September 1, 1906 



HORTICULTURE 



241 



I 



THE IDEAL PRIVATE GARDENER 



AND HIS WORK. 



A i>.\\,i-v read liffrjiv tin- s,„'li-tv of 

 American Florists at Uayion, i )bio', liv 

 Fred E. I'almor. Brooliliiie. Mass. 



The title of this essay w.i^ selected 

 by the Executive Commif.ee of the 

 Society ot American Florists, and as- 

 signed to the Boston Gardeners' and 

 Florists' Club, as a fitting .subject for 

 its contribution to the literature of this 

 convention. This was perfectly natural 

 lor, when questions ol a philosophical 

 nature are to be duscussed, where else 

 would one turn but to the "Athens of 

 America." the erudite city of the old 

 Bay State. It may be taken for 

 granted, also, that the Gardeners' and 

 Florists' Club of Boston, with its 

 young and virile membership of 325 

 (this includes ladies), is perfectly able 

 to handle any question that may b« 

 presented to it; but when it comes to 

 the individual to whom this essay is 

 assigned, every thoughtful person "will 

 agree that, while being greatly hon- 

 ored, he is, nevertheless, confronted 

 with a duty both difficult and onerous. 

 In the first place an ideal which 

 would be common to a number of men 

 is difficult of conception; in fact, im- 

 possible. Ideals are essentially in- 

 dividual, and are more characteristic 

 of the man even than his phvsical 

 features. They change with him" from 

 day to day, as he grows in wisdom, al- 

 ways tantalizingly ahead like the des- 

 ert mirage, yet always an incentive to 

 better work and nobler aims. With 

 these thoughts in one's mind it Is 

 hard to get down to earth, where even 

 the ideal gardener belongs. 



Before attempting to draw the pic- 

 ture of a present day ideal private 

 gardener, it will be interesting and 

 perhaps helpful, to cast a retrospective 

 glance at types of other days and their 

 environment. They are not so far re- 

 moved as to be unfamiliar to most of 

 us; indeed, many honored examples 

 are with us yet; and as the procession 

 of bygone forms and faces is conjured 

 up, we bow our heads in reverence. 

 Many of them were splendid exponents 

 of the true gardening spirit, were 

 faithful servants, staunch friends of 

 the young gardeners who were com- 

 mitted to their charge, though some- 

 times severe withal. They bring down 

 to modern times, perhaps more than 

 any other retainer, the spirit of those 

 feudal days, in which the extensive 

 private garden had its birth and early 

 nourishment. 



Under old world conditions to this 

 day the number of private gardens of 

 any size is a fixed quantity; new crea- 

 tions are few and far between and are 

 largely offset by the decay and aban- 

 donment of old establishments; so, 

 consequently, the market for head 

 gardeners has always been a dull one. 

 A satisfactory and satisfied incumbent 

 held his position often for life. Not 

 much was required of him in the way 

 of technical or scientific knowledge; 

 in fact, too much of that sort of thing 

 would have spoiled him. He w'as 

 essentially a retainer, although by 

 common consent ranking considerably 

 above the domestics, conservative to a 

 degree, which is always characteristic 

 of those who lack ambition because of 

 the absence of opportunity, t'uat bane- 

 ful blight of the old world, s-ipremely 

 happy if a modest pension awaited 

 him, or fortunate if able ■ end his 



days as the proprietor of a small gro- 

 cery or public house. 



One can easily realize that under the 

 above conditions there must have been 

 constantly in existence a small army 

 of rejected ones among the bodv of 

 journeymen gardeners. Head positions 

 not always being awar.ied with regard 

 to merit, the under gardeners had lit- 

 tle incentive to acquire an education 

 above the common, the chances being 

 that they would end their davs in the 

 ranks with the laborer. These things 

 may explain the anomalous condition 

 that has undoubtedly existed up to the 

 present time and still exists, viz: that 

 of a large number of intelligent men 

 engaged in a pursuit so near to nature' 

 so lofty as to transcend almost all oth- 

 ers, and if including agriculture, which 

 it naturally does, so important in the 

 world of economics as to comprehend 

 all the necessary things of life within 

 Its scope; and yet who are so poorlv 

 equipped with technical and scientific 

 education as to render them, as a 

 class, marked in this respect. 



It finds its most harmful expression 

 in a conservatism which is positively 

 suicidal in this new day and countr^^ 

 Failing to recognize the opportunitv 

 that is now before them of lifting 

 themselves and their craft from the 

 realm of drudgery and servitude into 

 that of science and art where it prop- 

 erly belongs, cherishing the ideal of 

 "My Lord" and "My Lady" who never 

 interfered, the long hours of labor, 

 with small pay, the willing helpers 

 who kept going fourteen hours per day 

 if ordered to do so, no horse power, 

 horses had to go to bed early— no hosei 

 no anything, in fact, that savored of 

 innovation and that required new 

 study; those were indeed good old 

 days. 



