Windham County Democrat. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1836-1853, 1843-03-16
From the Boston Mercantile Journal.
The Flower Market of Holland.

The EIOWer Market OF l1OHanus
We love to see a fondness for flowers cherish
ed by our countrymen. 1t is an evidence Of taste
and purity of feeling-hence the gentlcr g. bet
ter sex, are far more fond of the cultivation of
flowers than the other 1t is pleasant when pas
sing through a country in genial season, to see
neat cottage, with the grounds Immediately adj
iacent embeshed with flowers. 1t is an evil
dence of refined feeling and positive enjoyment.
The Dutch although not remarkable for romance
or sckly sentmentality, have always been dstin-
guished for their love of paintings and flowers
for fondness of the beautiful in nature and in
art. Major Davezac, in article in the Demo-
cratic Review gives the following account of the
superb flower markets in Holland:
CAT Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam, the Ha-
que, and above all, at Harlem the floral city,
crowds Of individuals of all classes of society are
seen assembled at the flower markets, held twice
week in each of these great cities. The rich
attends them TO make exclusively his own, by pur-
chase, the emeralds, the rubles, the sapphires OF
the vegetable kingdom, in addition to those that
he already possessed, formed in depths of the
earth through the slow Celebrations of ages; but,
in spite of his covetous eagerness to obtain the
monopoly even of these, natures treasures, the
INDECENT too has seen these dazzling gems of the
spring; he has inhaled their perfume; and, while
the variegated Camea, the purple Lagestremn
the gaudy nodorous Cactus, the more sweet seen
ted but still gorgeous Peony, and all the costly
exotics are borne away to spread greater iustrt
over the abode of opulence; the humble Violet
the Rose, (now thought to be vulgar flower
though still bIushing lis loneliness and eXhaling
the most exquisite fragrance,) are taken TO The
home of the poor to light the gloom of his lowl,
shed--to give sweetness to the little air he is ye
allowed to breathe always attended these flo
Al nd | do ran1auh or cro,Vfla,
as they always are ever to have heard quarre
there. An elegance of manners, nay, of languag
seemed inspired by the grace and beauty OF III
ephemeral gardens; every one present acted an
spoke as if he feared either TO injure by bruta
acts, or TO soil by the expression Of lndelicat
thoughts these tender and fragile treasures ofth
spring. All clustered around them, like bees
and all, like bees, appeared to gather from ther
nothing but sweetness.
There is tradition at the Hague, that Johar
mes Secundus, the Dutch poet who sang Of XII:
ses, (whose house, near the flower markets i
that city, is still to be seen,) always wrote with
nosegay on his table After hearing of this, a
] read his BaSia over again, fancied in the pc
etry, besides the charm inherent TO the subjec
the aroma Of the flowers he loved. Here, ma
be allowed without DEPRESSING much, to speak
the harvest of roses which always draws TO ii
fields where they are cultivated, near the Hagu
numerous visitors. In the month of May, not
ing can be imagined more beautiful than the a
pect Of those rose fields. The air. filled with Il
sweet emanations, makes you aware of your a
proach TO them, before you have come in sight
them, surrounded as they are by thick live he'd
es, intended to guard the young buds from Il
Indictment winds An air of festival spread
around procaims that this is no vulgar feld-wor
Hundreds of young girls, dressed as if for '
lage holiday, commence the gathering with apr
pirate songs. The first time | witnessed this Il
vel harvest scene, it seemed like dream;
came doubtful whether stood on Batayian Ian
the ETHEREAL sweetness inhaled in every bree2
the earth covered as it were, with green CT
pet embroidered with roses, the melodlous vote
of so many young aud beautiful girls, would ha
indeed waited the Imagination to the milder re
ions of Greece or Italy, but that the azure ey
and golden hair ofthe pretty ROSiereS, proclai
ed them Of Norman race. Those roses gather
in Holland, strange as it may appear, shipp
to Constantinope, destined to return to Euro
so concentrated by chemical art that the p
fume of ten thousand is often used by lady
scent her embroidered handkerchief."*
The packed up in large hogsheads, in alter
layers of flowers and salt and pressed with great force 1t
pears that the salt does not destroy the essential oil which
TAI ms tln of hp