February 28, 1871. ] 



JOURNAL OB' HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENEE, 



141 



stool late in the autumn of 1868 ; and on the 2ncl of January 

 1870 I out a fruit from it weighing almost 7 lbs. On the same 

 date I cut a Smooth Cayenne 5J lbs. weight, and sent them 

 both to the dessert on the same day. When the seedling was 

 cut, the juice fliwed from it, covering the bottom of the plate 

 as it a sauce had been poured over it. The Smooth Cayenne, 

 in comparison with the seedling, was dry and juiceless. True, 

 the latter grew in the row of plants next the outside of the bed, 

 and probably had even less bottom heat than the seedling. 



I may state that the dwarfest of the seedlings does not 

 measure more than 12 inches in height, "and it is expected 

 to show fruit very soon ; so that in one batch of seedlings 

 we have the extreme of stature at least, shoning that the 

 Pine Apple from seed is as vaiiable as any other fruit. So 

 far as I am aware, the Pine Apple in a cultivated state seldom 

 forms a perfect seed ; but exceptions in this case as in all others 

 occur now and then. The fruit the seed was taken from in 

 this instance was a Montserrat grown by my predecessor here. 

 Thirty-four varieties became strong enough to be pricked off, 

 grown on, and fruited by the late Mr. Stevenson. The Mont- 

 serrat fruit in question was cut in 1860, and was pronounced 

 bad, or not in good condition, and when shown to Mr. Steven- 

 son he discovered the seeds and sowed them. Many fruit of 

 their first produce he sent to the London Fruit Commiittee. 

 Of some of them favourable reports were given, but a good 

 many of them were pronounced indifferent, while others were 

 considored to be in cultivation before ; but I do not think the 

 Fruit Committee had a good chance of forming a fair decision, 

 as the characters of the seedling produce were not fully de- 

 veloped, some of the fruit weighing only 1^ lb., and the heavi- 

 est il lbs. Some may consider that time has been lost in 

 planting these a second time ; but when all the leaves have to 

 be sacrificed, and the slumps only kept to raise a clean stock, 

 loss of time is accounted for. 1 hope to fruit more of these 

 seedling varieties this season, when a little more about them 

 mny be made known. — J. Hunter, Lamhton Castle Gardens. — 

 {TIte Gardener.) 



MASTER AND SERVAMT. 



Will yoa advise me as to the course pursued in tlie event of a gar- 

 dener, who is a weekly servant, becomiuf; ill and often unable to work ? 

 When able to work he is industrious. He is in a club, from which hd 

 receives los. weekly, and I have hitherto paid him his 'I'l^i. during bis 

 illness, adding 5s. to enable bim to lind an occasional labourer, but I 

 am sorry to say this was but seldom. He is again ill with inHamma- 

 tion of the lungs — very ill, and, of course, cannot work for six weeks 

 at least. I am a medical man, and so can give bim all be requires ; 

 but shall I be doing a mean or unkind thing in providing what labour 

 I feel necessary, and handing bim over the surplus weekly '? I am not 

 rich, my garden being my only extravagance. "What you advise I 

 shall do. Again, be intimates that my work has caused him to be so 

 often ill. 



My garden is an acre and half, one-half kitchen garden, one-quarter 

 lawn, with half a dozen small tiower beds, the rest borders with shrub- 

 bery, (tc. We have also a cow. My coachman is a bandy man, and 

 assists materially, and I do not look on. There is a greenhouse and 

 small stove house. He is only a plain gardener, so there is no early 

 growing of flowers. Is this too much for one man ? If so, do I pay 

 enough — 22,v. weekly? He has bis tea in the kitchen, any vegetables, 

 fruit, and milk not required, and a glass, or even two, of beer daily. 

 If so, could I obtain a fairly good man able to grow a few ordinary 

 flowers, as I adore them, in winter ? I am not inclined to change un- 

 less he wishes it. Being a nervouS; fidgetty being, must be the excuse 

 of the one who signs — Speho. 



[If you are not rich in this world's wealth, we may congratulate you 

 on possessing the more enviable endowment of a kind, warm heart 

 that can sympathise with the sorrows and alHictionaof others. In one 

 sense we aro not at all surprised, for among all ranks and classes 

 medical men stand separate and distinguished for their kindness and 

 philanthropy. Alas! too often their self-sacriticiug labours are apt to 

 be forgotten when the aiHiction has passed away. Were there more of 

 such kindly consideration as you evince, the late Judge Talfourd, if 

 be were now alive, would not have to say that the great want in this 

 England of ours was a want of seen and felt sympathy between all 

 ranks and classes of the community. 



On the whole, then, instead of giving you our advice, we would 

 rather that you took the counsel of your own kind heart, and acted 

 according to its promptings. A great many, however, aro not able to 

 do so ; if they pay for labour, they must have the labour in return, 

 and, therefore, without going to any extreme, we will allude to a few 

 of the matters suggested by your letter. 



