THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



167 



fessioi>al education, who are not receiving the appreci- 

 ation nor remuneration they deserve. To the average 

 professional man in the fullest sense of the term his 

 work IS a labor of love to which he gives his entire self. 

 Many men are discouraged and prevented putting forth 

 tiieir hcsl hy reason of want of encouragement on the 

 part of their employers. A man takes up his work day 

 by day with renewed vigor if he knows that he is ap- 

 preciated; that his constant striving after more and bet- 

 ter results — frequently under difficulties which his em- 

 ployer could remove — is recognized and that his position 

 as a professional man is acknowledged. This goes further 

 than an increase in salary. Not that an increase in one's 

 income is unwelcome to any one, but no amount of salary 

 will compensate for want of appreciation, especially when 

 coupled with a policy of pettv pinpricks and a constant 

 inculcation of the idea that a professional gardener is 

 nothing more than a servant. 



Referring to the men who will take a position as gar- 

 dener for the wages of an ordinary laborer, I do not think 

 we need worry ourselves about the competition of these 

 mongrel gardeners, for the competition is more likely to 

 come from another and higher direction. 



It is no doubt a truism that lookers on see most of the 

 game, and a man whose position enaliles him to see very 

 clearly facts both inside and surrounding our profession, 

 said to me early this year, "If you gardeners don't wake 

 tip you'll find your occupation gone." He alluded to the 

 fact that men are graduating every year from colleges 

 who have taken the course in agriculture and kindred 

 subjects and wiio for that reason consider themselves 

 fitted to take charge of private estates. This is the di- 

 rection from which the competition is coming. If we 

 wish to hold our own and oI)tain that full recognitinn 

 and remuneration to which the requirements of our pro- 

 fession entitles us, we must take steps to put ourselves 

 really in the professional class by acknowledging the 

 value and necessity of scientific knowledge. 



Employers are in many cases under the impression 

 that a college man is necessarily better than one without 

 college education. The college man lacks practical ex- 

 perience and until he gets this he will be as onesided 

 as the practical man is without the scientific knowledge. 

 In the latter part of July an advertisement for an estate 

 manager contained the words, "Xo college graduate 

 need apply." 



Unfortunately the average practical man ignores the 

 value of science. This has probably been caused by bis 

 confusing the facts of science with the mere theories of 

 scientists. It is not necessary to attend a college to get a 

 working knowledge of the scientific principles of our pro- 

 fession, for by attending the Fireside University we can 

 place ourselves in the position of having a far wider and 

 deeper professional knowledge than the man who goes 

 through college before he has had anv practical experi- 

 €nce. 



The best of us must realize that we do not know it all 

 We must give more time to the reading of hfgh-class tech- 

 nical publications and scientific text books. I have always 

 thought it a great pity that a publication like Garden and 

 Forest ceased to exist because it did not receive sufficient 

 support from us. It was a thousand times ahead of any- 

 thing published in this country both before and since: 

 that it had to be given up was the reverse of creditalilc to 

 the profession and proves how little is the general desire 

 for greater technical knowledge. 



.\t any rate we must open our eyes to the fact that sci- 

 entific education in our profession has come to stay. Uni- 

 versities all over the world are placing farming, garden- 

 ing and forestry in a position of greater prominence. 

 Those who know what Oxford and Camhrids'c universi- 



ties have stood for during nianv Inuidreds of years will 

 realize this when they know that these have now placed 

 our profession upon the .same footing as all the other 

 learned professions have ])reviously stood. The impor- 

 tance of a wider education along these lines is now rec- 

 ognized in Britain by the fact that the possession of a 

 diploma by those seeking positions as head gardeners is 

 becoming imperative there. This will, I hope, be the case 

 in this country before many years. 



I am afraid my time has more than expired, but to sum 

 up the matter we must realize that our future depends 

 upon ourselves, and the first step in uplifting our profes- 

 sion must be that of rallying together and forming a 

 strong association. We must grasp the fact that our po- 

 sition in the horticultural world is totally distinct and 

 different from that of the other interests within it, we 

 shall have to stand or fall by ourselves. 



1 lorticulture supports numerous societies, which it is 

 unnecessary to recapitulate. Each of these societies have 

 been formed for dealing with the special interests in- 

 volved and for no other. All these societies can, and it is 

 desirable that they should, cooperate with each other and 

 with all in the interests of horticulture as a whole. lUit 

 we must not forget that while cooperation is one thing 

 amalgamation is something entirely different. Take, for 

 instance, what the Rose Societv has accomplished during 

 'le past few years. Supposing that roses, sweet peas, and 

 all the other flowers having their own societies had all 

 been in one society what progress would have been ac- 

 complished in connection with each of them? I venture 

 Id think very little. 



Then take ourselves. The commercial florist has no 

 more knowledge of our distinctive problems than we have 

 of his. He has his own troubles which are obviously 

 upon an entirely different plane to our own. If at any 

 lit our interests touch that is the place where we can 

 cooperate. But no society has anything to gain, in fact, 

 everything to lose, by amalgamating with any other whose 

 wiirk is upon an entirely distinct basis. 



We desire neither patronage nor charity, and I should 

 bojie we have not yet reached the low stage of seeking 

 [leople to do something for us. If a profession like ours, 

 after existing for many thousands of years has not suffi- 

 cient backbone to do things for itself, then the time has 

 arrived when it might as well cease to exist altogether. 



However strong any individual organization may be- 

 come among those connected with its special interests, I 

 do not see how that fact can cki harm to any of the 

 others. 



( )ne is. however, led to think that there are persons 

 within the bounds of horticulture who consider a strong 

 and virile National .\ssociation of Gardeners a thing to 

 l)e deplored. They appear to be jealous of the progress 

 we are making, as if our growth were their misfortune. 



If there are some who object to our "playing in their 

 \ard" it is of little consequence. < >ur yard extends frt)m 

 .Maine to California, and no one need care a continental, 

 so far as our professional interests are concerned, whether 

 l)oston. New York, I'liiladelphia, or any other city, is the 

 Hub of the Universe : in this matter every one has a right 

 to his opinion, but lie must be manly enough to concede 

 to others the right to theirs. 



Taking horticulture as a whole, we occujiy a far more 

 important position than any other section of that indus- 

 try. .\ccording to the census returns for l')00 (those 

 for 1910 not being yet complete) gardeners numbered 

 thirty-eight thousand and commercial florists seventeen 

 thousand. Of course, the numbers are in both cases 

 greater today, Init there is no reason for supposing that 

 there is anv projiortionate difference. Xo two distinct 

 fields of work can [lossilily be served by one organization. 



