens of 
Holland; and when Semper Augustus was not 
to be had, which happened twice, no species per- 
haps was oftener purchased and sold. In the 
space of three years, as Munting tells us, more 
than 10,000,000 florins were expended in this 
trade, in only one town of Holland.” The tulipo- 
mania was ridiculed and despised by calm observ- 
ers in other lands, and has ever since been pro- 
verbially quoted as a marked instance of the 
epidemic folly which sometimes assails a whole’ 
community ; and when it passed away, it afforded 
ignorant pretenders and indolent aristocrats a 
feasible pretence for neglecting or deriding all 
floriculture, and especially tulip-culture, as un- 
dignified and foolish. Another mania, therefore, 
arose, more gross and irrational than even the 
tulipomania, calmer indeed and clothed with 
more trappings of worldly rank, yet incompara- 
bly more grovelling and brutal,—the mania of 
treating with indifference or contempt, or of 
denouncing as suitable for only the uneducated 
and the vulgar, one of the most beautiful and 
heaven - proclaiming objects in the vegetable 
world. But this mania also is becoming obso- 
lete; and the tulip—probably both the superbest 
and the truest “lily of the field”—is now very 
generally allowed to occupy its just place as a 
meek and lowly yet most magnificent instance 
of the beauty which pervades all God’s works,— 
more gorgeous than “Solomon in all his glory,” | 
challenging the admiration of all eyes, and di- 
recting to heaven the kindlings of all hearts. 
The innumerable varieties of the garden tulip 
are usually classified by British florists into selfs, 
bizarres, byblomens, roses, and tricolours. A self 
is all white or all yellow, or at least has a pre- 
dominant ground-colour of white or yellow, with- 
out any distinct markings. A bizarre has a yel- 
low ground colour, marked with any one of many 
different shades of purple or scarlet; and may be 
either a feathered bizarre or a flamed bizarre, 
according as the colours are in filaments and pen- 
cillings or in a broad central stripe. A byblomen 
has a white ground colour, marked with lines, 
stripes, or variegations of any one of various 
shades of purple or violet; and it also may be 
either feathered or flamed. A rose has a white 
ground colour, marked with lines, stripes, or 
variegations of any one of various shades of rose, 
scarlet, cherry-colour, or crimson; and, like each 
of the two preceding, it may be either feathered 
or flamed. Tricolours do not properly constitute 
a separate class; but comprise all tulips, but es- 
pecially all bizarres, which have three colours.— 
The tulips of the old British gardeners were clas- 
sified sometimes into early-bloomers and late- 
bloomers, and sometimes into early - bloomers, 
middle-bloomers, and late-bloomers; but they 
comprised rather species than varieties, — or 
rather, the early bloomers were principally iden- 
