168 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ Ftbmary 20, 189(7, 
with every convenience for the production of fruit, vegetables, and 
flowers his gardens and glass structures should be filled with the best 
examples of skilful cultivation. Let us now take a glance at the hours 
of employment and the rate of wages. With regard to the former, a 
good gardener is nearly always employed, but, generally speaking, con¬ 
tinuous labour begins at six in the morning, quitting at five in the 
evening, with an interval of one hour and a half for meals. In addition 
to this he has to attend to his houses and fires both at night and on 
Sundays, while as to wages I think the following a fair average ; — 
Apprentices and Improvers, 10s. to 15j. per week, with bothy and vege'ables. 
Journeymen. 153. to ISs. „ „ „ 
Toremen . ISs. to 253. „ „ „ 
Single-handed gardeners 20 s. to 25s. „ with residence and vegetables. 
Head-working gardeners 25s. to SJs. „ „ „ 
Of the salary of head gardeners I am not able to speak with autho¬ 
rity, not having entered the charmed circle, but if we fix their income 
from £100 to £200 per annum we shall not, I think, be far out, and 
when we consider other privileges which they are permitted to enjoy 
we may say that they are fairly well paid. On the other hand, 
working gardeners have cause, I think, to complain. These men have 
charge of comparatively large places, often undermanned, regulations 
to keep as an example to those under them, the worry of striving to keep 
abreast of others more fortunately placed. The single-handed men are 
better off than these ; their wages are not much less, they have less 
worry and responsibility, and are in consequence far happier. The 
bothy referred to in the table of wages is mostly situated within the 
garden, in which the foremen and those under him reside. It has long 
been established amongst us, and is, in my opinion, an admirable insti¬ 
tution. It creates and fosters a spirit of emulation, and begets a habit 
of punctuality amongst young gardeners which is of great service to 
them in after life. And now, having shown the way by which gardens 
are supplied with men, their time and pay, let us turn and look at the 
subject from other and wider points of view. 
The social position of the gardener is not, I am bound to confess, 
what it ought to be. We are voted by Society to be a respectable class 
of working men. The majority of gardeners labour manually. This 
fact settles the question, and determines our social position. It is use¬ 
less to speak of the dignity of/labour with reference to social position ; 
whatever dignity labour may have in the concrete, it has none in the 
eyes of society. 
If we visit a theatre, and a gardener should be represented on the 
stage, it is certainly not a very exhilarating spectacle for his prototype 
in the audience. In literature the case is different. Here we see the 
gardener appreciated, not ridiculed. Books in'abundance on all sub¬ 
jects having relation to horticulture, &c., and most gardeners aspire to 
the possession of a small library. The number of monthly and weekly 
magazines and papers are many and good, some of exceptional merit, 
and when bound form handsome and useful volumes. The ordinary 
weekly and some of the daily newspapers find it pays to insert a column 
of matter having reference to the garden. Certainly we are well served 
by the Press. 
Great Britain may be regarded as the headquarters and home of 
gardening. In no other country in the world is it carried to such per¬ 
fection. The stately homes which adorn our country are not to be 
matched elsewhere in the world. The sixteenth and seventeenth cen¬ 
turies saw a great impetus given to landscape gardening. All through 
our history, up till that period, we do not find gardening much in 
evidence, but then it commenced its rise from obscurity, and rapidly 
became recognised as an art. The eighteenth century saw the intro¬ 
duction of exotics, new and rare plants, ornamental trees and shrubs of 
all kinds. Glass structures became a feature in the gardens of the 
wealthy, botanical gardens were established, and literature assisted in 
the general progress. But remarkable as was the progress made 
during these three centuries, the nineteenth century is still more 
remarkable. 
The accumulation of wealth in this century has been enormous. It 
has been estimated that the income of the United Kingdom during the 
last twenty years has increased six hundred million sterling. Every¬ 
where we see evidence of this great prosperity. In 1760 the Earl of 
Northumberland (although his household consisted of over 150 persons) 
kept but one .gardener. Compare this with the state of things to-day. 
