January s, 1880. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
1 
J UST as it is natural and desirable to take a backward glance at 
the close of a year, so it is equally natural to look forward at 
the opening of another term of like duration in the ever onward 
movement of what we commonly call time, but in reality of the 
life that is passing through it. Persons of every rank and vocation 
look back daily or nightly when their engagements are ended ; and 
when the period of activity begins their thoughts are in advance. 
The plans of to-day are influenced by the events of yesterday. If 
these events, or some of them, are in the nature of mistakes, they 
are mentally recognised for avoidance ; on the contrary, if they 
indicate progress on safe lines they are noted as guides for future 
action. The young look forward habitually and dream of the 
future and its possibilities ; the aged dwell much on the past, how¬ 
ever steadily their thoughts may be at the same time directed 
onwards. In fact, the past of one man is the future of another, 
the experience of the old being gradually absorbed by the young. 
Thus is knowledge acquired and accumulated, and so step by step 
generations advance to higher intellectual attainments. This may 
not be apparent from year to year—that is to say, the actual move¬ 
ment may not be visible any more than the growth of a plant is 
visible ; but this is not the less certain when the conditions are 
favourable for its healthy development. To appreciate the pro¬ 
gress of whatever we may be interested in we must step back into 
the past, then is the advancement of the present made clear in 
most things, if not in all. It is good, then, to look back over the 
past day or the past year, as our very experienced coadjutor! 
“ D., Deal,” has done, and he has told us that his past has been 
made happier by his connection with gardening in general, and 
floriculture in particular. Thousands could give similar testimony, 
though the term of their enjoyment derived from cultivation may 
and in most instances must, be of lesser duration than his. 
But to the future. Many who are engaged in gardening, 
either as a means of livelihood or as a source of pleasure, are 
looking forward to the achievement of fresh triumphs in culti¬ 
vation, and to the realisation of generally better results than 
before, however satisfactory past experience may have been; 
while in the case of failures endeavour will be made to trace 
their origin with the view to future action on safer lines, so far 
as may be possible, for some failures are the result of natural 
causes and beyond human control. 
The art of gardening as represented in its best forms has attained 
such a high standard of excellence, that it can only be maintained 
by careful thought and right and timely action on the part of the 
best practitioners ; while the less experienced can only hope to 
equal them by constant striving to excel in whatever work they 
may be engaged. Gardeners, as a body, are fully alive to this, as 
is evident by the increasing number of associations and periodical 
meetings where men of kindred tastes, and engaged in a common 
pursuit, assemble, with the primary object of gaining knowledge in 
their calling, for it is not yet a “ profession,” and that much-used 
term is at present inappropriate. 
There are not wanting signs that some of the best educated of 
British gardeners are indisposed to rest content with their present 
social position. To be placed in the same legal category as scullery 
maids is not to all of them a comforting reflection, nor do they 
feel entirely satisfied in being denied privileges that the most 
illiterate are endowed with ; and possibly it may not be a sufficient 
No. 445.— Vol. XVIII., Third Series, 
compensation to some educated gardeners to remember that if they 
are placed a grade lower than their labourers in one respect, they 
are at the same time elevated even above their employers. Every 
gardener and garden labourer on an estate has rights, that may or 
may not be valued, which are denied to the owner of the garden 
who pays all the wages, and more rates than the whole of the 
employes, when that owner happens to be a lady. Two wrongs,, 
however, where they exist, do not make one right, and self -respect 
is commendable. 
It is a wholesome sign when gardeners strive to improve their 
social position, for it cannot be denied that as a body they are 
equal to another important class with which they can be appro¬ 
priately compared—farmers. Among these are men of high 
character, great mental power, and the bright intelligence that is 
the outcome of sound education ; but their equals in all these 
respects can be found in the gardening ranks. In both classes, as 
all know, there are men of a different stamp ; but, broadly speak¬ 
ing, well educated and thoroughly trained gardeners should rank in 
law as many of them do in fact and by courtesy, with their 
brother cultivators of the fields. This is a subject to which not a 
few are looking forward for discussion during the year that is now 
commencing. 
Another subject that is always uppermost in the minds of a 
large number is that of remuneration. It is due to gardeners to 
say that they by no means stand alone in the opinion that they are 
underpaid,and “ought to have more.” This seems to be almost a 
general complaint, and if every man could have what he thinks 
would be fair value for his services, there would be an increase of 
fees, stipends, and wages all round, in all professions and all occu¬ 
pations. Lengthy discussions and long orations are useless for 
effecting a change in this matter. So long as there are five men to 
one master, so long must the current value of the labour of the 
former, no matter how skilled, be low, just as it would be high if 
the conditions were reversed ; and the only safe, sound, and reliable 
way for a gardener to improve his position financially is to strive 
unceasingly in every honourable way to render his services so valu¬ 
able that they could not be dispensed with without inconvenience, 
and the possibility—if not certainty—that it would be more 
economical to make an advance to a man of proved worth than to 
incur the risk of losing more than would be gained by paying less to 
one who had to prove his acceptability. A gardener may have to 
work long and hard, physically and mentally, and to wait patiently 
for the moment of recognition, but as a rule those of the most per¬ 
severing habit and best staying power win in the end. They may 
not acquire riches, but may enjoy what riches do not always 
provide, homes of contentment and domestic happiness, the inmates 
of which are trusted and respected. They are, in common with all, 
justified in striving for and looking forward to better times. 
The general prospect is somewhat brightening, and we will look 
f orward hopefully to a year of improved prosperity in horticulture, 
as in agriculture and commerce, in the hope that of this garden 
owners, providers, and managers will have a goodly share. 
PLANTS CERTIFICATED IN 13S8. 
Awardixg certificates for new plants has in recent years 
bocome an important matter in the horticultural world, as the large 
numbers of novelties annually raised in England and on the Conti¬ 
nent necessitate some method of checking. All the best firms 
de vote considerable attention to the selection of the novelties to be 
recommended to the public, and the care thus exercised is a wise 
expenditure of time and money, for it serves to make and maintain 
a reputation. Even in these cases, however, when the judgment of 
the raiser or exhibitor is confirmed by a body of independent 
experts, the plant is sent out with a much stronger recommendation 
than otherwise, and its value is correspondingly increased. In other 
instances seedlings are obtained, and from insufficient knowledge of 
recent introductions the raiser has but limited means of determin- 
No. 2101. —Yon. LXXX., Old Series. 
