16 
THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 
any form. Nevertheless to become a really competent 
all-round man something more than the daily routine 
work in the greenhouse or vegetable garden is necessary. 
Make a point of studying systematically subjects that 
have a direct bearing upon your work, and if any new 
development work is being done upon the place where 
you are employed make it your business to get there as 
much as possible, even if you have to go in your own 
time. Ask your superintendent to let you go periodically 
to inspect the work if it is outside of your department. 
No reasonable man would refuse you this privilege, if he 
has the welfare of his profession at heart. Question him 
about anything that you do not understand, draw dia- 
grams and make notes for future reference. 
Another weak point with the young gardener of today 
in this country is that he will sacrifice a wide field of use- 
ful experience for the sake of $5 per month more wages. 
I maintain that every man should get all the wages he 
can, vet I do think that a young man is foolish who turns 
down a position which will afford him desirable knowledge 
and experience because another pays more money. Then 
again it is looked upon by some as quite a come down to 
go from under glass to an out door department. This is 
all wrong and the young man who entertains these views 
is likely to regret it. 
In Britain wages with the young gardener is a secondary 
consideration, and a place where good experience may be 
acquired is what he looks for. The transfer from under 
glass to outdoors or vice versa is looked upon as a neces- 
sity and is such if one wishes to advance. By the time 
lie has put in two or more years in the various depart- 
ments he is an all-round man, and then he demands his 
wages. This attitude, if adopted in this country, would 
do much to uplift our profession. 
There are a few young men within the profession who 
make it their business to visit the dairying, poultry, farm- 
ing and other departments on the estates where they are 
employed in order that the)' may be conversant with the 
duties of the men employed therein. Feeding of stock, 
poultry, the care of milk and the rotation of crops on the 
farm, are all matters that these young men give careful 
attention to, and there can be no doubt that their note 
books contain some very useful and interesting data. To 
many this may seem a great deal of unnecessary trouble, 
and some may say that they are unable to find time to do 
this kind of thing. Much of this kind of work may be 
done evenings, week-ends and on holidays. Aspiring 
voung men would do well to commit to memory those 
lines from Longfellow, which read: 
"The heiglits by great men reached and kept 
Were not attained by sudden flight. 
But they, while their companions slept. 
Were toiling upward in the night." 
Having endeavored to impress upon the young man the 
necessity of becoming proficient, let us look to see if we 
cannot afford him some assistance. 
In Boston, I believe, there are classes in landscape 
gardening and weekly lectures during the winter months 
on various phases of horticultural activities. This is an 
opportunity that every one should avail himself of. Un- 
fortunately, every locality does not present these privi- 
leges and it is or should be the duty of the National As- 
sociation of Gardeners to assist and arouse the interest 
of the less fortunate young men. 
Some similar action might be started by the National 
Association of Gardeners, and it is my opinion that we 
ought to get busy. The organizers of our national asso- 
ciation no doubt look to the rising generation of garden- 
ers to carry on the good work they have started, and they 
ought to get in touch with these young men in a practical 
sort of way and arouse their interest. Let the young 
man see that the association has more than a passing in- 
terest in him. make him understand that there exists a 
feeling of good will and fellowship towards him in the 
National Association of Gardeners, which should be mu- 
tual, and you will have the pleasure and satisfaction of 
knowing that the association will be supported by cap- 
able worthy men who have become such by your aid and 
their own endeavors. — Paper read before the convention 
of the National Association, Horticultural Hall, Boston. 
Mass.. December. I'M 5. 
A 
SCHIZANTHUS WISETONENIS HYBRIDS 
NEW strain of large flowering Schizanthus 
Wisetonenis hybrids is being offered as the 
1916 novelty by Burnett Bros., New York. It is 
claimed that these hybrids embrace a wide range of colors 
f 
V 
My 
* i 
- 
SCHIZANTHUS WISETONENIS— HYBRID. 
from almost pure white through delicate shades of pink 
to bright rose and crimson. Also some exquisite mauve 
lavender tints. 
STUDYING THE SEED CATALOG. 
/")NE of the most pleasant recollections of my bovhood 
days in the winter part of the year concerns dis- 
cussions we had over the annual flower and vege- 
table seed order. Not only did my father ponder the 
catalogs, but my mother, who was an equally keen gard- 
ener, expressed her opinion and desires, and together they 
made out their selections by the fireside while I, as a 
youngster, helped to mark off the amounts of packages 
and write the names. There is a fund of amusement as well 
as a good deal of instruction to be got from scanning seed 
catalogs. There are the novelties to be noted and the be- 
havior of some of the things one tried the previous 
summer to be subjected to criticism. If they were entire 
failures that was a black eye for them ; but some may 
have given sufficient promise to merit another trial. It 
is in discussions like this, between a gardener and his 
helpmate that add so much to the pleasure of making 
out the seed order, a task most of us are now engaged 
upon. 
