196 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, December 28, 1858. 
get over the price of sashes, they stumbled at bricks, 
wasting them ever so much iu foundations, &c.; and there 
the matter stopped, just because they could not be con¬ 
vinced, that boards from one inch and a half to two inches 
in thickness would answer the purpose as well as bricks. 
A little straw tied round such a wood wall, in winter, 
would prevent the cold getting through it. One of such 
enthusiasts lately told me of an economical pit he had 
formed:—Position of pit, six inches higher than the sur¬ 
rounding soil; height of pit at back, two feet and a half; 
height in front, one foot; width of pit, five feet; posts all 
round and three feet apart; a board nine inches wide, 
and two inches and a quarter thick, nailed at the top all 
round, being fastened to each post. On this board, 
notches were cut for receiving the ends of rafters for the 
sashes, just as in a garden frame. Below this main 
ground board, the spaces were filled with any old loose 
boards, or slabs, with just a nail here and there to keep 
them from moving much ; against these, at the back and 
ends, turf and dryish earth was rammed firm, so as to be 
fifteen inches wide at bottom, and six inches at top, within 
two inches or so of the top board; this was then covered 
neatly with turf, and a little gravel put round for walking. 
In front, the earth and turf were also rammed tight, until 
within three inches of where the sashes would come. 
After being smoothed, one-eighth of an inch, or between 
that and one-sixteenth of an inch, of gas tar was spread 
over it, to the width of three or four feet, having the tar 
thickest next the wood. This was then covered with 
roughish gravel, rolled, and, as the tar oozed through, 
covered with fine gravel and road drift, and rolled again, 
until not only a hard front was obtained, but one where 
water could not gain entrance. If wood and earth be two 
of the worst conductors of heat, then it would require no 
sage to perceive, that, for utility, this would be nothing 
behind the best solid-walled brick pit, though it would be 
much less lasting. In many positions, it would be more 
in unison with the general surroundings; and a good 
labourer could make the whole, except the glass sashes 
and rafters. 11. Fish. 
{To he continued .) 
GARDENERS’ WAGES. 
Halp-a-CENTURY’s experience as under and head gardener, and 
as nursery foreman, lias given me a considerable amount of know¬ 
ledge on the subject of wages paid to gardeners. Being too old 
now to take charge of a garden—at least, a laborious part in it— 
I may claim the merit of impartiality on the subject. I am aware 
it is a delicate, and, perhaps, difficult subject; and, no doubt, 1 
shall, in some cases, neither please gardeners nor their employers. 
However, it is with the best and most disinterested intentions 
that I write my opinion on this—to gardeners, at least—serious 
subject. 
In the first place, I will state a broad and glaring fact, that 
gardeners, as a body, are, in general, underpaid. Young gar¬ 
deners, learning the business, are expected to appear decently 
clothed, and to have bodily power to perform the heavier ope¬ 
rations—such as digging, mowing, wheeling, lifting, &c. They 
have to look after the fires ; water the plants; cover up, to protect 
from frost; and give air, to prevent too great heat—all important \ 
and essential operations for success in gardening. They also 
require books and instruments to render them competent to take | 
a head place. They must study grammar, understand accounts, ! 
and be able to write a correctly-spelt and well-worded letter; and, j 
besides, these, they must be steady, sober, and diligent continually. 
To accomplish all this, requires at least ten years’ instruction 
and study, for there is scarcely a man that would be entrusted with 
a decent place before he was twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. 
And what are the wages this young man—so respectable and 
intelligent—receives during this long and tedious ajDprenticesliip ? 
If he obtains twelve shillings per week, with a bed in the back 
sheds, it is above the average; for there are too many places 
where ho does not receive that much, little though it be. It is 
true there are honourable exceptions, where under-gardeners are 
cared for—books found, and comfortable rooms provided. 
Now, I would propose to every kind-hearted employer, to 
! either raise the wages of young men to, at least, fifteen shillings * 
per week, or lo give them an equivalent, in the shape of milk, 
1 vegetables, books, fire, soap, towels, candles, &c. 
