no WOMEN-GARDENERS 



ing journeymen to the poor forsaken gardens of 

 England. 



One obstacle has, however, been very evident, 

 and as it is one which arises in connection with all 

 women's work, I think it advisable to lay stress 

 upon it. Amongst 300 ladies who inquired about 

 gardening upon this occasion, only some twenty 

 were able to afford the expenses of training. The 

 matter is a serious one and shows very plainly why 

 women, up to now, have been so crippled and 

 impeded in pushing forward into public careers. 

 How is it possible to become proficient without 

 devoting sufficient time and money to a study ? I 

 believe that in some foreign countries such as 

 Denmark and Holland women are given liberal 

 education which enables them later to do justice 

 to their calling, but in England we are slow at 

 introducing new ideas and it has always been con- 

 sidered all-important to educate a son by means 

 of an expensive training, but daughters have been 

 left to manage as best they could. Probably the 

 upheaval of all past ideas, as well as the diminished 

 incomes which we have to prepare ourselves to face 

 in years to come, will result in women being forced 

 from their earliest years to train themselves for a 

 career in the same efficient way that men have 

 always prepared themselves for a profession. 



Often, in time of peace, we are asked to recom- 

 mend a lady-gardener who could spend some days 

 each week, or perhaps go for six weeks at a time, 

 to stay as a friend with a single lady who is in- 

 terested in gardening but needs guidance as to the 

 correct way of carrying out certain operations. It 



