936 



THE 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



Deckmber 7, 1912. 



THE EDUCATION OF A 



GARDENER. 



I have followixl with considerable interest 

 the correspondence that has for some time 

 past appeared in the Gardeners' Magazine 

 respecting the education of the garden-er. 

 On such a topic there must necessarily be 

 diffexences of opinion; but the tendency in 

 discussing it, as in all discussions, is to 

 become so deeply involved in detail that 

 the general outlook is narrowed and the 

 vital points obscured. 



The two fundamental questions appear ta 



cites the recent case of the medical profes^ 

 sion as being testimony to the value of pro- 

 fessional organisation. Yes; but we are not 

 told anything of the basis of that organisa- 

 tion. 



Failing apprenticeship, we have 

 other means as a basis for the 



classification, and 



Th e app re n ticeeh ip 



has 



been 

 the 



system 



mooted as containing the solution of 

 difficulty. Apprenticeship in horticultural 

 circles has been for many years a dead letter, 

 and it does not appear probable that it 

 will ever be revived. Even if it were, there 

 dening were merely a craft the matter would 

 not alone have the desired effect. If 



dening wer merely a craft the matter would 

 be more simple; but the case of the gar- 



training, 



organisation 

 For enlightenment we can 

 better than consider the 



and the 



subsequent 

 of - gardeners, 

 hardlv do 



case of agriculture, and the training 

 of the profe-ssional agriculturist, I am not 

 putting this forward as being generallv an 

 ideal one; nor is there any necessity here 

 to enter into the vexed question of the re- 

 lative importance of horticulture and agri- 

 culture in the economy of the nation. There 

 gar- are, however, points in the agricultural 



'VI! 



^9. 



i 



A PLEASING GEASS WALK IN A EOSE GAEDEN. 



of 



I 



e to be— (1) What are we out for? At what 

 do we aim? (2) How can we best attain 

 All other q;U est ions are subsidiary to these 

 and I would submit that these are just the 

 questions which the rising generation 

 gardeners must put to themselves. 



As bearing on the recent discussior 

 believe the answer to the first is— Proper 

 recognition and a fitting standard of re- 

 muneration. Gardeners are not the first 

 to lay claim to either one or the other, so th^ 

 horticultural profession is not peculiar in 

 thie respect. The next querv-How can 

 best attain it?-is not sJ easily answered. 



Aer^ nZ^^^^^ ^^gg^sts organisation. 

 Agreed. But how, or on what lines? " 



dener is not analogous to that of a brick- 

 layer or engine-fitter. The gardener is 

 mueh more. An adequate traiSng of the 

 eye the hand and the mind of the youn^ 

 gardener can hardly be given by one man 

 however great may be the sensed? LpoS: 

 sibility Further, the uncertainty of te?u?e 

 frequently attaching to the officj of a prl! 

 .ate gardener would rule out the appr^en- 

 biceehip system in the case of many S 

 men Apprenticeship, to be of an7vfSl 

 must mean personal obligation and LLonS 

 supervision to some extent. In so fT^as T 

 have ^n the system at work in either 4i 

 vate gardens or nurseries if IT ^ 2 

 commended itself to m? ''^^ 



training which, in their effect, make the 

 horticultural man somewhat envious of the 

 men who turn their attentions to agricul- 

 ture as a profession. It has been said — 

 perhaps at one time with considerable truth, 

 though it is not by any means as true as 

 formerly — that all higher agricultural edu- 

 cation had only gone to create teachers. 

 Presuming that we grant it has tended 

 chiefly to the creation of teachers, it must 

 be admitted, too, that, with higher educa- 

 tion, the claims of agriculture have been 

 pressed and (more satisfactory still) ac- 

 knowledged, and in a way hardly probable 

 in the case of horticulture. 



It is useless lamenting the fact that the 

 interests of horticulture are not properly re- 

 presented on our public bodies, so long ae 

 the majority of our best men lack that kind 

 of training which alone, in most instances, 

 can give them either a hearing or a place. 

 We must face the facts squarely. We com- 

 plain that horticulture pays £10 to £12 per 

 acre rent, as against £2 to £2 10s, of agri- 

 culture, and, in a case vouched for by a 

 well-known grower to me, ,£6,000 in wages, 

 annually, against an original ^£300 from 

 agriculture. And yet horticultural interests 

 are not considered in the same way as those 

 of the sister science. It may not be out of 

 place here to point out that, whatever may 

 be the aehievements of the trade to-day, the 

 private gardener has been the pioneer in 

 practically every side of trade development. 

 The credit of initial creation of taste^ or 



demand belongs to him. 

 standard of 



The raising of the 



the 



profession may 



cultivation began m ttie pri- 

 vate garden, and yet—! There is much 

 here that the horticultural 

 take to heart. 



The effect of higher agricultural educa- 

 tion is seen in the Development Act, and, 

 equally, in its application. It gives ue food 

 for thought. I join hands with Mr. 

 Bonoghue when he says, "every young man 

 ought to have a fixed determination to 



qualify for any post that horticulture may 



offer.'' 



The lack of objective, and the policy of 

 drift, are th ^ ' 



To the oft-repeated questioi 

 while? 



bane of many young men. 

 But in our efforts to raise our status let 

 us have no narrow viewsi embracing crafts- 

 manship as the sum total of qualifications. 

 Something more is requisite. After all, there 

 IS a fairly well-defined limit in the direc- 

 tion of craftsmanship; to intelligenoe there 

 is none. 



Is it worth 



very young man must provide his 

 own answer. At any rate, it can be said 

 that horticulture has never offered more or 

 better openings than it does to-day. There 

 are mdixiations that still better ones will 

 come to those who will qualify for them, 

 ihe young gardener who to-day strives to 

 give breadth and depth to the educational 

 foundation on which his technical know- 

 l^ge and technical skill has to be built, 

 and follows 



minded 

 his 



his 

 purpose, 



profession 

 will as 



ow 



with single- 

 uredly come into 



Whatever may be done in the future in 

 the way of "hall-marking" the best quali- 

 hed men who follow horticulture, I am con- 

 vinced that for the higher grades the be- 

 s-towal of such marks must necessitate a 

 Higher standard of general education, to- 

 gether with a better training of the intelli- 

 ^nce, than has been the rule in the past, 

 It those bearing them are to command the 

 respect, and be given that recognition which 

 everyone connected with horticulture deeires. 



Reading. g. D. 



