JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 



[ July 4, 1S72. 



mother a royal virtue — that of kindness and consideration for 

 those who serve him. I know from Mr. Carmichael, his 

 gardener, that those who do serve him in the horticultural 

 department respect him, not only for his high position, hut also 

 out of personal regard and attachment for him. I ask you to 

 drink the health of the Prince of Wales "because he is, not only 

 from his position, hut also on account of the principles I have 

 mentioned, the right man in the right place as the Eoyal patron 

 of this Institution. [Cheers.] I trust that the flower he wears 

 in his royal buttonhole may have every year a dearer and nearer 

 effect upon that heart hi which blooms the Rose of Denmark. 

 [Loud and prolonged cheers.] "We are accustomed to lump the 

 " Rest of the Royal Family " together — to treat them rather as 

 we treat "&c, &c, &c," at the end of a sentence [laughter], 

 but on this occasion there is one I would select out of that 

 proud rank, not only because he has just presided at a meeting 

 of the Royal Horticultural Society at Birmingham, but because 

 he entertains a royal sympathy for and interest in the gardener's 

 gentle craft. [Cheers.] I do not think that the great Arthur 

 himself, surrounded by the flower of chivalry and the Knights 

 of the Round Table — and I am told there are some of them 

 here to-night [laughter] — could have looked more a gentleman, 

 or behaved in a more genial way, than Prince Arthur did at 

 Birmingham, although the rain not only came through the 

 canvas, but dripped from umbrellas and sunshades until the 

 richest cake on the table became a mere sponge, and the rain 

 thoroughly demoralised the mint sauce. [Laughter.] Ladies 

 and gentlemen, I now give you the toast of " Their Royal 

 Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales and the rest of the 

 Royal Family." 



The toast was drunk with all the honours. 



The Chaikmah : To the Army, Navy, and Reserve Forces we 

 owe the enjoyment of peace ; we owe them our gratitude, and 

 we must give them our faith, because, if they continue to be 

 what they have been and what they are, we shall never be afraid 

 of seeing any Prussian uniforms among our German Asters 

 [laughter], or Tankee-doodledum amongst our American plants. 

 [Renewed laughter.] Never, as we sit under our Vines, shall 

 our spirits be perturbed by the discharge of foreign Grape. 

 [Laughter.] Never shall our Peas be shelled by the grimy hand 

 of our enemy, instead of the clean fingers of our cook. [Cheers 

 and laughter.] We shall not see amongst our Scarlet Runners 

 any other uniforms running and changing about. We shall have 

 nothing more martial than Marechal Neil. I have, ladies and 

 gentlemen, great pleasure in giving you the toast of the " Army, 

 Navy, and Reserve Forces," coupling with it the name of Major 

 Harding. There is no naval man, I believe, in the room, but 

 we have our excellent Secretary, Mr. Cutler, who I do not think 

 was long enough in the navy to become an admiral or even a 

 captain [Laughter.] I do know that there was a Capt. Cuttle 

 in the navy, but I do not know that there was a Capt. Cutler. 

 [Renewed laughter.] The toast having been drunk, 



Major Harding returned thanks on behalf of the forces 

 named, and especially for all the good expectations the company 

 held of them as to the future. 



The Chairman again rose and said : Ladies and gentlemen, 

 hitherto we have been like lovers in the home which cheers all 

 hearts, especially the hearts of those who love the garden. We 

 have been like the Laureate's gardener's daughter, because when 

 I speak of the subject most at heart we get nearer and nearer, 

 like doves round a dovecot, whirling round and round about, 

 and still getting nearer and nearer to the centre. Now, ladies 

 and gentlemen, it is that we come to our main object — the toast 

 of the night. [Cheers.] I have no doubt, ladies and gentle- 

 men, that most of you have heard the story of that distinguished 

 foreigner who was brought by his friends some years ago to the 

 Anniversary Festival of the Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Insti- 

 tution. When it was suggested to that distinguished foreigner 

 that if he felt disposed to assist the funds of the Institution an 

 eligible opportunity had then arrived, he was seized by a strange 

 perplexity, and did not appear to appreciate the opportunity. 

 [Laughter.] And why? For this reason. He remarked, "If 

 these are the gardeners, and this is the way they live 

 [laughter] — if this is then' daily fare [renewed laughter] — 

 if they eat these things and drink these things, to the sounds of 

 exquisite music, with their charming wives and sisters smiling 

 upon them [great laughter] , I think, mon ami, I should rather 

 reserve my spare gold for those who seem to me to be more 

 helpless than the gentlemen I see." [Loud laughter.] He was 

 told, no doubt, that those around him were not the gardeners, 

 and that the ladies were not their widows and orphans ; and I 

 have no doubt those just claims were brought to his. notice 

 which I will now ask leave to urgently and earnestly impress 

 upon you. And, ladies and gentlemen, I should like to a,sk 

 seriously what class of men conduce more to the promotion of 

 the enjoyment of life, and of the rich men who employ them, 

 than the gardeners ? [Cheers.] 



" The stately homes of England, how beautiful they stand, 

 Amid their tall ancestral trees through all this j)Ieasant laud." 



But, in the first place, they owe their beauty in a great degree 



to the landscape gardener. What is their chief place of beauty ? 

