Expenses of a Gardener and Butler. 33 



Gardener's Magazine will be open to the discussion of this 

 subject, as well as to that of every other connected with the 

 advancement of horticulture and its professors. 



I would venture to suggest to the nurserymen, that it is in 

 their power materially to promote the comfort of gardeners, 

 consistently with the benefit of all parties concerned. I would 

 suggest that when applied to, as they frequently are, to recom- 

 mend gardeners at an insufficient salary, they would, in a 

 reasonable and candid manner, remind their applicants of the 

 nature of the services which they require; and that these ser- 

 vices, if paid below their fair value, will never be performed 

 so well as if the performer were conscious of being properly 

 treated. It can only be from not having this properly pointed 

 out to them, that gentlemen offer much lower wages to a 

 gardener, than to other servants whose duties have much less 

 of responsibility attached to them, and who require much less 

 mental cultivation and general knowledge to fit them for their 

 situations. 



Let us take the case of a gardener and a butler, and sup- 

 pose a gentleman to take two boys of fourteen years old into 

 his service, in order to bring them up for these two depart- 

 ments of his establishment. The boy in the garden will be 

 considered well paid with 7s. a week for the first year, and 

 one shilling advance each year, for the next three years, 

 making the sum of 88/. 8s. for the four years. Then suppose 

 the other boy to be placed in the stables for the first four 

 years; he will perhaps have 4/. for the first year, and 1/. ad- 

 vance each of the three succeeding years, and 6s. per week 

 for board wages, with two suits of clothes value 8/. each a 

 year, making the sum of 116/. 85. for the four years. Then 

 the next three years the youth in the garden will have lis. 

 12s. and 13s. per week, making the sum of 93/. 125. for the 

 three last years of his apprenticeship. Then suppose the 

 other youth to be taken into the house as steward's-room-boy ; 

 he will have 9/. and 10/. a year, with 7s. per week board 

 wages, and two suits of clothes a year which will cost 10/. 

 each, making the sum of 114/. 12s. for the three years. 

 Again, suppose the young gardener to be four years a jour- 

 neyman, and have 145. per week, which will amount to 145/. 

 125.; and the other young man made footman or under-butler 

 for four years with 1 8/. a year wages, 85. a week board wages, 

 and two suits of clothes each year, and a great coat every two 

 years; this will amount to about 14/. 55. each year, making 

 the sum of 202/. 45. for the four years. Thus the house ser- 

 vant will be found to have cost the gentleman more by 1 1 51. 



Vol. III. — No. 9. d 



