GARDENERS AND THEIR EMPLOYERS. 



89 



teachings of experience in the ever-varying circumstances of his 

 profession, that the gardener displays his highest intelligence and 

 thoroughly trained skill. A thorough practical training, acquired 

 in different localities and under various conditions, combined 

 with years of careful study and close observation, is generally 

 sufficient to make a capable gardener of a man of average 

 intelligence and industrious habits. The skill and experience he 

 has thus acquired are at the service, for a fair remuneration, of any 

 owner of a garden who desires to employ him on reasonable 

 terms and conditions. A well-trained man, approaching as near 

 as possible to such a standard, of good character and polite 

 manners, is in the best position to secure a choice of good 

 employment. 



In choosing a gardener the employer ought to be the best 

 judge of the amount of trained skill and experience that he 

 requires of his gardener. However, all employers are not born 

 judges of men, nor have they learned to judge the capabilities of 

 skilled gardeners, and in such instances it is best for them to be 

 guided by the advice of someone whose experience of men and know- 

 ledge of gardening are known to be wide and trustworthy. Acting 

 upon the advice of such a reliable person, the engagement of a 

 well-qualified and suitable man for the place, on reasonable terms 

 as the times go, need not be a matter of any difficulty. In all cases 

 it is best that the main heads of the agreement be set down ex- 

 plicitly in writing, a copy of which should be in the possession 

 of both parties, and the terms of it strictly adhered to so long as 

 the engagement is continued under it. A fair and clear state- 

 ment of this nature goes a long way to prevent future misunder- 

 standings and numerous heartburnings. 



When once the preliminaries are settled and the agreement 

 duly made, it is the absolute bounden duty of the gardener to carry 

 out the clearly expressed wishes and ideas of his employer, and 

 even to anticipate them, where possible, to the utmost of his power 

 and ability, and at all reasonable times. It is, however, equally 

 incumbent on the part of the employer that he should furnish 

 his gardener with the necessary means, materials, and ap- 

 pliances for efficiently carrying out the duties he is called upon 

 to perform. The employer will then be in a position to expect 

 the best results that the skill and intelligence of the gardener 

 can produce, and to see that the purposes for which he maintains 



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