Horticultural Society and Garden. 



245 



A. Yes, very great inconvenience. 



Q. You could not act in consequence of their 

 not being attended to? 



A. No, certainly not. 



Q. Did you ever act of your own will in any 

 thing relative tothegarden, without reference 

 to any report, and did you ever receive a re. 

 primand for so doing ? 



A. Sometimes I did, certainly ; I was obliged 

 to act without getting an answer to the re- 

 ports very often. 



Q. Was it contrary to the wish of Mr. Sa- 

 bine that you should so act ? 



A. I cannot say for certain that those re- 

 ports though they have never been answered, 

 have not been looked at. 



Q. I did not so understand ; but have you 

 ever been reprimanded for acting without or- 

 ders ? 



A. Yes, I have been. 



Q. In your opinion, don't you think there 

 has been a considerable waste of time in the 

 perfection of those reports, ac well as a waste 

 of paper and stationery ? 



Gardeners sent out by the Society. — Extract from the evidence of Mr. Sabine. 



A. Certainly, a great waste of time, and a 

 great waste of paper. 



Q. Without any sufficient advantage ? 



A. Without any good whatever. 



S. Do you consider that the control under 

 which you act as gardener of the Society so 

 far interferes with your business, as to prevent 

 you in some instances cultivating the garden 

 in the best manner? 



A. In a great many instances. 



Q. Do you think if you had been allowed to 

 act on your own discretion, that you would 

 have produced more beneficial results from the 

 cultivation of the garden ? 



A. Certainly ; had I been allowed to do as 

 I pleased, instead of being called upon to do as 

 the Secretary thought proper. If the garden 

 had been under my charge, the things would 

 have gone on in the regular way, and the gar- 

 den would have been a great deal better. 



Q. In short, the interference of the Secre- 

 tary produced an inconvenience ? 



A . Certainly, as far as cultivation goes. 



Mr. Sabine produced to the Committee a 

 list of the gardeners who had been recom- 

 mended by the Society, and expressed himself 

 proud of them. The first class of men are 

 those who receive about 100Z. a year, some of 

 them much more; they are first-rate gar- 

 deners. Has had some applications for gar- 

 deners a second time, and mentioned Walter 

 Burrell, Esq., and some other gentlemen. The 

 second class are fit to be gardeners to any gen- 

 tlemen, and are going on well. M'Culloch is 

 with the Pacha of Egypt, who has two gar- 

 deners from the Society, The salaries of one 

 of the gardeners who went from this Society is 

 said to be equal to 500/. per annum, and of 

 another 300/. a year. The gardeners are in- 

 structed at the garden, their conduct and be- 



haviour is under the inspection of Mr. Sabine. 

 The gardeners are there sometimes three or 

 four years. He does not wish them to come 

 quite as youngsters ; they could not obtain 

 much knowledge in forcing vines. Those who 

 had no instructions when they came were kept 

 a certain time, then sent out to private gar- 

 dens, and afterwards taken back. They could 

 not learn the forcing of vines, but would learn 

 especially the manner to force pines, and every 

 thing relating to training trees. The trees are 

 well trained and pruned, Stephenson never 

 came back to Mr. Sabine, after losing his 

 place, therefore he supposes there was some- 

 thing wrong. Watchingthe moral conduct of 

 the gardeners has been particularly observed. 



Gardeners sent out by the Society. — Extract from the evidence of Mr. 



Munro. 



Q. A great many men have been sent from 

 the garden to different situations as gardeners 

 since you have been there, I believe ? 

 „ A. Yes. 



Q. Do you consider that those gardeners 

 who have turned out well, and been highl". 

 approved of at the different places, have aci v 

 quired the better part of their information 

 from the Horticultural Garden, or that they 

 were good gardeners before they came ? 



A. They are a great deal in the garden. 



Q. But were they good gardeners before 

 they came? 



A. Some of them were, and some were not, 

 and some according to the nature of the pu- 

 pils themselves ; they could learn a great deal 

 if they were willing to learn. 



Q. Certain experiments were going on there, 

 and if they liked to attend to them, and read 

 at the same time respecting them, they had 

 the means of getting a good deal of inform- 

 ation ? 



A. Yes, we had plants, trees, and different 

 things, — proving the names of things of that 

 sort is very useful, and this they could not get 

 in a great many gardens. 



Gardeners sent out by the Society. — Extracts from the evidence of Mr. 

 William Beattie Booth. 



Q. How long have you been in the employ- 

 ment of the Society ? 



A. Six years. 



Q. Do you conceive, if you had come to the 

 Society without having any previous know- 

 ledge of gardening, you could have acquired 

 sufficient knowledge in the service of the So- 

 ciety, so as to become what is called a good 

 gardener ? 



A. No, I do not. 

 1 Q. Do you conceive you have generally 

 greatly improved yourself in your profession 

 as a gardener ? 



A. In various branches I have. 



Q. In some branches you have ? 



A. Yes. 



Q. Should you say that, upon the whole, 

 the garden of the Society was a good and effi- 

 cient school for young gardeners? 



A. Not such as a gentleman's garden is. 



Q. Why is it not so good a school as a gen- 

 tleman's garden is ? 



A. Because there is no family to supply in 

 the kitchen department. In a gentleman's 

 garden there is always a supply required at 

 the seasons of the year when the different pro- 

 ductions should be in season, and the gardener 

 always studies to have them at that period ; 

 but in the Society's garden it is not the case, 

 there is no supply. 



Q. Have there not been various gardeners 

 recommended by the Horticultural Society to 

 different gentlemen ? 



A. Yes. 



Q. Have they given satisfaction generally? 



A. I conceive many of them to have given 

 satisfaction, but then they were good gardeners 

 before they came to the Society. 



Q. You do not think, then, that those gar- 

 deners who have been recommended by the 



R 3 



