428 Advantapes to Gardeners 



to' 



but mark the difference : as an equivalent, the mechanic 

 either has his half hour for tea every afternoon, as is often 

 practised about London, or he leaves off working at three or 

 four o'clock on Saturday afternoon; while the gardener and 

 labourer must continue to work on to the usual period on 

 that day as well as on the others. Why, in this respect, make 

 such a difference betwixt the mechanic and the labourer ? 

 Why give to the one privileges which are withheld from the 

 other? While manufacturers, &c., have had their periods of 

 prosperity and adversity, a constant succession of hardships 

 has long been the fate of the agricultural labourer. When 

 any class of artisans, &c., is depressed in circumstances, the 

 country resounds with the intelligence, petitions are poured 

 into Parliament on their behalf, aqd subscriptions are entered 

 into to relieve their present necessities ; but, notwithstanding 

 the continued hardships of the humble labourer's lot, how 

 few have endeavoured to improve his condition ! No beam 

 of light, as a messenger of hope, has darted through the 

 gloom which overshadows his path; but, lost, bewildered, he 

 sinks into apathy and indifference, and becomes regardless of 

 a life which is attended with so much misery and oppression. 

 In a great number of instances, the only happiness which the 

 labourers possess, and which renders their life at all endur- 

 able, seems to be derived from their belief in a future state of 

 existence, where they will be set free from their troubles and 

 their woes, and enjoy an uninterrupted tranquillity and repose. 

 I hope you will excuse this seeming digression, as I revert 

 to the subject more immediately in question. 



It must, at the first glance, be apparent, that many advan- 

 tages would be the result of placing gardeners and labourers, 

 in respect to their Saturday's work, upon an equal footing 

 with mechanics. The young gardener would then have 

 many opportunities of visiting places, &c., which at present 

 he cannot accomplish. In many establishments a young man 

 cannot get away part of a day without his pay being stopped, 

 which his pecuniary circumstances often make him ill able to 

 afford. Sunday is the only time he possesses for knowing 

 what is doing around him, and, resolved to make as much as 

 possible of one day, his tours for improvement often turn out 

 a very laborious toil, instead of a pleasant recreation. The 

 possession of the Saturday afternoon would be a very valuable 

 acquisition, especially to those who, from conscientious motives, 

 do not feel inclined to make a practice of travelling upon the 

 Sabbath. Besides, a young man might enter into an agree- 

 ment with his master, that, by working a certain number of 

 Saturday afternoons, he nn'ght obtain a day to himself, when 



