July 14, 1888. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
729 
THE SOCIAL STANDING OF 
GARDENERS. 
I am glad to see sucli an influx of Fellows to the Royal 
Horticultural Society, but wliy such a slur on the 
gardeners as the various offers that have been made of 
coming in cheap, I cannot understand. The council, too, 
seem to have considered that the arrangements for 
gardener Fellows must be rather humiliating, for on 
the other hand they have dignified a few by raising 
them to the position of members of the council. The fact 
is, I suppose, that the term gardener has been lowered in 
value by the number of garden labourers and unpractical 
men who have adopted the profession. However, 
most of the gardeners who are likely to join the Royal 
Horticultural Society are true gentlemen in everything 
but the possession of cash. The fact is that while on 
the one hand the thoroughly trained gardener is of a 
far higher standard than ever in every respect, the 
majority of unpractical men brought into the body by 
accepting low wages, and the raising of those who 
will take low pay to manage reduced establishments, is 
making the name “gardener ” a reproach. Cannot we 
find another name for the scientific horticulturist 
without putting him down with a jobbing artist who takes 
his rounds with the scythe and broom? He who could 
find a popular and not too pretentious name, would de¬ 
serve to be respected by all true gardeners in years to come. 
Here in the Colonies a gardener means a coolie (East 
Indian) who has an idea of pulling up weeds or putting 
in a cutting, at the rate of Is. per day. "When the 
name gardener is mentioned as appertaining to a white 
man.it becomes among the respectable of the community 
nothing but a term of reproach. The case is met 
after a fashion, by dubbing the better men according 
to their positions—botanist, superintendent, assistant- 
superintendent ; and sometimes there come, to learn 
Cinchona or other cultures, scions of county families in 
the old country—chiefly lamentable failures, ne’er-do 
wells, plucked chickens, and so forth ; and these are 
dubbed “ cadets.” 
About the Royal Horticultural Society and gardeners, 
I am of opinion that gardeners who enter and pass a 
strict examination in the theory and practice of 
gardening, should, on the strength of that examination, 
be admitted as Fellows without paying, and with equal 
rights with paying Fellows. Make it brains versus 
cash. Tommy Numbskull, who has just come in for 
£10,000, brings in Mrs. and Miss. So far, so good, 
but the society is only their subscriptions the better. 
Is not the examined and certificated gardener ahead of 
any such ? Certainly. It was the presence of the 
paying few, and the absence of the practical many, 
which brought ruin on South Kensington, and the 
same will happen to the re-organised society, if matters 
are not mended in respect to gardeners and practical 
horticulturists. 
The representatives of science, as they think them¬ 
selves, should be shut out of the ruling body : they have 
a knack of working in one after another of their friends 
until the concern drifts into their own hands, and the 
object of the society, as affecting gardeners, gardening 
and the public, gets swamped. These quasi-scientific 
gentlemen have not an atom of knowledge likely to be 
worth a sixpence to the Royal Horticultural Society, 
but they are quite ready to appropriate anyone else’s 
ideas without acknowledgment. No ! it is from the 
gardener, garden-loving amateur, nurseryman, and 
market-grower that the Royal Horticultural Society 
has to look to for future dependence and stability. 
Perhaps this note may call out some similar lively and 
pertinent remarks to those I was so pleased to read in 
The Gardening World at the beginning of the year. 
— H., Trinidad , West Indies. 
--> 3 =<-- 
NEW PLANTS CERTIFICATED 
By the Floral Committee of the R. H. S. 
July 10 th. 
Gymnogramma Peaecei robusta. 
The plume-like fronds of this Fern are triangular, ovate, 
four or five times divided into slender linear segments. 
They grow from 12 ins. to 18 ins. in length, assume 
an arching position, and are of a beautiful light green 
colour. Exhibited by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons. 
Escallonia Philippiana. 
The flowers of this pretty species are borne in great 
profusion on short, lateral, leafy shoots all along the 
main branches, and pure white, about the size of the 
Hawthorn, and scented like the flowers of the latter. 
The plant is hardy against a wall at least, and flowers 
freely every year. It was introduced from Valdivia in 
1873. Exhibited by Messrs. .7. Veitch & Sons. 
OSTP.OWSKYA MAGNIFICA. 
