GARDENING FOR WOMEN 3 



lose by contact with people of different types 

 any of that gentleness and softness which are the 

 chief attractions of a woman. 



The choice of a career depends largely upon the 

 character and bringing up of a girl. Unless she 

 is fond of out-of-door life, however, she must not 

 think of becoming a gardener, and she will probably 

 find that her parents look somewhat critically upon 

 this profession. They have an uncomfortable 

 feeling that the head of a private garden is only a 

 kind of servant, and in market, jobbing, or land- 

 scape gardening they see a life of constant dig- 

 ging and delving ; a struggle to compete with the 

 strength of a working man. The disadvantages — 

 many days of rain and wind, early rising, dis- 

 agreeable menial jobs — all assume larger propor- 

 tions to them than the benefits that are to be 

 derived. Parents are perfectly right to point out 

 all these drawbacks to their daughter. They 

 should be fully realised and weighed before she 

 embarks upon such a career. Professional gar- 

 dening is no child's play. It means at least three 

 years of diligent study and hard work before 

 any considerable remuneration can be sought. 



Let the girl who is leaving college carefully 

 view all sides of the question, and, above all, 

 let her wait until she is twenty before she takes 

 any decisive step. Having reached years of dis- 



