Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1886-05-05
AN OCEAN OF FRAGRANCE.
How Hyacinths, Tulips and Crocuses
Are Cultivated in Holland.

How Hyacinths, Tulips and Crocuses
Are Cultivated I'm Holland.
Holland has always been and proba-
bly, will ever be the mother of bulbs.
Few persons, while admiring the beau
tlfm flowers produced from Holland
bulbs, ever think Of the care, time, and
trouble taken to grow them. Bulbs
have been cultivated there four hund-
red or five hundred years, a; near as
can bs ascei tanned, but for several
years past they have received more at
tention than ever. Mr.. Beerhorst. a
bulb-grower of Lassenheim, near Haar-
lem, Holland, was interviewed 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. This water is kept off 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
unaccustomed eve. We travel by canal
boats like, understand, was once done
here"
"What is the soil like, that you are
enabled to raise the finest bulbs?"
The best In the world for bulb
growing-pure, sandy soil. The reason
Holland bulbs are best Is owing to the
soil, temperature and water, which is
as pure as is possible. We have only to
dig three feet-I 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?'
"We first fertilIZe the soil, put about
sixteen bushels of manure on each
twelve feet square; then we take by
acinth 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 perfect
growth"
when do you plant first?"
''ln September. The great fogs from
the sea drive the frost away, but we al
ways cover the beds with weeds. We
can not use straw, because then the
mice destroy our bulbs"
"Are your winters as cold as herep"
w, WO ntC al SiCaS way Lul SuCt
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 hyacinths ready for sale
after the first year?"
"No, no; l 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 can not use second yearp"
'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 differ
ent diseases, which l can not name in
your lang This causes much
trouble and loss of money. Sometimes
the soil gets tired of the bulbs, and re-
fuses to grow anything. We give it a
time to rest, ana then we dig up a
depth OF four feet, put on a double
quantity of fertilizing matter, and after
another short rest it is willing to start
10 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 tu-
lips?"
swell, plant the bulbs the same as
the others, only they do not need cut
ting, as they increase themselves by
forming offshoots on the old ones. We
separate t2ose and replant. We Oft
times grow from seed-that makes the
work. From first planting 1t is four
years until they bloom. The strange
part is they all bloc a coffee colored
flower for 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 co,or, 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 l
always use sandy loan. which is the
best"
'How many varieties of tulips have
your"
"Three thousand - just $500 TOO
many. 1 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 cobb.e-
stones like here. In the principal
bulb growing district. my home-Sas-
can see millions and mil
lions of tulips, hyacinths, ana crocuses
in bloom at once. Their beautiful fra
GRANGE Is waited for miles around. On
one acre will be planted about 1OO, 200
bulbs. Can you imagine, then, looking
over a dozen of acres in bloom, what a
vast sea, ct for a paradise, 1t is?
wish 1 were able to describe in your
talk the grandeur Of it."
"What do you think Of cur country"
"It is grand. it is grandl Good for a
DOOR mantle 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
luxury. Some men who WORK
gery hard have this fat rib meat;
,hinK you call it bacon. 1 am really
ashamed to tell you what wages they
yet. Three dollars per week is the
average. Some get 81, and on rare oc-
,asions S1.2 and Sl.50 per day is paid,
but the ordinary laborer here gets
vice as much as in our country"