This is truly a giant among Bellflowers as far as the 
flowers are concerned. They are borne singly on stems 
at a height of 18 ins. or 24 ins., are of huge size, and 
openly bell-shaped, with the mouth upward. The 
corolla is shallowly seven or eight-lobed and lilac in 
colour, exposing a great, fleshy, club-shaped style. 
The ovate leaves are distantly grouped in whorls of 
four. Exhibited by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons. 
Rhododendron, Souvenir de J. H. Mangles. 
The flowers of this greenhouse hybrid are of great size 
for the kind, and borne in large trusses. Externally 
the corolla is of a bright orange-red, paler internally, 
with an open throat suffused with pink. The limb is 
spread out flat, making the variety a great acquisition. 
Exhibited by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sods. 
Carpentep.ia californica. 
It seems that this beautiful Californian shrub is going 
to prove perfectly hardy in the southern counties of 
England at least. The large, pure white flowers 
resemble those of a single Rose, and are produced in 
terminal panicles. The numerous yellow stamens in 
the centre recall the flowers of a Cistus. The lance¬ 
shaped leaves are evergreen, of a rich dark colour 
above, and glaucous beneath. Exhibited by Miss 
Jekyll, Munstead, Godaiming. 
Allium pedemontanum. 
From amongst a few straggling, dark green, twisted 
leaves the flower-scapes of this Allium rise to a height 
of 6 ins. or 9 ins., bearing a pendent umbel of large 
and, for this genus, showy flowers. The latter are of a 
deep rosy purple externally, and pale rose internally, 
but owing to a twist or curve at the top of the flower- 
stalk only the outer surface is presented to the eye. 
Exhibited by Mr. T. S. "Ware, Tottenham. 
Delphinium Ustane. 
The sepals of this variety are of a delicate sky-blue 
colour, while the greatly enlarged petals are spread out 
flat, giving the flowers the appearance of being semi¬ 
double. They are of a peculiar pale lilac-purple shade, 
thus contrasting strongly with the sepals. The flowers 
are large, and the plants appear of vigorous constitu¬ 
tion. Exhibited by Messrs. Kelway & Son, Langport. 
Delphinium, Prince of Naples. 
The flowers of this garden form are of large size, and 
the terminal raceme measures about 18 ins. in length. 
The sepals are deep sky-blue, forming a beautiful back¬ 
ground to the broad, flattened purple petals. A few 
of the latter are small and white, occupying their usual 
position in the centre of the flower. It is a striking 
and beautiful variety. Exhibited by Messrs. Kelway 
& Son. 
Ccelogyne Sanderiana. 
In this we have a dwarf-habited species bearing racemes 
of large flowers, the sepals and petals of which are long, 
lance-shaped, and white. The lateral segments of the 
three-lobed lip are undulated at the margins and yellow 
internally, while the curious ridges or lamellae run 
down the claw of the elongated terminal lobe. 
Exhibited by Mr. Jacques, gardener to Baron 
Ferdinand de Rothschild. 
Pteris tremula elegans. 
The vigour of this garden variety is moderate compared 
with that of the type, and the fronds, which are grace¬ 
ful and arching, attain a length of from 18 ins. to 
24 ins. The lower pinnae are about twice divided, 
while the upper ones are undivided, long, slender, and 
crested at the apex, and the apex of the frond itself is 
heavily tasselled, which adds much to the general effect 
of the plant. Exhibited by Mr. H. B. May, Upper 
Edmonton. 
Prunus domf.stica variegata. 
The ovate leaves of this variety of the common or 
cultivated Plum are heavily shaded with a golden 
yellow slightly toned down with green, as we find in 
most of the variegated trees when the particular tint is 
yellow. The variegation, however, is somewhat 
irregular, but well marked. Exhibited by Messrs. 
Paul & Son. 
Carnation, Germania. 
This new German variety is a much more robust grower 
than the plants shown would indicate. The flowers 
are large and of a bright yellow, with rounded ani 
regular petals, somewhat incurved at the margins. 
They are somewhat but not strongly fragrant, and 
produced in great profusion on stems about 2 ft. in 
height. Exhibited by Mr. B. Nokes, Brockley. 
Begonia, Queen Victoria. 
