390 THE GARDENER. [Sept. 



of being sadly lacking in professional knowledge, and of the honest 

 and honourable characteristics without which they cannot be worthy 

 members of a body of men who, as a hodu, are much more worthy, 

 professionally and morally, than they have lately been represented. 

 And we cannot but think that had our contemporary the same work 

 to do again, it would either not do it at all, or do it with more dis- 

 crimination. Already there is evident proof that a desire exists on its 

 part to mollify the wounds it has made. But it is a pity that — we trust 

 unwittingly — so much indignation and ill-feeling has been created with- 

 out doing some corresponding amount of good. 



There does not» exist any class or body of men, from the peasant 

 to the lord, that does not furnish its quota of disreputable characters ; 

 but it would be a gross injustice to any class to gibbet those characters, 

 and exhibit them as samples. The greatest care should be exercised, 

 in dealing with such a subject, that any such tendency should not 

 be apparent ; and we cannot believe that our contemporary wrote 

 in any other spirit, though the letter of its utterances was sadly in- 

 discriminate and unfortunate. 



Our principal object at present is more to ask why, in the nature of 

 things, there should be any of the apparent jealousy or ill-feeling exist- 

 ing between those who, according to custom, we shall designate 

 scientific and practical horticulturists "i Let it be distinctly understood 

 that no mere pretenders are intended to be included in such categories ; 

 for there are no lack of them in both. We would reiterate the ques- 

 tion, why any such feelings should exist between those who study 

 horticulture as a science only, and those who intelligently put that 

 science into practice? One can sympathise with [N^ewton — whose 

 attention was ever directed on the track of some sun or planet — when 

 he expressed contempt for the Earl of Pembroke's taste for sculpture, 

 as being so much taken up with stone dolls. But no such sympathy 

 can exist for any want of cordial feeling between two sections of 

 workers in the same field. For, looking at them both from a scientific 

 point of view, what is the difference between them 1 What is science ? 

 Is it not as well explained by the two words " demonstrative know- 

 ledge " as it can be explained % If this be so, there is much that is 

 identical in the work which each performs for horticulture, for we pre- 

 sume that demonstrative knowledge is most of all attributable to those 

 who are year by year and day by day applying all the means and ways 

 by which they are producing the finest fruits, vegetables, and flowers. 

 The mere possession of sound knowledge may lay undeniable claim to 

 be classed with the scientific ; but he who, over and above, demon- 

 strates his sound and accurate knowledge by the regular production of 

 substantial results, is not a man to be treated with coldness and 



