Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-06-14
HORTICULTURE.
IN OCEAN or FRAGRANCE.


HeW Uyatt8thts I1up~t ~
Cultivated IN Heiisno'
Fpittsbusgh pisraich.l
Holland has always been and probe
bly, will ever be the mother Of bulbs.
Few persops. while admiring the beau
tifnl flowers produced ffom Holland
bulbs. ever think Of the care, time, and
trouble taken to grow them. Bulbs
have been cultivated there 400 or 500
wears. as near as o&n be aseertained,
but for several years past they have re-
ceiyed more attention than ever. MIR.
Beerhost. bulb-grower Of Lasenheim,
near HARLEM, Holland, was inter
viewed in this city this week. He said !:
Holland, as is well known, is all
low land, the greater part Of it lower
than the sea. The water is kept oil
by dykes; you have another name
here. Erected here and there on them
are large windmills, that pump the
water out when it mandates the land.
They present a very strange appear
ance 10 an unaccustomed eye. We
travel By canal-boats like, j under
stand, was once done here.
Z" What is the sod like, that you arc
enabled to raise the finest bulbs?"
1.-THE best in the world for bulb
growing--pure, sandy soil. The rea-
son Holland bulbs are best is owing to
the soil, temperature, and water, which
is as pure as is possible. We have only
10 dig three feet believe you mea-
sure by feet hereto find water, not
emily in one place, but anywhere"
How do you plant hyacinths to in
crease their number?"
1--WE first fertilize the soil--put
about sixteen bushels Of manure on
each twelve feet square; then we take
q hyacinth bulb and cut across the
bottom several times, plant, and in
June we lift. The one bulb will be
divided into several small ones Of per-
feet growth"
when do you plant first?''
sin September. The great fogs from
the sea drive the frost away, but we
always cover the bed with weeds. We
cannot use straw, because then the
mice destroy our bulbs"
care your winters as cold as here?"
"No; we are great ways further
north, yet our winters are not so Sc
we're. Probably the fogs help us some.
Our summers are not SO intensely hot
as in this country"
"Are the byacinths ready for sale
after the first year,"
mo, no; | would they were. The
first year they are planted close; the
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"
"what do you do with the ground
you cannot use second year,"
1--WE plant some other species OF
flower, and at the same time enrich the
soil. Thus we change their homes al
ternately, and can always utilize the
ground. Bulbs have about six different
diseases, which cannot name in your
language. This causes much trouble and
loss of money. Sometimes the soil gets
tired of the bulbs, and refuses to grow
anything. We give it time to rest,
and then we dig up depth Of four feet,
put on a double quantity of fertilizng
matter, and after another short rest it
is willing to start to work again. You
know everything in life must have some
time to rest, or it wears out, 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
cutting, as they increase themselves by
forming offshoots on the old ones. We
separate those and replant. We oft
times grow from seed-that makes the
work. From first planting it is -four
years until the bloom. The strange
part is they all bloom cofec-colOred
flower for a number Of years, when
suddenly they will bring forth some fine
color, as those see who buy 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. For forcing | always
use sandy loan, which is the best"
GLOW many varieties of tulips have
your"
Three thousand-just $500 too
many. suppose there are more than
that"
"What is your native place like ?"
" The scenery is grand, elegant !
can't tell you in your language as |
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
none higher-are built of brick. We
build no pavements, but We never have
any mud, and our roads are always dry
and smooth, not full Of hard cobble-
stones like here. In the principal
bulb growing district, my hOme--Sas-
senhelm-you can see millions and mil
lions of tulips, hyacinths. and eroeuses
in bloom at once. Their beautiful fra
GRANGE is waited for miles around. Or
one acre will be planted about 100000
bulbs. Can you imagine, then, looking
over dozen acres in bloom, what a
vast sea--fit for paradise--it is? |
wish | were able to describe in your
talk the grandeur of it,"
"What do you think of our cOun-
try?"
1T is grand, it is grand Good for
a poor man-the rich man can get
along anywhere. If | could not get
along better than some at our place
would come to America. Our people
dress very plain, live plain, and meat
is the greatest luxury. Some men who
work very hard have this fat rib meat !;
/ think YOU call it bacon. | am really