Now the gardening department of a large establishment is by far the 
largest, some of our head gardeners having as many a.s eighty men 
under them. During the last twenty years we have seen great improve¬ 
ments and changes. Cheap glass and the cost of erection of glass 
houses has rendered useless the old heated walls for Peach culture. We 
miss the New Holland plants; they are nearly gone, though once a- 
feature ; their place is taken by the Orchids. Improvements have been 
effected in the heeting and ventilation of glass houses. Flues are gone, 
steam was tried and found wanting, and hot water holds the field. By 
the introduction of the lever system in ventilation a lange of houses 
can be aired to a nicety in a few moments. All these go to make a 
gardener’s life less laborious and more agreeable. 
The generation of gardeners that has passed away have left their 
impress behind them in an unmistakeable manner. Amongst them- 
two men stand head and shoulders above the rest. The noble 
structure in glass and iron at Sydenham was designed by one who had 
trod the path of gardening life from his youth, and we are proud to point 
to Sir Joseph Paxton as one of us ; the other, remarkable for his extra¬ 
ordinary perseverance and wide knowledge, won renown as a landscape 
gardener, and Loudon’s Encyclopmdias remain a monument to his great 
capacity and thirst for knowledge. In looking back to the past we are 
struck by the fact that wealth seems to be more divided than formerly- 
We do not see such great places as Chatsworth, Alton Towers, Trentham, 
and Welbeck, now in course of erection. This age of great landed 
estates is gone—their dissolution has set in ; but the work of our fore¬ 
fathers, who planted and embellished the surroundings of these great 
houses, still stand, and will stand for a long time yet. What they did 
they did weP, and we may take a lesson from theth in this, though we- 
may not be allowed the scope they were privileged to have. This is the 
age of the middle class—the merchants and princes of commerce. 
Having been successful in business their first thoughts turn to a beautiful 
home, and for this end they call in the services of the gardener, and 
thus we see that increase of national wealth increases the demand for 
gardeners. There can be no doubt that a pure love of flowers has 
induced many to remain in the profession who would have been far more 
successful in other walks of like. Canon Hole’s love for the Kose was 
intense, and the spirit which animated that gentleman is strong amongst- 
gardeners. Some of the happiest moments of a gardener’s life are- 
passed in admiring his plants, which, after long and careful attention, 
have at length rewarded him by their beauty and high quality. 
Of the four nationalities which together form the British people,. 
Scotchmen in the past have been in the front as gardeners, this arising, 
from their superior education and consequent ability, but Englishmen 
are beating up, if they are not already in the van. We see the Koyal 
gardens of Windsor and Sandringham in the charge of a Welshman and 
an Englishman respectively, and if we glance down the directory the 
array of well-placed English names compare favourably with those of 
Scotchmen, whilst Irishmen and Welshmen are lagging in the rear. 
We will now briefly touch on societies. At the head is the Royal 
Horticultural Society. From this Society, and from other minor 
societies that have been and are being formed throughout the country, 
gardening has derived immense benefit. Many of these latter are pro¬ 
jected in the interest of one particular plant or flower, such as the Rose, 
Dahlia, and Chrysanthemum. While encouraging excellence of culti¬ 
vation their annual exhibitions have been the means of inducing many 
to patronise horticulture when other means have failed to excite 
their interest. 
Then come the mutual improvement societies, which exist in nearly 
all our large towns, for the purpose of improving young gardeners and 
for the general diffusion of horticultural knowledge, and as far as my 
experience goes they do it admirably. In these days, when prosperity i» 
with us, and labour, skilled and otherwise, is agitated, we are led to- 
inquire whether anything can be done to further the interests of the 
gardeners by means of combination, but we are confronted at once by 
great and insurmountable difficulties. Even were it possible for 
gardeners to combine, I do not see that it would mean success ; on the- 
other hand it might mean ruin. We should not forget that we are 
chiefly engaged in the production of luxuries which could be dispensed: 
with, and when we remember the isolation of gardeners, their quiet, 
retiring, and unobtrusive habits, we may as well dismiss the subject 
from our thoughts. 
With benefit societies the case is different. In this way we might 
do much to ease our path in the evening of our life. Gardening being 
in an unusual degree a safe and healthy occupation, we should join a 
benefit society devoted to gardeners only, and I am pleased to learn that 
there is such a Society in existence, and from long and careful con¬ 
sideration of their rules I can safely recommend “ The United Horti¬ 
cultural Benefit and Provident Society ” as worthy of the confidence of 
all gardeners, founded, as it is on the principle of thrift, and helping 
those who help themselves. The Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Society 
does not fill the place of a benefit society, as its name indicates ; it is- 
