THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



413 



THE 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



OF AMERICA. 



MARTIN C. EBEL, Managing Editor, 

 Madison, N. J. 



Published by 



CHRONICLE PRESS 



M. E. MAYNARD, President. A. A. FAY, Sec'y. 



1 MONTGOMERY STREET, JERSEY CITY, N. J. 



New York Office 



236 WILLIAM STREET, NEW YORK CITY. 



Subscription Price, 12 Months, $1.00 :: :: Single Copies, 10 Cents 

 Foreign, $1.50 



Entered as second class matter February 18, 1905, at the Post Office at 

 Jersey City, N. J., under Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. 



Published on the 15th of each month. 



Advertising forms close on the 10th preceding publication. 

 For information regarding advertising rates, etc., address Advertising 

 Department, Gardeners' Chronicle, Madison, N. J. 



ADOPTED AS THE OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE 

 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GARDENERS 



President, Vice-President, Treasurer, 



WM. H. WAITE, A. J. SMITH, JAMES STUART, 



Ynkers, N. Y. Lake Geneva, Wis. Mamaroneck, N. Y. 



Secretary, MARTIN C. EBEL, Madison, N. J. 



TRUSTEES FOR 1913. 



Peter iarf. Orange, N. J.; William Kleinheinz, Ogontz, Pa.; William 

 Duckham, Madison, N. J.; Alexander MacKenzie, Glen Cove, N. Y.; John H. 



Dodds, Wyncote, Pa. 



DIRECTORS. 



To serve until 1914 — Robert Angus, Tarrytown, N. Y.; Robert Bottomley, 

 New Canaan, Conn.; Carl Schaeffer, Tu.xedo Park, N. Y. ; E. Wetterlow, 

 West Manchester, Mass.; T. J. Kempton, Baychester, N. Y. ; E. Trethewey, 

 Tarrytown, N. Y.; Alexander Eraser, Newport, R. I. 



To serve until 1915— John Shore, Harrison, N. Y. 

 Lenox, Mass.; William N. Craig, North Easton, Mass. 

 FishkiU, N. Y.; Robert Williamson, Greenwich, Coi 

 Harbor, Me.; James Bell, New York, N. Y. 



To serve until 1916— Thomas W. Logan, Jenkintown, Pa.; John F. Huss, 

 Hartford, Conn.; John W. Everett, Glen Cove, N. Y. ; A. Bauer, Deal 

 Beach, N. J.; John W. Jones, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Alexander McPherson, 

 Washington, D. C; James C. Shield, Monticello, 111. 



Thomas Proctor, 

 Frank E. Witney, 

 .; F. Kirk, Bar 



Vol. XVL 



MARCH, 1913. 



No. 5. 



The greatest forces of the present century guiding the 

 destinies of men and nations have been developed through 

 combination, whether in social or industrial strife, but 

 wherever man contents for supremacy ; and, so, in the 

 gardening profession some contend that as today a Trust 

 controls the flour from which we derive our daily bread, 

 the flesh we eat, the table we use, the linen we spread and 

 articles we place on it, the clothes we wear, and so on, 

 practically all else but the air we breathe, why then 

 should there not also be a Gardeners' Trust? If it were 

 to be solely for the purpose of combining to bring about a 

 betterment of the gardening profession through co- 

 operative endeavor to elevate it, we say aye. 



But, first of all the gardener must recognize the fact 

 that his vocation is not a trade, but distinctly a profession 

 and that his success depends entirely on himself, that is, 

 on the energy and ability he exerts. It may be said 

 that there are three classes among the gardeners : The 

 first, consisting of those men striving to advance and ever 

 ready to learn, climbing to reach the top of the ladder. 

 The next class is those who, when they get half way up 

 the ladder, are satisfied and content to rest, permitting 

 others to climb over them. Then we come to the last 

 class, which never climbs. It is there we find the seed 

 of discontent cropping u]) in the ranks of the gardeners ; 

 the grievance of this class being, that an ci|uilil)rium 

 should be maintained whereby it would be aided to a 

 better compensation, ahliough the cliniliers would be 

 checked thereby. 



There is no denying that trade organizations have their 

 good qualities, but professions can never be similarly 

 regulated. A man selecting the profession of gardening 

 for his life work should first of all realize that it wiH 

 rest entirely with him whether he succeeds or whether 

 he fails. If he finds his disposition not in harmony with 

 his work, better quit and seek another field of endeavor. 

 But_ if his work interests him he will progress in his 

 profession in proportion to the ability he develops within 

 himself through study and practice. ' Here let it be said 

 that the college graduate does not always have the best 

 of it, for too much theoretical knowledge' and not enough 

 practical experience is far worse than the reverse of the 

 situation, as you can never have too much practice, while 

 you may overload yourself with theories. However, the 

 man who can combine theory and practice has a great 

 advantage. 



Much more will be expected of the gardener of the 

 future than was required of the gardener of the past. 

 This refers to the men who become leaders in their 

 profession, capable of managing extensive estates. Such 

 men must not alone be possessed of a thorough knowl- 

 edge of gardening, but must be informed on all matters 

 which come under the superintendency of a private 

 estate. They must have executive ability, be able to meet 

 and intelligently discuss the management of affairs of a 

 large estate with its owner; be posted on agriculture, 

 cattle, road building, general construction work and all 

 that goes to make up a gentleman's estahlishmfent. They 

 must, in other words, have sufficient knowledge in all of 

 the various departments of an estate to be able to properly 

 supervise them. 



For this class of men there will never be wage regula- 

 tion or time limit to constitute a day's work. They be- 

 come managers, and their compensation should be gov- 

 erned by the responsibilities entrusted to them. It is 

 true, that to a large degree those who employ gardeners 

 do not appreciate the value of their services, and com- 

 pensation in many instances is not proportionate to that 

 of some of the other professions. This, however, is 

 largely due to the fact that the gardening profession has 

 so far not attained the standard of the legal, medical 

 and other sciences ; and so it comes right home to the 

 gardener to elevate, through combination and co-opera- 

 tion, the standard of his profession, for no one else can 

 accomplish this for him. 



Most gardeners lack some of th.e salient characteristics 

 which enter into the makeu]) of other professional men. 

 The qualities most demanded are good education, strong 

 character, good mannerism, and self-confidence to meet 

 any man on an equal plane. There are already many 

 men in the ]irofession who profess gardening as their 

 life work and who love it. possessing all these qualities, 

 and when the gardening profession as a whole becomes 

 more representative of that standard, and it all rests with 

 the gardener as to when that will be. it will then not only 

 be honored as the oldest, but will rank as the first pro- 

 fession in the whole universe. 



We arc iiulel)ted to our contributors to this issue, 

 and to many more who could not be included, but 

 whose articles will help to make future numbers equally 

 interesting and instructive. Without the co-operation of 

 these friends, it would not be possible to present to our 

 readers such an edition as we offer them in the March 

 issue. Its columns contain matter from which all inter- 

 ested in gardening may obtain much instructive in- 

 formation, while its atlvertising columns offer the best 

 in horticultural retiuirements that can be obtained any- 

 where. 



