, 1885-07-03
AN OCEAN OF FRAGRANCE


iTiitsbnrz Dispatch
Holland has always been and probably
will ever be the mother of bults. ew
persons. while admiring the beautiful
flowers produced from Holland bull $,
ever think OF the care, time, and tronbl.
taken 10 grow them. Bulbs have hccn
cultivated there 400 or 500 years, as near
as can be ascertained but forseyeral years
past they have received more att ntion
than ever. A well-known bulb-g. over
of a~sscnheim, near Laarlem. L olland
wis interviewed in this city this week.
lie said;
"Hollani, AS is we'll known. is all low
land the greater part OF it lower than
the sea. The water is kept of by dykes;
you have another name here. Erected
here and there on them are large wind
mills, that pump the water out when it
mandates the land. They present a
very strange appearance TO an unaecus
toned eye. We travel by canal toats
like, ! understand was once done here. -
what is the soil like, that you are
enabled 90 raise the finest bulbsf'
The hest in the world for bulb-grow-
ing-purc, sandy soil. The reason Hol-
land bulbs are best Is owing to the soil.
temperature, and water, which is rs
pure as is possible. We have only to
dig three feet believe you measure
by feet hereto find water, not only in
one place, but anywhere"
"How do you plant hyacinths to in
crease their number. T.
we first f~ertilize the soil, put about
sixteen bushels Of manure on each
twelve feet square, then we take a hya-
cinth bulb and cut across the bottom
1ar-nr,I tt.A.a ..IaHt n,I -, Inn. ur.
lift. The one bulb will be divided into
several small ones of perfect growth.
When do you plant firstf'
In September. The great fogs from
the sea drive the frost ava hat we al
ways cover the beds. with weeds We
can not nss straw, because then the mice
destroy our bulbs.
Are your winters as cold as here
NO; we are a great ways further
north, yet our winters are not so severe.
Probably the fogs help us some. Our
summers are not so intensely hot as in
this country
Are the hyacinths ready for sale
after the first Year,
NO, no; | would they we're. The
first year they are planted close; tho
Z second year we must plant them in new
soil as they will not grow two years in
the same ground. Every year each
bulb gets more space, until five years
elapse, when they are then ready to
sell"
"Mhat do you do with the ground
you can not use n second year,"
"We plant some other species of
flower, and at the same time enrich the
soil. Thus VIC change their homes alter
nately, and can always utilize the
ground. Bulbs have about six different
diseases, which can not name in your
language. This auses much trouble
and loss of money. Sometimes the soil
gets tired Of the bulbs, and refuses to
grow anything. We give 1t a time to
rest, and then we dig up n depth of four
feet, put on a double quantity Of
fertilizing matter, and after another
short rest it is willing to start
to work again. You know every
thing in life must have some time to
rest, or it wear ont, and is no good
afterward.
Tell me something about your
tulips.
We'll, | plant the bulbs the same as
the others, only they do not need cut
ting, AZ they increase themselves by
forming Offshoots on the old ones. We
separate those and replant. We oft
times grow from seed-that makes work.
From first planting 1t is four years until
the bloom. The strange part is they all
bloom n co Zee colored flower for a
number of years, when suddenly they
will bring forth some fine color. rs those
see who bu them. Thus we know what
our bulb is. They never hold the coffee
color, which Is quite pretty, any longer
than four years. This we are sure of,
but what they will be in the end We
know not until they show us. Crocuses
are raised the same way. The three
bulbs mentioned will grow nicely in
water. tor forcing | always use sandy
loan, which is the best.
How many varieties of tulips have
your
Three thousand-iust 2, 500 too many.
l suppose there are more than that"
~ hat is your native place like
The scenery is grand, elegant; |
can't tell you in your language MS
would like to. We have lovely trees
like here, that is, the same kind. The
land is perfectly level. Everybody
grows bulbs-the laborer, tailor, shoe
maker, as well as the florist All the
houses some one-story, some two, and
lone higher-are built of brick. We
build 10 pavements, but we never have
any mud, and our roads are Away dry
and smooth, not full ofhard cobble stones
like here. In the principal bulb-grow-
ing district, my home-Sassenhelm-
you can see millions and millions of
tulips, hyacinths, and Gro uses in
bloom at once. Their beautiful fra
GRANGE is waited for miles around On
one acre will be planted about 100, OOO
bulbs. Can you imagine, then, looking
over o dozen Of acres in bloom, what a
vast sea, tit for a paradise, it u.s. |
wish ! were able to describe in your
tall tho randa Of IL -