By the 17th century, horticultural experimenting created many new breeds of tulips. Available only to the rich, these exotic and expensive mutations were coveted for their beauty, rarity and status. When the middle classes began to realise how much money the upper classes spent on tulip bulbs and how much money they made selling them they sensed a "fool-proof" get-rich-quick opportunity. Thus "Tulipmania" was born. Bulbs were sold by weight, usually while they were still in the ground. All one had to do to become rich was to plant them and wait. The buying and selling of a product as invisible as un-sprouted flowers came to be called the "wind trade."
Traders could earn as much as 60.000 florins (today approx. £25.500) in a month. Not a bad commission even by 20th century standards! People were desperate to cash in on the bulbtrading frenzy! Small businesses were sold and family jewels were traded. Local governments tried unsuccessfully to outlaw this commerce. But like any profit boom, trade was legislated by economics, not government.
The bottom fell out of the market during 1637, when a gathering of bulb merchants could not get the usual inflated prices for their bulbs. Word quickly spread, and the market crashed.
Thousands of Dutch businessmen, many among the country's leading economic powerbrokers, were ruined in less than two months. Extremely rapid deployment of bad news for 1637!

http://www.flowerbulbs.co.uk

That was a good read dex.

Nothings changed very much over the past few centuries has it?

Quote:they sensed a "fool-proof" get-rich-quick opportunity

Glad that the Tulip Depression wasn`t a permanent one.

Thank you so much dex it is really so nice information
and i am so happy to join this forum .I am getting more and more knowledge
here .thank so this job .