Evening star., 1950-07-27

winter and summer, tending mil
lions and millions of plants of al
most all the varieties known to
man.
Most of the flowers are grown in
greenhouses, the roofs of which
form a sea of glass which stretches
as far as the eye can see, broken
only by towering red brick CHM
neys standing like lighthouses.
All of the earth not covered by
the greenhouses is alive with
blooms, making the landscape ap-
pear as If a giant had scatter
ed the palettes of all the artists
of time, and they had sprung to
life.
Flowers Everywhere.
Nowhere you look do you fail
to see flowers. The banks Of the
canals which criss-cross Aalsmeer
are heavy with them, and in the
larger canals earthen gardens have
been built. The yards Of the i'm
maculate little houses are like open
florists windows, and window boxes
are riotous with blooms.
The best time to visit Aalsmeer
is early in the morning, not long
after sunup. It is then that the
flowers start pouring in to be sold
in the two giant auction halls.
The canals are filled with chug-
ging barges, so laden with flowers
that they resemble seagoing gar
denS. Hundreds of bicyclists. their
baskets bursting with blooms,
choke the narrow roads. Men,
women and children walk along
the paths, holding giant bouquets
in their arms. Rowboats SO filed
with flowers that there is scarcely
room for a single oarsman glide
along the canals.
But the most overpowering sight
Of all comes when you walk into
one of the auction halls when all
the flowers have been assembled
on great fiat carts. These halls
are hundreds of yards long. There
is nothing to greet the eye but
flowers, which are grouped &C
cording to variety and color.
Banks Of yellow carnations, five
feet high and IL feet long. Walls
Of red, yellow, and pink roses, all
perfect blooms. Carload after
CARLOAD of orchids, and next to
them untold thousands of Gala
lilies, dahlias of all sizes and
shades, African daisies, sweet peas,
mountains Of baby's breath,
snapdragons. gladioluses, early
chrysanthemums, and literally
fields of all types of ferns.
Covered Harbors. ,
One giant room of one of the
auction halls is reserved for potted
plants, which are auctioned three
times a week. Most of the cut
flowers and potted plants are un-
loaded from the barges right in
the building themselves, where
covered harbors have been built.
These harbors are necessary in
winter to protect the flowers from
the bitter cold.
The sales take place by means
Of an electric dial operated by an
auctioneer. The buyers are seated
in banks amphitheatrically ar
ranged in front of the dial. Al
cart loaded with flowers is wheeled
in and the auctioneer describes
the quality of the flowers, the
quantity Of the lot. the growers
name, ETC., and then starts the
hand Of the dial, which moves
from 100 to /. AS soon as the
hand points at the price a buyer
is willing to pay he presses a button
on his desk, the hand stops, and
an Illuminated number correspond
ing with the number of the buyers
seat burns on the board.
A few minutes later the buyer
can gain possession of the flowers
he has purchased. Time is i'm
portant because a great portion
of the flowers sold are shipped
by air to all parts of the world.
Flowers sold in mid-morning are
on sale in London and Paris in
the afternoon. Many go to New
York and other American cities.
Distributed by McNaught Syndicate, Inc