Show the great tulip mania soon af after ter the introduction of the tup tulip into western europe boards of trade providing they had such things in those days day made tulip bulbs a basis of the lal ion engendering gendering a speculative fever which went olow down into history as the tulip mania manifor or tulip craze the staid hollanders allowed their little dike locked land to become the center of this curious species of speculative frenzy and for three years 1644 7 tho recklessness of the dealers and the disastrous results of the mania can only be compared with the south sea bubble when the craze was at its height liei glit some varieties of the bulbs sold for ton ten twenty and even or GOO times their weight in gold A single sino le bulb of the semper augustus not much exceeding the bigness of an onion sette was sold on the market for 2000 florins florans flor ins but this was not all the gentleman who purchased it did lowith so with the mistaken idea that it was the only known bulb of the kind in existence but no sooner did he register purchase than another larger somewhat but not big was announced and the poor victim was compelled to pay florins florans for it or see it go to another this he did and became the owner of two of the highest priced botanical specimens ever purchased st louis republic |