1st. An acre and a half of ground, comprising half an acre of 

 kitchen garden, a quarter of an acre of lawn, and a few tiower beds, 

 the rest in shrubbery, with a small greenhouse and flower stove, are 

 quite enough for one man ; too much if early things w«re desirable, not 



at all too much if fully the half were in shrubbery, needing little 

 attention. All depends on what is wanted. There is an old saw about 

 a man to an acre in a garden, but we have seen gardens in which 

 a man to an acre would have little to do, and we have seen other 

 gardens where, from flowers, forcing, itc, half a dozen men would be 

 hard-worked. 



'2ud. As to the matter of assistance from coachman or groom, un- 

 less that is thoroughly understood and acted upon from the hrst, such 

 help will generally be more found in the promise than in the per- 

 formance, and what little we have seen would lead us to the conclusion 

 that it is best to keep every department to itself. We are well aware 

 that this cannot be done in many comfortable email establishments, 

 but in such cases the coachman, groom, or others, should clearly 

 understand they are to help the gardener. If that help is not lo he 

 depended on, it would be much better if the gardener had a boy or lad 

 entirely under bis own control. Unless the people in the stables have a 

 zest for gardening, or know they must, as a matter of duty and service, 

 give so much of their labour in the garden, onr opinion is that all 

 their labour and help would be of little value, and would he pretty 

 well neutralised by the ill-feeling and the heart-burning fostered in 

 consequence. 



In many places of much greater extent, where several men are 

 ostensibly employed in the garden, and the gardener has the name of 

 having such a number of assistants, there is often infinite dis- 

 couragement arising from the custom of taking men from the garden 

 whenever they are wanted for anything about the house or the 

 establishment — going errands, attending shooting parties, l^c. It is a 

 very common thing, if the gardener fall at all behind in bis work, to 

 be told, or rather to have it said of him when he is not present, that 

 he has so many men, and yet in the most trying times he could not 

 calculate on having half that number when he most needs them. 

 Under such circumstances true economy and mutual satisfaction would 

 be realised by keeping each department to its own separate duties. 



3rd. We consider that the wages, with the other advantages men- 

 tioned, are very fair for the place, and more especially if lodgings are 

 found. If not found, and flowers in winter were desirable, then we 

 think a trifle more should be given to an industrious, clever man. We 

 give this opinion more in consonance with the general verdict on such, 

 subjects than onr own unbiassed ideas on the subject. For such 

 small places good men may he obtained at from .£1 per week, and 

 many owners cannot afford to give more. But in this respect we bold 

 the opinion of the late Mr. Loudon, that if the very most is to be 

 made of a small place, you must get a first-rate man and pay him 

 first-rate wages. In such a small place, to make the very most of it, 

 he would have to work hard with his hands, and bis brains, too, would 

 be well exercised. In a large [.lace, provided such a man were gifted 

 with the faculties of order and organisation, be would have to work 

 with his intellect i-nore than with bis hands. 



■itb. When a man is at a distance from his own home it will be a 

 great advantage to let him have his tea, and, if he likes it, a few 

 glasses of beer, Sec, on the premises, hut, except in such circumstances, 

 or when there is a stated allowance, it is best to make the payment 

 entirely in money, and do away with all such allowances from the 

 house. They often foster a kind of craving in some men, and lead 

 them to be dissatisfied when actually they are well used. 



5th. In the case of a weekly servant we do not suppose there is any 

 legal claim upon you to pay wages when a man is unable to work, and 

 more especially after a week's illness. We are glad to say that many 

 in high positions act as you have done, from a kindly feeling rather 

 than from anything like legal compulsion ; many others, however, act 

 quite differently. With them the rule absolute is, " No work, no pay,' 

 and we are sorry to say that there are cases that justify them in 

 coming to such a conclusion. However, it is wisely ordered that kind- 

 ness generally brings its own reward ; and it should not be forgotten 

 that what is a mere trifle to a wealthy man may be a matter of next 

 to life and death to a poor man. 



f3tb. We do not consider, in the circumstances, in attending to 

 your afflicted gardener's medical wants, and other wants we haye no 

 doubt besides, that you would be doing "a mean or unkind thing," 

 quite the reverse, if during his illness you found and paid for the 

 necessary labour, and gave him the surplus weekly instead of his full 

 wages. As already stated, this should be received as a matter of kind- 

 ness rather than as a matter of right. We are a little in doubt as to 

 your meaning, when, in speaking of paying your gardener his weekly 

 wages when ill and adding 5y. to enable bim to find an occasional 

 labourer, you continue, '' I am sorry to say this was bnt seldom." 

 If the extra labourer was but seldom employed, then we would rather 

 have our suspicions than exjjress our thoughts. 



Again, considering the way the gardener has been used in his ill- 

 ness, there is something rather repulsive in his intimating that " it is 

 my work that has caused him to be so often ill." This may be merely 

 the utterance of a morbid, melancholy feeling, the result of trouble ancl 

 alfliction ; but no man with head and hands is required to stop in any 

 place where the work is such as he knows to be ruinous to his health. 



Lastly, knowing nothing of the circumstances but what you tell us, 

 and hoping that your servant is too upright to be swayed by any 

 unworthy considerations, still having the regular weekly wages in 

 illness, and receiving a weekly allowance of los. from a ulub, would 

 rather be a temptation in some men's way not to be in too great haste 

 to be well and strong. It is sad to be obliged at times to look at the 



