June 6, 1914 



HORTICULTURE 



835 



E PLURIBUS UNUM. 

 The editor of Horticiltuhe has done 

 many fine things during the ten years 

 he has conducted his unique journal; 

 but among them nothing finer than 

 the finds he has made among eminent 

 horticulturists who could write. 



Men like Jenkins. Farrell, Pope and 

 many others, have been a revelation 

 to us and have been the means of set- 

 ting a new pace and a new standard 

 in horticultural literature and prac- 

 tice. This service Is beyond money 

 and beyond price. It has elevated the 

 standard of thought and action to an 

 extent little realized by the man who 

 has only time to skim the headlines — 

 too busy to sit down and think things 

 over. 



The latest find of Hortri^ltike, to 

 my mind, Is Arthur Smith. I have no 

 idea where he came from, but his ar- 

 ticle in last week's issue on the gar- 

 dener's problem is fine and indicates 

 more than local training. That is the 

 kind of literature we are badly in need 

 of in the United States. He discusses 

 things from a broad and experienced 

 point of view, and it is a great plea- 

 sure to hear from him. Let us hope 

 ve may hear from him some more. 



One of the most pleasing things to 

 the writer is that he advocates all the 

 things the writer has expressed him- 

 self on. The things he disagrees with 

 are the things other men set up as 

 straw men — when they are short of 

 argument. So you see Mr. Smith and 

 yours truly are on an even keel and 

 can have a little friendly talk without 

 getting warm on any point. That pos- 

 tulate is always essential when any 

 question is to be thrashed out. 



Now then, in all good humor; about 

 this "B Pluribus Unum" business. 

 (United we stand, divided we fall.) 

 What did we fight and bleed and die 

 for in 1776 but for E Pluribus? If we 

 grocerymen get tired cutting each 

 other's throats in this year 1914 and 

 get together to agree on a living price 

 — Where's the harm? If we lads with 

 our only commodity — labor — get to- 

 gether in the same way, where's the 

 harm? Parenthetically it may be well 

 to emphasize the fact that labor is the 

 commodity the laborer has to sell and 

 is subject to the law of supply and de- 

 mand — like all other commodities. If 

 E Pluribus is good for one commodity 

 it is good for all. The prophet, priest 

 and king; the professor, scientist or 

 philosopher, are no exceptions, any 

 more than the merchant or the 

 laborer, to this rule. 



Now, another small point. About 

 the seedsmen. Granted, some seeds- 

 men are too busy to exercise that dis- 

 cretion and judgment ( which I think 

 they should) about the thousands of 

 men who call on them for jobs and 

 which houses like Farquhar. Hender- 

 son and Dreer positively do, and al- 

 ways have done, what then? Where 

 is the obligation? They are business 

 men. They have their rent, wages 

 and taxes to pay; and their first duty 

 is to pay their just debts. If they 

 should be generous enough to become 

 an altruistic institution for the bene- 

 fit of the gardener the gardener ought 

 to be thankful. I am not defending 

 the seedsmen. They need no defence. 

 If some of them are high-minded and 



good-hearted far beyond ordinary busi- 

 ness practice that is a matter for glori- 

 fication of such who do, but not for 

 condemnation of those who don't. 



Now about those "exams" and the 

 diploma; is the gardeners' society big 

 enough yet to handle that? It is by 

 no means on a plane with the Royal 

 Horticultural Society so far as I can 

 see it. 



But anyway, the ice has been 

 broken and further discussion will be 

 of educative value and helpful to all 

 interested. And everyone in the trade 

 — fiorist, seedsman, nurseryman, all 

 the trade — is interested in the gar- 

 dener, directly or indirectly. Let us 

 hear from some others. And let every 

 one stick to fundamentals and forget 

 personalities. I submit this as the 

 next question. Are not low wages the 

 cause of the scarcity of first-class 

 gardeners? George C. W.\tso.n. 



THE VERDICT, 



Editor Hokticultuke: 



Mr. Watson, in summing up our dis- 

 cussion which has now occupied space 

 in your columns for some weeks past, 

 charges that "Mr. Ebel now admits 

 that educating the employer up to the 

 point where he will pay his gardener 

 a decent salary is not "a fallacy" as he 

 at first claimed. In fact he claims that 

 same thing is now being done." 



Mr. Ebel has admitted nothing of the 

 sort! I have never declared that such 

 education, of which I am a strong ad- 

 vocate, is "a fallacy;" but I have de- 

 clared that "All credit for promulgat- 

 ing the fallacy that those who may 

 require the services of gardeners can 

 be educated that the gardeners' mini- 

 mum wage scale must be $100 shall 

 go to those who foster it." 



1 will contribute $100 to any worthy 

 cause that Mr. Watson may name, if 

 he can show, or that anyone else may 

 name who can show how, what I am 

 charged with stating can in any wise 

 be construed into an identical mean- 

 ing with anything I really did state. 



As Pope says: 



"Words are like leaves, and where tbey 



most al)ouiid. 

 Mucb fruit o£ sense beneath is seldcnn 



found." 



M. C. Erei.. 



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