Who Is the Real Gardener? 



The subject ''AMno is the real gardener" is a burning 

 question among horticulturists and floriculturists en- 

 gaged in private growing. 1 refer to those generally 

 known as private gardeners, but whose title to my mind 

 is a misnomer; and the sooner the professional gardener 

 rids himself of it the sooner I Iielieve he will come into 

 the rank to which he is rightfully entitled. 



The dictionary defines "private" as meaning — '"pecu- 

 liar to, belonging to, or concerning an individual only" — 

 and "professional" as meaning, — "pertaining to, or ap- 

 propriate to a profession or calling." So does it not ap- 

 peal to you that the title "professional gardener" is the 

 most dignified of the two and one which distinguishes 

 him as one of a profession. 



Separating the real gardener from the so-called gar-' 

 dener is not dif^cult to those who are conversant with 

 present day conditions surrounding the gardeners, but 

 with laymen, any one engaged in laboring about a place, 

 which might include the looking after a lawn, a small 

 garden patch, or flower bed, is classed as a gardener. 

 This is due in a large measure to the fact that the science 

 of gardening has not advanced sufficiently in this coun- 

 try to have it generally recognized as a profession. 

 There is no question, however, that the day will come 

 when gardening will be as generally accepted as a pro- 

 fession as are law, medicine and theology, which were 

 also not always of the high standard in which we find 

 them in this age. 



I can recall within my time one of the justices' courts 

 in a Hebrew section of a large city overrun with a class 

 of lawyers no more entitled to the calling than the most 

 ignorant laborer employed by you gardeners, but though 

 ignorant, these men were possessed of sufficient shrewd- 

 ness to enable them to secure their admission to the bar 

 by bribing substitutes to pass examinations for them, 

 and in this manner obtained their credentials. The legal 

 profession has since then been so elevated that such con- 

 ditions no longer exist, and thus a higher status has been 

 attained for it. 



You wonder what this has to do with gardening. I 

 refer to it to show that the profession of gardening has 

 no greater obstacle to overcome than the legal and other 

 professions had in their earlier careers. 



The great drawback to the gardening profession at 

 present is the so-called gardener I have already referred 

 to, a class of men absolutely unqualified for the name of 

 gardener, but who are recognized by the uninformed as 

 such. The hour of elimination of that class would soon 

 draw near if the real gardeners would combine, as have 

 the men who selected the law, medicine or the ministry 

 as their profession. These men combined through their 

 national associations and otherwise to protect the good 

 name of their respective professions against abuse on 

 the part of the unscrupulous which manifest themselves 

 in every field of endeavor. .\nd so it is up to every 

 gardener who is interested in his work as much because 

 he loves it as for what he may derive from it materially, 

 to cooperate with one another to elevate his profession 

 by ridding it of those who pose as gardeners without the 

 necessary qualifications to fit them for it. 



A great problem confronting the profession just nov 

 is how to properly bring to ihr knowledge of people, who 

 employ gardeners, the ability of the practical gardener. 

 By this I mean, the one who is thorough in his profes- 

 sion, and what such a gardener can accomplish if given 

 a fair opportunity to exercise his ability. Possibly I 

 should modify this statement and say — again bring to 



their knowledge — for I disclose nothing new to those 

 familiar with the exjjerience of many estate owners who 

 have become disgusted with the profession as a whole 

 over rascalities practiced in the. management of their 

 establishment.s — or mismanagement — by men not truly 

 representative of the profession and through which many 

 excellent opportunities have been lost to conscientious 

 gardeners, and httnest men made to suiifer. 



To better yourselves and increase your opportunities 

 you must strive to inspire among owners of estates and 

 others who may require the services of a gardener, a 

 greater confidence toward your profession and to raise 

 its standard by eliminating those men who now work as 

 gardeners but have no right to the calling owing to their 

 limitations of the knowledge of gardening, and when 

 this is done, let me assure you that the gardeners, 

 whether under the title of manager, superintendent, 

 supervisor or gardener, will be more generally entrusted 

 with the entire management of private establishments, 

 just as their owners now entrust their business managers 

 to manage their business and their industrial superin- 

 tendents their industries ; for none of them seek compli- 

 cated systems in the management of any of their affairs 

 and reliable efficiency with the least complications is the 

 method most sought for. 



I trust that I am not creating the impression that my 

 attitude is antagonistic to the gardeners and that 1 am 

 favoring the employers. This is not so, for I am for the 

 gardener, first, last and all the time. Nor do I fear that 

 anything that I state tonight may impair any gardener 

 of the right sort in the eyes of his employer, and as what 

 I say is likely to reach the eyes of some of them, I volun- 

 teer that no broadminded man, on second thought, will 

 judge the profession as a whole by what his experience 

 may have been with some individual belonging to it, any 

 more than he would condemn any other profession over 

 the actions of one of its members. There will be no 

 cleaner, no more elevating, no more humane, or more 

 enjoyable profession than that of gardening when its 

 forces become more concentrated and controllable, and in 

 my position I can already discern that its lines are draw- 

 ing closer and closer all the time. 



There are two vital essentials lacking today between 

 the average estate owner and his gardener — and one is 

 the failure of the owner to encourage his gardener in 

 the good work lie may be doing. Many of them are in- 

 wardly pleased, but will never openly manifest it in the 

 presence of the gardener, and we all known that a little 

 merited praise is appreciated by all men. The other is 

 the hesitancy on the part of most gardeners to take the 

 initiative to do things. You may have a close employer, 

 not disposed to spend money, but if you will accomplish 

 something for nothing to arouse his interest, the chances 

 are that if he has means to do so he will eventually ouen 

 up to permit \ou to accomplish more for him. And some 

 may have a liberal employer who would spend more 

 freely if you took the initiative to instruct how he can 

 spend to advantage. 



You must not overlook the fact, however, that this 

 country has for several years past been encumbered with 

 poor millionaires, men whose resources are tied up in 

 non-productive securities. To some of you your em- 

 ployer may appear to liave had a change of heart and to 

 have become possessed of a hoarding spirit, but I think 

 vou will find them to be the same liberal spenders when 

 their income flows nvre freely again. Remember also, 

 that a o-entlemar's estate is a luxury, which is apt to seem 



