THE 



@Ai?BE^J 601© 



^"O") 



February, 1860. 



AEDEXEES, like other classes, may be classed under 

 the three heads of good, bad, and indifferent. Deeply 

 concerned as we are in the prosperity of horticulture, 

 in every one of its many departments, we cannot 

 but take a sincere interest in the welfare of those 

 who gain their bread by the prosecution of the art. 

 Many are the complaints that reach us of the ineffi- 

 ciency of gardeners ; of their lack of general know- 

 ledge ; of their limited experience ; of their blunders, 

 their perversity, and their stubborn opposition to the wishes 

 of those who employ them. We are often inclined to turn 

 a deaf ear to these complaints, because we believe that, in the majority of 

 cases, employers expect too much, and are less ready to make allowances 

 than they should be. Nevertheless, it is but too true that the working 

 gardeners, as a body, are rather behind the age, thoiigh among them are 

 many bright examples of industry, intelligence, and thrift. "We hold it 

 as a sound principle that if any class of operatives deserves to be charged 

 with carelessness as to their own interests, there must be something radi- 

 cally wrong in the system under which that class pursues its industrial 

 occupations. 



What is the particular " something " to be unearthed in this instance ? 

 Does contact with the soil check those aspirations which lead men to 

 higher flights of laboiu* and thought ? Does the peculiar nature of the 

 gardener's task tend to depress him, and make him content with a poor 

 mediocrity, instead of stimulating him to rise in his profession, and at 

 every step of his progress gather knowledge for himself and others ? That 

 which most depresses the gardener is the insufficient amount of his wages, 

 and the very little encouragement given him to persevere. It is some- 

 times said that the system of employing gardeners to help in dairy- work, 

 superintend haymaking, and attend to labours out of his precise line as a 

 gardener, is a disgrace to both the gardener and his employer. With this 

 we cannot concur; the master and the man have a right to agree to any 

 VOL. III. — no. tt. c 



