50 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



A thorough education of our young gardeners should be of a 

 threefold nature : (There must be an education of the head. 

 Every young man ought to be taught to think and reason for him- 

 self, and not work like a machine, a system which unfortunately 

 is much too common amongst all classes of artisans : they are 

 set on and off either with a bell or whistle, they go through the 

 same or similar operations day after day without adding one 

 scrap of knowledge to their store, and take it as a matter of 

 course. 



Then a thorough education of the hands is indispensable to 

 the future of any young man ; it is necessary we should be taught 

 to work, or else how can we teach others ? Our horticultural 

 establishments are excellent schools, as a rule, in which to receive 

 a practical training in the various branches of gardening. 



Finally, we must have an education of the heart, a branch of 

 education which is too much neglected ; the example shown the 

 apprentices by the journeymen and even by the head gardener in 

 a good many places is to be deplored. A good moral character is 

 a valuable testimonial to the young gardener : he must be 

 sober, honest, and trustworthy. To be trained under a good 

 gardener who is a disciplinarian is an advantage young men ought 

 to prize. 



We may now profitably note a few of the hindrances to a 

 young gardener obtaining such an education, however anxious 

 and persevering he may be. First, there may be the indifference 

 of the head gardener to his future welfare ; second, the in- 

 ability of the head gardener, who may have taken up gardening 

 through force of circumstances, and consequently never had a 

 proper training ; third, the long hours which are worked in most 

 gardens give little time for study in the summer, without saying 

 anything of the recreation which ought to be an important factor 

 in his training. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull 

 boy." Fourth, isolation or the inconvenient distance from towns 

 some gardens are situated, thereby making it impossible for the 

 young men to attend the various classes held on subjects of 

 material value, with which every gardener ought to make 

 himself acquainted. Fifth, domestic circumstances have more 

 or less influence on the education of a young man. If he has a 

 small wage, and a portion of it has to go towards supporting his 

 parents or relatives, it prevents him from obtaining the necessary 



