Introduction 
xiii 
In after years I often think of the great amount of 
care he unsparingly bestowed on me, care that was not 
always appreciated at the time, yet afterwards fully under- 
stood. I often think that if masters were more pains- 
taking and thorough, if they weeded out the unsuitable 
to begin with, and made the most of those who remained, 
it would be better for our profession. Many masters, 
however, while paying great attention to the practical, 
often neglect the theoretical. The latter must entail 
many hours of hard study. The great tendency, however, 
at present, is for the young gardener to spend too great 
a proportion of his leisure time in seeking pleasure, and 
too little in the study of the principles underlying his 
practical operations. 
A prominent man in the horticultural world once said 
that he was grieved to see the little interest his apprentices 
took in private study. After their day’s work was done, 
it was amusement of one kind or another that claimed 
their whole attention. Can one wonder then, at our 
worthy profession deteriorating, and that the vulgar 
name of “clodhopper” is applied to a gardener? By 
our indifference we have earned it. We must now “ wake 
up” and alter this. It will not be an easy matter, as 
prejudices die hard, but it can, and I am confident will, 
be done. 
Let us consider first what subjects we ought to study, 
and why. 
A. Geology, to enable us to understand the nature 
of soils and their composition. 
B. Botany, the life of a plant — with its sub-divisions: 
Morphology, the appearance; Anatomy, the construction; 
