in acquiring Knowledge. 1 7 1 



would ; and thus the young men, knowing how much they are 

 exposed to the effects of their master's caprice, are forced 

 silently to put up with systems of oppression which they de- 

 test and abhor. In most cases I believe the practice originates 

 in the selfishness of the master, who, to obtain a little praise 

 to himself, strives to keep up a better appearance than the 

 number of his assistants admits of; thus not only renderino- 

 the place uncomfortable to his men, but unpleasant to the 

 next gardener who may come in his room. I have taken no- 

 tice of this species of oppression, for the purpose of drawing 

 toward it the attention of the employers of gardeners, as, from 

 several circumstances which have fallen under my observation, 

 I am inclined to think that in general they are unacquainted 

 with the practice. 



The last disadvantage to which 1 would allude is, the very 

 imcomfortable hovels in which, in many instances, the young 

 men are lodged. It is a common practice, especially in Scot- 

 land, for the young men employed in the garden to be lodged 

 upon the premises, and yet seldom is there any place thought 

 of for them until all the buildings are completed, and then, as 

 a matter of course, one of the sheds behind the houses gets a 

 sort of fit up for their reception. There are many comfort- 

 able rooms thus formed ; but I know of instances where they 

 are so cold, damp, and gloomy [see Vol. VIII. p. 596.], as to 

 be totally unfit for human habitations. Not only do these 

 uncomfortable abodes, by the unpleasant sensations they 

 create, operate to a certain extent as barriers to mental im- 

 provement ; but the young men, being incited to seek that 

 pleasure abroad which they cannot enjoy at home, are often 

 thus driven to form those habits of unsteadiness and dissipa- 

 tion which are both ruinous to themselves and prejudicial to 

 the interests of their employers. I am fully convinced that, 

 for the removal of this evil, in the greater number of instances, 

 little more would be necessary than pointing it out to the 

 nobleman or gentleman : but the principles of some men seem 

 to be such, that, instead of endeavouring to diffuse happiness 

 ai'ound them, they feel a sort of pleasure in contrasting their 

 own commodious dwellings with the damp, dirty, unwhole- 

 some dungeons of those who are their inferiors. I can scarcely 

 expect that you should devote any of your pages to plans for the 

 abodes of assistants, as you are doing for head gardeners ; but, 

 that you may be fully convinced of the truth of my statements, 

 I request that, when you again take a tour through the coun- 

 try, you will take a peep at some of those abominable filthy 

 holes, often appropriated for us, which have already proved, 