Let us turn, however, to the con- 

 ditions which confront us in this mar- 

 vellous age and country. The ordinary 

 slow processes of evolution and na- 

 tional growth have been entirely ig- 

 nored. Development along economic, 

 social and art lines has been so rapid 

 as to defy the average observer and 

 student to trace it. The nation, from 

 a condition of extreme crudity and de- 

 vouring energy which might aptly be 

 compared to the caterpillar stage, has 

 suddenly emerged into a state of re- 

 finement and keen appreciation of 

 beauty and art that is as startling and 

 interesting to contemplate as the burst- 

 ing forth of the perfect butterfly. Let 

 us hope that this simile may not obtain 

 in its ephemeral sense, however. 



During this period of strenuous com- 

 mercial activity, the earth has been 

 made to yield her treasures most 

 bountifully. Nothing in the world's 

 history compares with the develop- 

 ment of the natural resources of this 

 country during the last fifty years. 

 The struggle has been terriffic. and 

 the confusion even as that of the 

 mighty rapids and whirlpool of Ni- 

 agara. Out of this maelstrom and 

 into the quiet waters of work well 

 done, victory achieved, and fortunes 

 made, have drifted thousands of men 

 who arc now seeking rest, recreation 

 and happiness, the end to which all 

 previous effort has been but the 

 means. Back to nature is the word, 

 and to the soil which gave them 

 their material wealth, they again look 

 for those more subtle elements that 

 satisfy the soul. These are the men 

 who have built themselves gardens 



and who are looking for partners 

 rather than for hired help, to enable 

 them to accomplish this end. It is 

 perfectly fitting and proper to con- 

 sider the ideal gardener in the former 

 relationship rather than the latter, 

 and no intelligent proprietor will de- 

 mur to the spirit of such association 

 What kind of a personalitv will he 

 have who shall fill the measure ot 

 this desire for happiness, and at the 

 same time seize the opportunity to 

 exalt the status of his beloved pro- 

 fession, and raise himself to the high 

 social, economic and educational plane 

 to which he naturally and properly 

 belongs? Let us consider the last 

 part of this theme first and discover 

 what duties will be required of him 

 or, in other words, what is his work, 

 and afterwards trv and fit the man 

 to it. 



The common idea among young 

 gardeners who are ready and feel 

 qualified to take charge of important 

 places is, that the measure of these 

 duties should be included within the 

 following limits; to be able to grow 

 the regular run of greenhouse stock 

 successfully, including orchids, so 

 that when exhibition times come 

 around they may gather in some 

 prizes and nail the cards up in the 

 potting shed to the great glory of the 

 house, and their own emolument. In- 

 cidentally, they expect to supply the 

 house with flowers of limited quan- 

 tities of their own selection, and to 

 grow fruit un<ler glass. They consider 

 the kitchen garden to be part of their 

 sphere, although, as a rule, having 

 had very little experience in that de- 

 partment, also the pleasure grounds 

 with which they have had still less. 

 At first sight, it does seem that the 

 list includes about all that should be 

 required of the average gardener, and 

 if he were a master in every branch 

 mentioned, he would certainly be pret- 

 ty well equipped as a workman. 



The duties of the ideal gardener. 

 however, cover a much wider range. 

 He has formed a partnership with the 

 proprietor, the object of which is to 

 produce a certain indefinable, intangi- 

 ble thing called happiness. Primarily 

 the happiness of the latter and also 

 that of his own. as a natural corollary. 

 With this in view, he will seek to 

 discover the bent of his employer and. 

 having found it, to guide it into prac- 

 tical channels. His common sense 

 will often come into conflict with 

 whimsical desires, but with plenty of 

 tact and a desire to serve, this will 

 not be a serious source of trouble. 

 He will be required to plan and lay 

 out an entirely new place, erect 

 greenhouses, put in water supply, 

 survey and grade land, build drives, 

 handle large bodies of men intelligent- 

 ly, to study up-to-date methods, and 

 appliances such as labor-saving ma- 

 chinery, insecticides and fertilizers; 

 scoffing at nothing because of its 

 strangeness, but testing desirable 

 things intelligently with a view to 

 conducting the place with economy 

 and facility. One of his most delicate 

 duties will be to preserve peace and 

 harmony among his fellow employees, 

 listening to the complaints of his 

 subordinates with a judicial and kind- 

 ly ear, and pleading their cause with 

 their employer. To the younger 

 gardeners under his charge he owes 

 a peculiar and sacred duty. Having 

 trod the path before them, he is in 



