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GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



tained. Places which were noted for their spick and span 

 appearance, in some cases now present a weedy, un- 

 kempt appearance which is depressing to those who have 

 the welfare of horticulture at heart. The shortage of 

 help, both of trained gardeners and unskilled laborers, 

 is in most cases responsible for this condition of affairs. 

 Here is a situation where the National Association of 

 Gardeners is in a position to render a g'reat service to 

 horticulture by its endeavors to interest young men in 

 gardening as a profession and by opening up means 

 whereby they may obtain suitable training. Bound up 

 with this problem of interesting young men, who should 

 be of the highest calibre in our craft, is the one of en- 

 suring adequate remuneration and tolerable working 

 conditions — in other words the carrying out of the ob- 

 jects of the Association — "To uplift the profession of 

 gardening." It is useless to get men started in as gar- 

 deners if the inducements are insufficient to keep them 

 there. 



:|; ^ ^ ^ 



It is only with a sufficiency of trained help that "fine 

 gardening'' can be accomplished. It is the attention to 

 small details, that have to be "scamped" when labor is 

 short, that makes the difference between excellence and 

 mediocrity in gardening". But many of us this year 

 'have almost been in the position of having to choose be- 

 tween having our plants killed by insects or choked by 

 weeds. There are some, no doubt (not many amongst 

 professional gardeners) who will affect to be pleased at 

 the turn affairs have taken. I refer to those who find 

 more pleasure and interest in a garden that is allowed 

 to run more or less wild than in one where meticulous 

 tidiness prevails. There is, of course, something to be 

 said in favor of the feeling of freedom and informality 

 promoted by the garden which does not show too plainly 

 the marks of the rake, and broom, and shears, but the 

 more formal type of garden is a hideous failure unless 

 maintained in a carefully groomed condition. 



In connection with this subject some remarks of W. 

 H. Hudson, the famous naturalist and writer, can ap- 

 propriately be quoted. In "The Book of a Naturalist,'' 

 in the chapter headed "Concerning Lawns," he savs : "I 

 am not a lover of lawns ; on the contrary I regard them. 

 next to gardens, as the least interesting adjuncts of 

 the country house. Grass, albeit the commonest, is yet 

 one of the mo.st beautiful things in Nature when allowed 

 to grow as Nature intended, or when not too carefully 

 trimmed and brushed. Rather would I see daisies in 

 their thousands, ground ivy, hawkweed, and even the 

 hated plantain with tall stems, and dandelions with 

 splendid flowers and fairy down, than the too-well- 

 tended lawn grass." After mentioning that "a fine 

 country house or mansion * * * looks best on a level 

 green expanse" he goes on to say: "Now I think that this 

 grass setting would be just as effective or more effective 

 if left more in its natural state. Seen closely, the smooth 

 lawn is a weariness to the eye, like all smooth monoto- 

 nous surfaces. * * * An acre or so of green linoleum or 

 drugget, drawn evenly and smoothly over the ground 

 surrounding a large house would probably have as good 

 an effect as a perfectly smooth grass lawn." The dis- 

 approbation of Mr. Hudson need not cause us any great 

 perturbation — the whole question is largely one of the 

 point of view — Mr. Hudson's being that of the natural- 

 ist. There are many who sympathize, in part, with Mr. 

 Hudson's views and it might be salutary for some of our 

 garden makers to take note of them. 



We have landscape architects who appear to look on 

 plants in the same way that an artist views his pigments 

 — as something with which to make a picture. They fail 



to take cognizance of the fact that plants have beauty of 

 form as well as coloring, that many are fragrant, and 

 that some are interesting because of adaptations to their 

 environment. There are landscape architects who main- 

 tain that a great variety in landscape material is not 

 desirable and seem to have little appreciation or love 

 for plants for their own sake. A garden in which these 

 ideals prevail, and where everything is subordinated to 

 the garden picture is likely to be deadly dull in the eyes 

 of the naturalist and plant lover. Let "it not be inferred 

 that I am decrying the work of the landscape architect; 

 this is only a plea that they will not get too much into 

 the habit of looking on plants as "pigments," or we may 

 find ourselves back in the Victorian period when colored 

 bricks and sand were used instead of flowers ! 



* * ^ 



Young gardeners, and old gardeners too, for that mat- 

 ter, have splendid opportunities nowadays for increasing 

 their horticultural knowledge by reading, even though 

 circumstances may deny them access to a public library. 

 There are many periodicals to be obtained at a trifling 

 cost which cater to the needs of those thirsting for in- 

 formation on gardening matters. In some cases, it is 

 true, the information given needs judicious sifting, but 

 generally the high class periodicals are to be relied on. 

 Then there is the vast amount of literature appertaining 

 to plant culture put out by State College of Agriculture, 

 Experiment Stations, and the U. S. Departmenl: of Agri- 

 culture — free to those who ask for it. 



Looking over a list of Farmers' Bulletins issued by 

 the Department of Agriculture one is impressed with the 

 fact that there is oft'ered the nucleus of a fine garden li- 

 brary. Interspersed with such titles as "Rabies or Hydro- 

 phobia," "Hog Cholera," "School Lunches'' and "Breeds 

 of Dairy Cattle" one finds scores of bulletins on subjects 

 of direct interest to gardeners. These range from 

 "Propagation of Plants" and "Pruning" to the "Cultiva- 

 tion of Mushrooms" and "Fumigation of Ornamental 

 Greenhouse Plants with Hydrocyanic-Acid Gas." There 

 are many bulletins on the significance of birds in agri- 

 culture and horticulture, detailed discussions on insect 

 pests of plants and even one entitled "The Bedbug." 

 The latter probably does not concern present day gar- 

 deners very seriously but I imagine some of the old- 

 timers have had experience of living conditions in 

 "bothies" where such a leaflet would have been welcome ! 



In times past much criticism was leveled at the is- 

 suance of these Bulletins on the score of waste of time 

 and paper in their preparation. It used to be said that 

 their ultimate destination was the wastepaper basket^ 

 unread. But modern farmers and gardeners are losing 

 their prejudice against "book knowledge." One reason, 

 no doubt, why many failed to take advantage of informa- 

 tion contained in publications of this kind was their 

 heavy, stogy appearance. Latterly, however, endeavors 

 have apparently been made to make them more attrac- 

 tive._ Many of the later issues of the "Farmers' Bulle- 

 tins," for instance, have blossomed forth in interesting 

 looking pictorial covers. 



At first when one regards the vast amount of horticul- 

 tural literature that exists today one wonders how it is 

 possible for anything fresh to be written on the subject 

 of gardening. , Yet, take the example of the English 

 Gardeners' Chronicle which has appeared weeklv since 

 1841 and far from being stale, it is still fresh and inter- 

 esting to garden enthusiasts all over the English-speak- 

 ing world. But we must remember what a great and 

 intricate subject horticulture is, with many ramifications 

 interlocked with other branches of art and science — for 

 horticulture in its larger meaning is both an art and a 

 (Continned on page 343) 



