xiv. IRISH GARDENING. 



Advertisements. 



over a hundred, too, and some nearer four feet than 

 three ; but, of course, " thraneen prices." The}' had 

 simpl)- been Hfted straig-ht out of the cutting- bed, and 

 not even once transplanted, and we completed the 

 nursery prog^ramme by cutting- them down and planting- 

 them out in a nursery bed, with eventual transplanting, 

 until at the fourth of the year they were presentable 

 plants, but had probably cost more than sixpence each. 

 Now if plants under these conditions were purchased on 

 the understanding that the gardener was to complete 

 the nursing process, well and good, which obviously no 

 one wants to do, there would he nothing- more to say on 

 this head ; but, as remarked, gardeners should have pro- 

 tection in this matter and not be blamed for failures for 

 which they are not responsible. As regards fruit-tree 

 planting-, especially under its commercial aspect, it is 

 a much more serious matter to furnish a farmer with, 

 say, apple trees on parallel lines — a farmer who has 

 neither knowledg-e nor inclination to complete the 

 nurseryman's business, even if it were possible to do 

 it with such raw material, which is doubtful — is not the 

 way to push fruit farmii-ig- in Ireland, or anywhere else. 

 There is uo man so well fitted for this nursery work as 

 the nurser\-man, but as none yet ciriy out the work on 

 purely philanthropic lines, he has to be paid, and the 

 hig-her priced article is exactly the difference summed up 

 in rent, labour, and skill; and very possibly the cheap (?) 

 tree yields the highest profit to the vendor— that is, he 

 who caters for barg-ain-hunters, which no firm of repute 

 can afford to do. There is another phase of this question 

 which barg-ain-hunters are not apparently conversant 

 with, and one not pertaining- to rubbish but to con- 

 tinental g-rown subjects, which are produced under in- 

 finitely cheaper conditions than obtain, or are ever likeh' 

 to obtain, at home. Other thing's being- equal there is, 

 of course, no reason why purchasers should not avail of 

 the cheaper article. But other things are not equal, 

 and well the nurseryman knows it who merely acts as 

 agent between g-rower and customer, which, needless to 

 sav, is not set forth in the advertisement. One orders. 



for example, certain things from a nurseryman under 

 the impression that such things are his own production, 

 whereas, as a matter of fact, under this phase of it the 

 trees, shrubs or what-not, come direct from Holland and 

 are re-labelled, possibly repacked, at the nursery and sent 

 on to the customer. Now what is termed " Dutch stuff" 

 is grand to look at— such clean growth, and luxuriant 

 leafage — and the purchaser may well think he has a 

 bargain until he finds the "stuff "get smaller b\' de- 

 grees and beautifully less ; then he knows there is some- 

 thing wrong, and the gardener is fortunate if he is not 

 made the scapegoat. There is a vast difference be- 

 tween the climatic conditions of Holland and Irelaiid, 

 and if this imported stuff was properly acclimatised in 

 the nursery imder, say, one or two years' nursery treat- 

 ment there would be nothing to object to, for probably 

 nothing was the matter. That, at least, is the writer's ex- 

 perience of Dutch nursery produce. Some do carry out 

 this vitally necessary acclimatising, which, of course, 

 adds something to the price : it has to be paid for ; but 

 some don't, hence the evil. That the latter manage to 

 retain trade is, we suppose, owing to the willingness of 

 the public to be fooled, oral least a portion of the public, 

 and this keeps their ball of trade rolling. But, as a 

 statesman said, you cannot fool all the public all the time, 

 and it is not on these lines that our great nurserymen 

 have not only built up solid reputations but retained them 

 in the face of a keenness of competition unknown when 

 they started. Why the very names of such firms are 

 names to conjure with in the great gardening world ; 

 but, in coiiclusion, there are plenty of smaller men in the 

 trade who work on the straight lines that honesty is the 

 best polic\'. Some, indeed, go even higher in their in- 

 terpretation of the old proverb, and believe that honesty 

 is the best principle, for a principle is on a higher 

 pedestal than a policy. And in this, as in aught else, 



" Honour and fame from no condition rise : 

 Act well your part, there all the Honour lies." 



E. Knowldin, F. R.H.S. 



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(Jem Collection B 



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Collection lA — 200 seeds of each of the above, 4/6 Collection iB — 200 seeds of each of the above, 3/= 

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Collection 3A— 50 ,, ,, ,, 1/6 Collection 3B— 50 ,, ,, ,, i/= 



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 Collections No. 3 A and No. 3B together for 2/6. 



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