 It is their garden. What would Chatsworth or Blenheim 

 be without their beautiful gardens ? When the merchant 

 princes of England leave the dnst of the busy marts of com- 

 merce, where do they find their chief rest but in their gardens ? 

 [Hear, hear.] Where has the richest man m Manchester, or 

 perhaps in England, spent his spare gold? In building some 

 forty glass houses, in which he has collected all that is most ; rare 

 in flowers and fruits ; and if there is a fete to be given, if there 

 is a rejoicing to be made, if there is to he a religious or a secular 

 ceremonial, if a church is to be decorated, if there is to be a 

 wedding or a christening, all you have to do is to send to his 

 gardener for flowers. [Cheers.] Consider for one moment the 

 gratification the rich man derives every horn- and every day 

 from his garden. He conies down to London to his breakfast, 

 and what is more refreshing to his palate than the Strawberries, 

 the Peaches, and the Grapes sent up, fresh gathered from his. 

 country garden ? At his lunch he has his fresh vegetables, his 

 crisp salad; and at his banquets, amid the splendour of silks 

 and satins, and the beauty of the pictures on his walls, he must 

 pause to think of the garden which sent him the flowers which 

 cast an odour of sweetness around [cheers], which sent hrm 

 the luscious" fruits which adorn the table. [Hear, near. J 

 The answer to all this may be, I suppose, "The man is paid. 

 We'll, I do not think any man has a knowledge of or acquaint- 

 ance with the condition of gardeners if he says they are not,, 

 with few exceptions, underpaid. [Hear, hear ] This is the case 

 for three reasons. In the first place, the gardener is required— 

 if he is a first-race gardener— to have mental power as well as 

 manual skill. He has to buy a great number of new plants, and 

 has to meet with the hostility of many visitors who come to his 

 garden. But chiefly the gardener's is a perilous lite, and tnat. 

 appears very strange ; but still it is a strong plea, and one 1 have 

 to bring before you to-night. Now, at first sight you would 

 naturally think that a man who lived in a beautiful garden had 

 health at his command ; but recollect, the gardener must be up 

 early and late [hear, hear], and he is, more than any other 

 man, subject to that rheumatism which cripples so many ol our 

 agricultural population. And more than that, the cultivation 

 of fruits in a highly artificial state. Take, for instance, Straw- 

 berries and Grapes, which look so nice ; they require sumnier 

 heat, although at the time there may be snow on the ground ; stili 

 the gardener must go to the forcing house with the thermometer 

 at 70°, with the perspiration on his forehead, whilst outside it is 

 10° below freezing point. Thus it is no unusual thing to see 

 frequently in our obituaries the deaths of gardeners taken on in. 

 the prime of life. But then you say, " All this is true, but they 

 are well enough paid to put something by for the time of need. 

 Well, how is it that when, if a man puts aside once a-week ior- 

 twelve months Is. 3d., he can have a pension of £16, so tew 

 gardeners comparatively join this Society ? I believe the reason 

 so few gardeners are connected with this Institution to be this 

 —that the resources of the Society do not admit of its giving 

 immediate help when it is wanted by gardeners in the time ot 

 need ; and you can hardly expect a soldier to subscribe to a fund 

 for succouring the wounded unless he is sure there will be an 

 ambulance and a doctor in waiting when he falls in the fight. 

 [Hear, hear.] The remedy, ladies and gentlemen, for this state 

 of things is to augment the funds of the Society, so that gar- 

 deners may be induced to join. In the first place, I think the 

 masters ought to do more than they do. They ought to do more 

 than tell the man to save. Oh ! what a very easy thing it is to 

 tell the man to save. [Hear, hear.] Did you ever set up a, 

 money-box? I remember setting up one in my boyhood, and 

 when I put a few pence and two or three fourpenny-bits in, I 

 began to rattle and shake it and try to get them out ; but they 

 would not come out, and then I got the blade of my penkmte 

 and extracted them by certain mechanical means, and ultimately. 

 I sold the money-box to a friend, and never kept one since 

 Well, then, I think the masters should do something more than 

 they do. They should tell then- gardeners of the advantages of 

 a society like this, and the gardeners should make it a condition 

 that they should subscribe" to this Society, which would help 

 them in the time of need. Ladies and gentlemen, I have few 

 words to add on behalf of this Society, which has relieved nearly 

 200 needy gardeners, and has now 60 pensioners on its list, at an 

 outlay of .£1,850 a-year [applause] . I would just say that there 

 lives, not a stone's cast from my own garden gate, a very f aitlrful 

 clever old gardener, who served my father first and myself after- 

 wards, for a period of more than forty years. Suddenly his 

 strength failed. He had saved nothing — he was too fond of 

 flowers for that. I have known him to give half a guinea for a 

 pair of Carnations when he had only £1 a-week [laughter]. 

 Well, I was not rich enough to support himself, his wife, and 

 daughters, so I gave him a cottage. Then what was he to do ? 

 Well, he had only to ask me to write to the Secretary to 

 claim a pension of £16 a-year. That pension is enjoyed ever 

 since, and I daily see the proof of the real good which tbis 

 Society is doing to the gardeners [cheers]. Now, ladies and 

 gentlemen, I have only a few words to add. You would not like 