I advise young men in the profession, as a sincere friend, that 
when they accept a place in a garden, not to expect too much, 
but to be content with what is given them, and to do their duty 
in that state of life which is appointed for them, and thus 
deserve that encouragement which good conduct and diligence 
| is sure to command. A fault-finding, discontented man, will not 
only be unhappy, but will never make his way in the world. 
In this wealth-creating country, the number of employers of 
j gardeners are annually increasing, so that young men need not 
fear not obtaining decent places—though I would by no means 
advise too many to enter this business; for it is a fact well 
understood by political economists, that the supply regulates the 
price of any article, so that the greater the number of gardeners, 
the price of their services will be lowered accordingly, however 
well the employers may be inclined to pay. It is not likely that 
a gentleman will give a hundred a-year to his head gardener, 
when he can get one equally clever for an annual payment of 
seventy or eighty pounds. 
Yet, let it be remembered, that when a man has spent the first ten 
years of his working life to obtain acknowledge of the business, 
lie ought to be well paid when he comes to put into practice the 
knowledge and experience he has so hardly acquired. A mere 
mechanical business—such as that of a mason, carpenter, brick¬ 
layer, or painter—may be easily learned in five or six years; and 
he enters upon full wages—from four to five shillings a-day—the 
moment he is of age. He has only to repeat the operations he 
had learned in his short apprenticeship. How different is the 
entry into the full exercise of his skill by the head gardener. 
He enters upon new ground, he has different means to study; 
perhaps, a different climate, soil, and situation. He has his 
men, if any, to manage, and alterations to make ; all requiring 
quick apprehension, firm decision, and all the powers of an 
active, foreseeing mind, to succeed in the place, and give satis¬ 
faction to his employer. Besides, he must be quite a superior 
character in respect to morals. He must be of steady, business¬ 
like habits, and able to keep accounts ; and, above all, he must 
be strictly honest. 
Now, I need not, after this fair statement of these two classes 
of men, do more than observe, that there is a wide difference 
between them. The head gardener is expected to be—nay, must be 
—so clothed as to appear respectable, because he is constantly liable 
to be called upon to speak to, and conduct his employers and 
ladies and gentlemen through the gardens ; and often has to 
explain to them many curious properties of plants, and the 
reasons for the various operations of gardening. "When are such 
refined subjects descanted on by the mere mechanic ? Not that I 
would by any means depreciate worth and intelligence in any 
class of men; but I do claim a higher grade and place for 
the accomplished gardener ; and I think, and honestly believe, 
that Iris services are justly more valuable, and ought to be better 
paid : he ought to have wages sufficient to enable him to save a 
competency for old age. 
I am aware that there are amongst gardeners, as amongst other 
large classes of men, various grades and degrees of merit. There 
are too many mere blue-apron pretenders—men who will take 
any wages; and, also, there are small places where such men 
are employed, merely because a really good, steady gardener 
would not accept them, unless compelled by the pressure of 
having a large family to provide for, he—rather than let them 
starve—will take lower wages than he knows he is justly en¬ 
titled to. 
Such pitiable cases come across me in my journeys, sadly too 
often ; but let us hope for better days, as I always say to such of 
my brethren as are so unfortunately situated. Let such make 
their case known, and there are plenty of employers and nursery¬ 
men who would be glad to succour them. I have been often 
applied to by ladies and gentlemen for gardeners, and have been 
requested to send a 'working gardener; by which term, I was 
given to understand, they wished their head gardener to dig, and 
mow, and wheel manure, and perform other common labour. 
I then asked the question, how much a-day do you pay your 
labourers ? The answer was, two shillings, or perhaps a six¬ 
pence more. I remarked that it was inconsistent to expect their 
head man—to whom they were paying sixty, or seventy, or 
more, pounds a-year—to do work which they could get done for 
labourer’s wages. It was, 1 said, a waste of his acknowledged 
