Till-: SCIENTIFIC EDUCATION OF GAUUENERS. \d\) 



MEETING FOR DISCUSSION. 

 The Scientific Education of Gardeners. 



By Charles Linn.kus Allex, Floral Park, N. Y. 



Edueatiou is the developmeut of the human faculties and the 

 traiuiug of them in such a manner that all the forces of the 

 intellect act in harmony in whatever direction reason or taste 

 dictates. Education, when united with industry- and perseverance, 

 enables a man to reach the highest social, political, professional, 

 or business position. 



All that there is or can be gained in life is proportionate to the 

 development and application of our natural gifts. As a rule, 

 intelligence, the fruit of education, combined with industry, 

 invariably wins ; while ignorance as surely fails in solving the 

 great problem of life, — how to secure success. This principle is 

 universal in its application. It applies to all men and to all con- 

 ditions of life. It does not affect the principle that some men of 

 rare intelligence do not succeed in business, or that some ciuite 

 illiterate or ignorant men are prosperous. There are many causes 

 of failure other than educational, but there is one fact which can- 

 not be disputed, namely, that no business ever prospered unless 

 talent, trained or untrained, stood at the helm. The occa- 

 sional success of a man in business who rarely reads and never 

 writes anything more than sometimes to sign his name, shows us 

 a man of natural talent who would have been a power for good in 

 the land had his mind been properly educated or disciplined. The 

 well educated man is, relatively, a great many men, for, besides 

 his own natural resources, he has the experiences and observations 

 of other men to guide him. It is onlj^ the liberal-minded man who 

 will profit by the experience of others ; he learns both b}' their 

 successes and failures: 



The greater our natural abilities, the more important it is that 

 they should be properly trained. Talent should be wisely 

 directed. Untrained talent is a dangerous element ; it is like a 

 spirited but unbroken horse, quite as liable to go wrong as right. 

 Confucius said, " Learning Avithout thought is labor lost. Thought 

 without learning is perilous." This truism frequently confronts us 

 in our business relations. That all men should be educated in 

 order to develop their full capabilities, does not admit of a doubt, 

 the only difference in opinion being as to the degree. 



