The Coolidge examiner., 1934-03-16

tenulng their flower beds, lost none
OF their enthusiasm. The fields
around HARLEM and Leiden contin-
ued to glow just as they glow to
this day. II man produced n
new and beautiful variety of tulip.
he was sure OF a ready market
for Il.
Popular fads afford rich material
for satirIsts In both literature and
art. The tulip mania called forth
not only serious horticultural es-
says by such men as Pierre Wallet.
John Parkinson. and Laueremburg.
but Juvenalian jlbes by Petrus
HondIus, who. in his "Dapes In
emptoe." IG21. had called people
fools who devoted their entire gar
dens to flowers which bloomed for
only few weeks each year. Hon.
dius was the leader of a group OF
writer's who ridiculed tulips and
tulip growers
The mania Pamphlets"
Probably the Dutch government.
alarmed at the extent OF the bulb
gambling. inspired some of the hui
morists to poke fun at the craze.
A series OF Mania Pamphlets" was
published in 1887. a few months
after the disastrous liquidation. In
these publications appeared draw
Ings or cartoons showing the tu-
lip "maniacs" In ridiculous antics.
One skit pictured group OF
traders sitting around table un-
/ der gigantic foolscap. while toll
Ing gardeners labored outside with
baskets. rakes. and barrows. and
curious crowd looked on. The car
ton was titled "Flora's Foolscap."
Another picture, "Flora's Carriage
OF Fools" represented n crowd OF
tulip fanclers In wagon equipped
with sails. All were admIring their
tulips. and a queue Of well-dressed
folk followed the carriage with
hands upstretched. begging for
flowers.
The original pamphlets were dis
tributed In 1857. and In 1884. when
a hyacinth mania threatened. they
were reissued as a warning TO spec
ulators.
Even after the mania subsided.
gardeners pursued their hobby with
such devotion as to provoke satir-
lists 10 lampoOn them In 1888 Jean
de la Bruyere wrote in his "Char-
acters":
'The lover OF flowers has a gar
den In the suburbs. where he spends
all his time from sunrise till sun
set. You see him standing there.
and you would think he had taken
| root In the midst of his tulips be-
fore his Solitaire: he opens his
eyes wide. rubs his hands, stoops
down and looks closer at IL: IL
never before seemed TO him so,
handsome.
"He is In an ecstacy Of Joy. and
leaves II to go to the Orient then
to the 'Veuve.' from thence to the
Cloth OF Gold on to the Agatha
and at last returns to the Soil
taire.' where he remains. is tired
! out, sits down. and forgets his dint
ner; he looks at the tulip and ad-
mires its shade. shape. color. sheen.
and edges, it's beautiful form and
calix: but God and nature are not
In his thoughts. for they do not 20
beyond the bulb Of his tulip. which
he would not sell for thousand
crowns. though he will give II TO
you for nothing when tulips are no
longer in fashion. and carnations are
all the rage.
This rational being. who has n
soul and processes some religion.
comes home tired and half starved.
but very pleased with his days
work: he has seen some tulips"
Fancy Names for Tulips.
English gardeners were not less
enthusiastic than their fellows ON
the continent. and in the Taller for
August 81, 1710, Joseph Addison
chaffed them In an amusing letter.
Probably no other flower has been
given such an imposing lot or
@higfalutin" names as have been be
slowed upon tulips. In his letter
Addison tells Of taking refuge from
storm at a wayside inn. He over
heard a group Of men talking about
Admiral This, General That, and
Lord SO-and-sO. His interest in
trigued, he asked his host to admit
him to the distinguished company.
OF course. the great personages he
had heard mentioned proved to be
varieties Of tulips.
His host took him later into the
inn garden to see bed to tulips.
Addison admired several. but was
laughed to scOrn for his choice and
told that his favorites were only
fools coats. The owner of the bed
boasted that the small strip of
ground. not 20 yards long by two
in breadth, was worth more to him
than the best two hundred acres OF
land In England.