86 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



A SPIRIT WORTHY OF ENCOURAGEMENT. 



INIuch has been said and written comparing the stand- 

 ard of efficiency of present-dav young gardeners with 

 those of past generations. The young gardeners of to- 

 day are too often the subject of unjust and biased criti- 

 cism by members of the old school, but most assuredly 

 the high standard to which gardening has now attained 

 has been, and still is, being wrought by the alert, keenly 

 interested and industrious young men of the profession 

 equally as much, if not more, than by the old-timers. 

 The whole basis of horticulture has developed until now 

 we have gardening schemes that were never dreamt of 

 twenty or thirty years ago. This being so, is it not true 

 that in order to become thoroughly proficient a young 

 gardener has nowadays a more complex problem to deal 

 with than was hitherto the case? 



Gardening of today demands of a man a keener in- 

 tellect, untiring industry and uniform courtesy, as well 

 as a knowledge of science, since he is e.xpected to know 

 the chemical constituents of the various fertilizers, in- 

 secticides and fungicides which he handles, to say noth- 

 ing of the engineering side of things. 



How often nowadays are gardeners called upon to 

 superintend electric light plants, pumping engines, and 

 so forth? 



To mv mind this adverse criticism to which we all are 

 too frequently subject is due to the fact that we ourselves 

 are reluctant in giving publicity to our own convictions. 

 Surely those of us who have a sufficient love for our 

 calling to become members of the National Association, 

 and readers of the official organ, could, if only we tried, 

 make the paper even more interesting for one another 

 by an occasional contribution to its pages. 



We could scarcely hope to enlighten the old-time war- 

 riors, farther than letting them see that we were right 

 on the path of fitting ourselves to become their worthy 

 successors bv aiming at something higher than a mere 

 struggle for an existence to be gained from the land we 

 cultivate. 



The daily charm which our environment affords at 

 different seasons of the year would cease were it possible 

 to maintain a sameness of things the year round. To the 

 enthusiast each change of season brings its own peculiar 

 enchantment, and lovers of horticulture ought to be 

 grateful that the year and the human heart have room 

 for changes. 



To what end. then, would this aptitude for acquiring 

 a literary talent lead us? Surely to a wider conception 

 as to future requirements of the gardening art and a 

 fresh interest in life, besides its being a stimulus to our 

 daily work. Men who live entirely within their own little 

 sphere in time become narrow of perception, and the 

 humdrum of their daily toil proves burdensome, even 

 though they themselves might be physically fit. Most of 

 us can do our share of the actual work, but when ar- 

 rangements for future months and, indeed, some times 

 years, come under consideration, we shall feel the bene- 

 fit to be gleaned at this time from a careful and frequent 

 exercise of our own minds, and the more scope we allow 

 ourselves in this direction the better equipped shall we 

 be to take the place of those who are wont to criticise 

 our feeble yet earnest efforts. 



"A Young Member." 



Southampton, N. Y. 



soliool liave liecn lookiiijj on nml like the young rooster, would 

 like to try a hand a-crowing now tliat the old ones are through, 

 or apparentlj- so. So we beg to be allowed to set forth our views 

 as one who is working in the ranks of assistant gardeners and 

 therefore able to bear the trend of feeling in tliat direction. The 

 desire of most persons who enter gardening is to get to the top, 

 and that as soon as possible. So should it be; but there is one 

 very iin[iortant faetor which many seem to overlook. "'Will I be 

 competent to hold a job and can I give results that would reflect 

 credit upan the profession to which I belong?" is a thought that 

 occurs to a very small percentage. The fact that a man has 

 worked as assistant for fifteen years, or that he is thirty years 

 old next birthday, does not make him a competent gardener any 

 more than because he can run a gi'eenhouse satisfactorily he can 

 also manage an estate. Another thing that is responsible for 

 inefficiency among gardeners is tliat as soon as a young man 

 enters the business lie wants a job in the "houses" so as to be 

 steady, and no attention whatever is paid to the outdoor 

 branches of the work once he has started to pull weeds out of 

 the benches and scrub the walks. Furthermore, there are some in 

 our ranks who have had a limited experience in more than one 

 branch of the art, and who do think they are fully equipped for 

 the many duties that devolve upon the real gardener. 



A sliort time ago we read in a well known trade paper an ad- 

 vertisement something like this; 



"WAXTED — Situation as Head Gardener or Superintend- 

 ent on gentleman's country estate. Life experience in all 

 branches of horticulture. First-class references. Age 23." 

 Comment is needless, but this serves to show that some who 

 enter the profession think it can be learned in a very short time. 

 Fifteen years seems a long time to put in before one becomes a 

 competent gardener, but many of our best men put in all that 

 and some more before they get out on their own book, and they 

 undoubtedly did a good deal of private study on subjects which 

 are side issues so far as gardening itself is concerned, but which, 

 nevertheless, are indispensable in the management of a country 

 estate. The moral of all this is that there are too many "neg- 

 lected opportunities" amongst tlie raw material from which the 

 estate manager is recruited or should be recruited. After many 

 of us have neglected our opportunities we become restless and 

 dissatisfied and determine to start out for ourselves. A place 

 turns up. and there are others like us who feel the same way, 

 but there is the determination to have the job at even .$.50, so on 

 goes the price-cutting until the poor fellow has succeeded in per- 

 suading himself that he has at last made his mark and the em- 

 ployer deluded into believing that he has engaged the services of 

 a competent man at low water rates. 



The fact that such methods are resorted to needs only the evi- 

 dence of the men who hold sucli low priced jobs and who, as Mr. 

 Smith says, are only too well paid. These same men when they 

 were assistants would have refused .a place which would have 

 afl"orded them a wide and useful field of experience if the wages 

 were not at least $!i per month more than they had in the pre- 

 vious place. So again we have to admit that as assistants we 

 prefer wages to knowledge and experience. In Europe it is 

 quite the custom to sacrifice wages to get to a place that has a 

 reputation; in fact, to the British jonrnev'man gardener, wages 

 are a secondary consideration. Hence the success of the British 

 gardener. 



In conclusion we want to say to Mr. Watson that we believe 

 that the cause of low wages is incompetent gardeners, who have 

 only themselves to blame for their incompetence. AVe believe, 

 however, that there is some good old stuff among the boys yet, 

 and, like many of our bosses, we only want a little encourage- 

 ment and credit where it is due. to help us along, and we are 

 prepared to listen, too — at least some of us. 



An AS.SISTANT. 



The above communications convey the right tone in 

 them. They should be carefull}' read by the young men of 

 the profession and the suggestions contained in them 

 carefully pondered over. We know "A Young Member" 

 and would like "An Assistant" to make himself known 

 to us. We enjoy cultivating the acquaintance of young 

 gardeners of the type which these writers e.xpress. — 

 Editor. 



REASON OF CHEAP GARDENERS. 



From Horticulture. 



While Mr. Watson has been breaking a lance with the secre- 

 tary of the N. A. 0. respecting the merits and demerits of the 

 aims and objects of that organization, some of the younger 



A GARDENER'S GRIEVANCES. 



December 19, 1913. 



Mr. M. C. Ebel, Sec. N. A. G. 



Dear Sir: In your report at the annual convention at New 

 York City, you invite suggestions from members for the benefit 

 of the gardening profession. I should like to know, as one of the 

 many in the profession who arc desirous of the same informa- 

 tion, and who would register in the ranks of the N. A. G.: "What 



