Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1903-04-24
CULTIVATION OF BULBS
Secretary Wilson Tells of Ex-
periments With Flowers.
PRODUCTION OF RARE BL00NR
Agricultural Department Experts
Have Found a Place where Tuiips,
Narcissuses and Hyacinths Can Be
Grown as successfulIy as In Hol-
land-Industry That Exceeds ST.
900, 900 Yearly.

Ahst hAceeos UIg-
oOO, 900 Yearly.
The presidents cabinet at a recent
meeting heard lively account from
the secretary Of agriculture, Mr.. VIII
son. about the successful development
OF new industry In the far northwest,
says the Washington Post. His de-
partment has been expending about
$1,000 annually for hyacinths, narcis-
suses and tulips from Holland. The
Dutch have been experts for genera
uons In growing those flowers, and II
Is historic how the production of tulips
once became such craze In the little
kingdom that certain choice kinds were
actually worth their weight in gold.
The imports into the United States of
bulbs of these three flowers, which
come packed In buckwheat hulls, are
understood TO exceed Sl,OOO,OOO annu-
ally.
The department has been experiment.
ing for about five years to find a eli
mate in the United States where the
bulbs for these beautiful blooms could
be produced quite as well as In Hol-
land and has at last succeeded. This
came about In unexpected fashion.
Some Dutch who went to northwest
Washington to live undertook there to
raise the same choice flowers with
which they had beautified their sur
roundlngs in Holland. There, under
the beneficent breath of the Chinook
winds, hyacinths, narcissuses and tu-
lips flourished even better than In the
choicest spots Of Holland. There are
heavy rains winter and summer in that
section of Washington state, moisture
is constantly in the air. and the soil at
sea level Is rich. all the climatic condi-
tions closely resembling those In Hol-
land
But these Dutch immigrants wrote
back to Holland about the success they
were having with the flowers, from
which at home a vast deal Of money
was being made, and II was from Hol-
land that the reports reached the agri-
cultural department. That led to In
NtStlEullOn anu
which have fully satisfied the depart
ment that Washington state and part
of Oregon are capable of producing all
of these bulbs that the flower beds and
the greenhouses of the east can utilize
every year, The only difficulty now in
the way Is one Of freight rates. for the
Dutch of Holland can still put their
flower bulbs down In New York at a
cheaper figure than costs to transport
the same articles overland from the
Pacific coast.
The bulbs from Holland are service
able in the eastern flower beds only
for one year II one strives to secure
flowers from them second year, 1t Is
found that the blossoms are Of very
inferior quality. Hitherto the depart
ment has pulled up the bulbs after one
years crop and thrown them on the
rubbish heap, except recently some ex-
periments have been made with send
ing these old bulbs into Washington
state, where it has been found that
they produce beautiful flowers the sec
ond year.
The cabinet members were much In
terested in Secretary Wilson's state
ment about these experiments, which
have been conducted under the imme-
diate direction Of Professor b. T. Gal
loway. The department Is also con-
ducting experiments with Easter lilies,
which now have to be brought from
the Bermudas annually to the extent
of about 100000 Climates have been
found In the south which are favora-
BILE to the production Of these beautiful
lilies, but the chief difficulty has been
to make them flower early enough for
the Easter season. However, there is
reason to hope that the lily bulbs can
be developed artihclally by treatment
In cold storage, so that the flowers can
be brought out in season.