3i2 



tHE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



January, 19U 



The Suburban Gardener 

 and his Employer. 



There are two points worth coo- 

 sidering in connection with this 

 important individual. First, the 

 capable jobbinir jrardencr is a rare 

 individual. Second, the suburban 

 resident who knows how to appre- 

 ciate a good man is almost equal- 

 Iv rare. 



These two facts operate one on 

 the other. The incompetent gar- 

 dener lowers the appreciation and 

 confidence of the prospective em- 

 ployer, and the latter by refusing 

 to pay fair wages to the good 

 man, disgusts him and turns hita 

 into a new sphere of wo»rk. There 

 are some good employers and some 

 good gardeners, and these get on 

 well together. 



There is need for a wider appre- 

 ciation of the work of the ga»r- 

 d'ener. What is the use of de- 

 nouncing him as a tree butcher, as 

 an ignoramus, as not knowing a 

 verbena from a weed, or a thistle 

 from, a petunia, if you begrudge 

 paying more than 8/ a day or less 

 can you expect a man at labour- 

 ers' wages to be. a thoughtful 

 man ; to read, and study, and keep 

 himself up to the times ? 



Gardening ought to be recognised 

 as a first-class trade and- worth 

 tradesman's wages ; but aa long 

 as the work available is confined 

 to precarious jobs of digging up 

 the garden and tidying the paths 

 once a vear that is hopeless of 

 gratification. 



In each of the Au.st'ralian cities 

 there are numerous suburbbn homes 

 which might be beautified by mo- 

 derate expenditure if they were in 

 charge of capable men, and we 

 would like to see a laTge develop- 

 ment of the custom followed by a 

 few people, whose gardens are ad- 

 mired, of employing a man regu- 

 larly for half a day or a day a 

 week, or two days a week regu- 

 work. How few mtn there are 

 larly. The trouble is that the 

 gardener has notions, and the 

 owner of the garden has notions, 

 and as he pays the i)ii)er he should 

 be able to call the time ; but the 

 gardeners knows, or thinks he 

 knows better. Usually in each 

 case the less thev know the more 

 notions thev have, and both suffer. 



It stiems a pitj' that the use of 

 garden tools is not taught som.e- 

 where and somehow to boys, and, 

 for the matter of that, to girls 



too, so far as light work is con- 

 cermed. ilt is the exception to find 

 people who can handle a spade, a 

 rake, or "a hoe deftly, and do neat 

 workf How few men there are 

 who can dig a plot of ground and 

 keep the sides straight and the 

 surface level ! How ftw, indeed, 

 can make a garden bed neat and 

 tidy even with the use of the rake! 



Somebody once said if he had 

 been a fiddler he would have en- 

 deavored to be a good fiddler, 

 and it is worth anyone's while to 

 make the best of the position in 

 which he is placed. It is good to 

 see a man strive to do his work 

 well and take a pride in it, as that, 

 shows he is fitting himself for a 

 better position. And it is true 

 now — as it always was — that 

 everyone finds his level. Writer was 

 looking at a lot of boys at work 

 in a school garden, and noticed 

 one boy who handled his spade in 

 that am'bidexterous fashion not 

 now common, as if he had had 

 vears of experience. As a worker 

 he was splendid, but his oirder of 

 brain did not fit him for a Senior 

 Wrangler. We are, some of us, 

 apt to look down upon a working 

 man, but the position of the latter 

 requires skill of a high order. 



In Australia those who look 

 down on a working man as such 

 are, comparatively few, but there 

 are many who fail to appreciate 

 the importance of good work in 

 various directions. Two things 

 are required :— 



The gardener must make himself 

 up to date, and study principles 

 instead of working on obsolete 

 rule of thumb methods. 



The owners of gardens must 

 learn to appreciate the knowledge 

 of such men, and raise the dignity 

 and pay of the gardener to a level 

 of a first class tradesman. 



♦ 



Re-Potting Orchids. 



P'rom The Garden. 

 In selecting plants for repotting 

 some consideration must be given 

 to their condition with respect to 

 llowering. Plants that are show- 

 ing their flower scapes or that wiU 

 (lower within a short time should 

 not be disturljed until after the 

 flowers are over. It is more de- 

 sirable to run the risk of injury to 

 some of the roots, than to disturb 

 a plant for repotting just as it is 

 about to i)roduce its flowers. The 

 double strain of being repotted and 

 then hav,ng to fiower would cause, 



in most cases, unsatisfactory 

 blooms and undue shrivelling of 

 the pseudo-bulbs, which wouid be 

 deterimental to the future well-be- 

 ing of the plants. Practically all 

 the autumn and winter fiowering 

 Cattleyas and Laelias are now 

 more or less root active, and the 

 sooner they are attended to the 

 better. The whole of this class of 

 plants does not require annual 

 repotting, so that if the compost 

 is in good condition bdow the, sur- 

 face the removal of decaying ma- 

 terial and moss on the surface will 

 be all that is necessary. One can- 

 not be too careful in the removal 

 of any dead or decaying matter at 

 the present season, for with the 

 m.ore or less resting conditions to 

 which the plants have been subject- 

 jected the surface moss will gener- 

 ally die, and if this is not cleared 

 away, now that the more liberal 

 waterings are given, the decay 

 quickly spreads to the remaining 



MY MOTHER HAS THE UTMOST 

 FAITH IN CLEMENTS TONIC, 



(Adelaide Series, No. 10). 



Mr. A. Ewens, who writes this letter, 

 keeps the principal booth store at Ham- 

 ley Bridge, South Australia. Anyorne 

 can verify this letter. It) is worth 

 reading by anyone who is run down in 

 health and who desires to get well. 



" Light Street, 

 Hamley Bridge, S.A., 18/10/'12. 



" CLEMENTS TONIC, LTD. 



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 TLI^HEALTH. 



(Signed) MR. A. EWENS." 



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