42 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
October 17. 
young shoots require to he moderately strong to have 
an average of flowers. The great error is, having a 
large mass of shoots all struggling and striving with 
each other. Keep in mind, that most of these plants 
grow a little distance before they show bloom. The 
great safeguard from disappointment, is to keep this in 
viow, and to look upon the old plants in spring, fastened 
to the trellis, as a mere ground-work, or skeleton; and 
when it grows and breaks its buds, to go over the 
whole and rub off all except the most promising, and 
those you have any hopes of finding room for. When 
i the flowering is in process, but not before, manure 
waterings will be necessary to keep the shoots growing, 
and thus producing fresh flower-buds. On the same 
plan, I have several times had fine specimens of Ipomea 
Learii in pots. Neglect this thinniug, so as to secure 
room aud strength for middle-sized shoots, and you will 
have a thicket of twiggy shoots and but few flowers. 
If the base of these shoots left are well ripened by 
pruning back in winter, there will always be a good 
supply the following year. R. Fish. 
YOUNG GARDENERS. 
By observations that I have made, for many years, 
I have noted, that just in proportion as a young man 
strives to improve himself in the profession of Gar¬ 
dening (combined with a steady, moral conduct), is his 
success in obtaining and keeping a good place. It is 
quite true, that skill in the business is indispensable; 
but if that knowledge is not attended, or combined, 
with diligence, sobriety, honesty, and a firmly honest 
character, the knowledge, however profound, is useless. 
The position of a gardener is high : he has not only 
to manage the garden, but, in most situations, to con¬ 
verse with his employers, however high in the scale of 
society they may rank. Hence, a good address, with a 
knowledge of proper language, and the courtesies of 
society, are nearly as desirable as a knowledge of plants, 
and how to grow them. As I know that the pages of 
The Cottage Gardener are read (and, I hope, studied 
to a good purpose) by many under-gardeners, I trust a 
few brief remarks and advice from one who has seen and 
felt the evils of want of steady, straight-forward conduct, 
will be received with good feeling, and lead them to 
strive to acquire every part of a good gardener’s 
character, aud thus render themselves valuable to their 
employers, and an ornament to the profession. 
And in order to stimulate my young friends, I would 
point out living examples that have raised themselves 
to the highest point of excellence as gardeners,— 
examples that will be brought before them, from time to 
time, in The Cottage Gardener; men, who, in their 
earliest days of gardening, were, like themselves, under- 
gardeners, with small wages, and with much fewer 
sources of information than are within present reach. I 
would point out Sir Joseph Paxton, at Chatsworth ; 
Mr. Ingram, at the Royal Gardens; Mr. Fleming, at 
Trentham; Mr. Barnes, at Bicton; Mr. Spencer, at 
Bowood; Mr. Aiton, at Enville; Mr. Toward, at 
Osborne House; Mr. McIntosh, at Dalkeith; Mr. 
Collison, at Eaton Hall; Mr Forbes, at Woburn ; Mr. 
j Marnock, at the Regent’s Park ; and, I may add, the 
j contributors to this work, Messrs. Beaton, Fish, 
and Errington ; aud many others about the same age; 
besides a younger generation that are advancing up to 
the poiut of excellence. All these men once were at 
the lowest step of gardening, and each young, steady, 
perseveringly-patient man may reasonably hope for 
, success similar to that of his predecessors, providing 
I he treads in their steps. To enable him to do so, I will 
lay before him certain rules that he must follow; and, 
as there is nothing like order in all things, I will divide 
the subject into the following heads, or sections:— 
1. Personal appearance. 2. Division of time. 3. 
Method of doing work. 4. Visiting gardens. And 5. 
Concluding remarks. 
1. Personal Appearance. —This may appear of little 
cousequence ; but he who neglects taking care of him¬ 
self, usually will not take care of anything committed 
to his charge. Every young man should keep his skin 
clean at all times; his hair neatly cut; his clothes 
brushed; his shoes or boots brushed and well oiled, or 
greased : and these ought to be attended to every day. 
No gentleman or lady can take any pleasure in talking 
with, or employing about them, a young man whose face 
and hands are unwashed, whose hair is rough and 
unbruslied, and whose clothes and shoes are ragged and 
dauhed with soil or dirt. This cleanly habit is what a 
young lad should first of all acquire, and afterwards 
practice and persevere in. In the evening, the first thing 
be should do is to clean his shoes and brush his clothes, 
then wash his skin, brush his hair, and make himself 
tidy. Then, in the morning, rise a few minutes before 
the time for study, wash again, &c.; and then his mind 
will be easy, and he can look any one in the face, with 
the modest assurance that there is nothing in his 
appearance that will displease. 
With regard to the kind of dress he should use, I 
would advise it to be of such stuff as would wear well 
and look neat; I would by no means advise a gay, 
expensive dress, even for the Sabbath-day. That is a 
rock upon which many young men have split, and have 
become self-conceited and dandified, giving almost as 
much disgust to their superiors as a dirty sloven would 
do. The happy medium is what I would recommend; 
and a young man would act wisely if he consulted some 
older man as to the kind of dress lie ought to wear. No 
young gardener ought to be without the blue apron, it 
is so useful to contain various articles, and, besides, 
keeps the loins warm in winter, and thus often prevents 
rheumatism. I would recommend the possession of a 
good, plain, silver watch; and this for its use, and not 
for show. In winter, when the young man has to rise 
to look to his fires, his watch, with the aid of a lueifer- 
match, will inform him of the hour. I remember well, 
when the fires were first committed to my charge, I had 
no watch, and was so anxious for fear of laying too 
long, that I got up frequently by three or four o’clock, 
when six would have done quite as well. 
Mr. Loudon, in his “ Encyclopedia of Gardening,” 
gives the following remarks on gloves :—“ Never per¬ 
form any operation without gloves on your hands, that 
you can do with gloves on ; even weeding is far more 
effectually and expeditiously done by gloves, the fore¬ 
fingers and thumbs of which terminate in wedge-like 
thimbles of steel, kept sharp.” To a certain extent, 
this direction is good; but the too great use of gloves 
tenders the hands, and renders the operations—such as 
nailing, for instance, where gloves cannot, of necessity, 
be worn—very painful to perform. For such operations 
as pruning Gooseberry - bushes, &c., or for wheeling 
earth or dung on a frosty morning, gloves are exceed¬ 
ingly useful aud proper. And his concluding observa¬ 
tions on this subject are exceedingly correct and to the 
point:—“Remember, that you are paid and maintained 
by, aud for the use of, your employer, who may no more 
wish to see a dirty, ragged, uncouth-looking, grinning, j 
conceited fellow in his garden, than a starved, haggard, I 
untutored horse in his stable.” Lastly, in behaviour, 
let every young gardener study to be respectful to all 1 
above him, and friendly and civil to his fellow-workmen ; 
and let this golden rule of our Saviour always be his I 
rule in every act of life:—“ Do unto all men as you 
would they should do unto you.” 
2. Divjsion oe Time. — I am much concerned to find, 
