Oct. 4th, 1884. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
67 
“ Gardening is the purest of human pleasures, and the greatest 
refreshment to the spirit of man.”—B acon. 
C|e (fokimtg Mfldfr 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4 , 1884 . 
Gardening and Labour. —Amongst the pres¬ 
sing social problems of the day and which may, 
we fear, become during the winter burning 
questions, none seems of graver importance 
than is the need for more labour to satisfy the 
wants of a rapidly increasing population. We 
base this reference to a great social question, not 
upon correspondence in daily papers in a dull 
season, which, however, reveals sadly enough a 
state of things, in our labour market that is truly 
distressing, hut we are rather influenced by per¬ 
sonal knowledge of the present lack of work, 
and of the immense number of working men, 
especially those whose labour has hitherto been 
associated with the cultivation of land, who are 
out of employ, and whose constant appeals for 
work even thus early in the autumn, are deplor¬ 
able to hear and bitter to have to ignore. When 
this is the case too, in a district where, as a rule, 
garden labour is abundant and is well paid, we 
may well ask, How is it in other localities where 
labour is ever scantily employed, and wages are 
low ? 
It may seem an odd thing to remark, but it is 
none the less a fact, that a dry season such an 
one as we have this year enjoyed so much, and 
which has been productive of so much pleasure 
for the well-to-do, is detrimental to labour—in 
fact, fails to create it. With harvests all has 
favoured the employer, and the labourers earnings 
have been comparatively little. On the land, 
drought has kept weeds in check, and there has 
been little to do in keeping the land clean, whilst 
crops on the one hand have been all gathered 
with a minimum of labour, and many others have 
been neglected because drought prevented their 
planting. Prices for many things now rule so 
low, that it seems impossible to find enough 
returns to pay for labour. When, for instance, 
Potatos are selling at such low prices as at 
present, what wonder is it that growers are com¬ 
pelled to employ the cheapest and readiest means 
for securing the crop. Thus we have seen intro, 
duced largely the plough Potato-lifters, that turn 
out an acre or two in no time ; indeed, one large 
Potato grower stated but the other day, that he 
could lift and, with a staff of women, pick up 600 
bushels per day, by employing a couple of these 
lifters to turn out the crop. Here we have 
several horses and four or five men doing the 
work of twenty men and in less time. 
To some extent this extreme paucity of labour 
arises from the prevailing low prices of certain 
crops, as for instance, both Wheat and Potatos 
were never cheaper than now, and in the face of 
such things, it is impossible that a high rate of 
wage can prevail. It is not in the reduction 
of wages, however, which may be but of a 
temporary nature, but rather in the absolute 
deficiency of work which is the chief evil and 
danger of the present time, and to surmount 
which, may well call for the consideration of all 
earnest thinking men. To remedy such a condition 
of things, there is no plan so objectionable as the 
attempt to tide over difficulties by some tentative 
or temporary effort on the part of the State or 
local authorities, to create work of a cheap and 
too often of a non-productive kind. That kind 
of temporizing with a social difficulty, may serve 
as a wet blanket to stop the fire for a short time, 
but soon it will break out with greater force, and 
only a social revolution can meet the exigency 
thus created. 
Our great want without doubt is to give to 
those who live by labour on the soil, a closer and 
keener interest in the soil. We want to attach 
them to it, to make them cottager farmers or 
gardeners, or cultivators of some sort, not for the 
benefit of employers only, but for themselves; 
and if not in the form of owners, at least as 
tenants, on such a basis that every encouragement 
shall be afforded to them to cultivate their little 
holdings to the best of their ability. It is 
notorious not only that gardening gives through 
the land ten times the amount of labour that 
agriculture gives, but also that it demands greater 
skill, and in a practical way calls forth in the 
best sense all the higher energies of the labourer. 
The exceedingly mechanical nature of the farm 
labourer’s work, largely tends to keep him 
miserably ignorant and stolid, although in that 
respect he is not far below many of his employers 
as a rule, for probably no vocation seems so much 
to tend to stolidity of intellect and dense 
boorishness as farming does. On the other hand, 
gardening is so much the more elevated and 
intellectual an occupation, that it calls forth all 
a man’s best energies, developes his faculties, and 
brings into play all his knowledge and experience. 
If to these good qualities we can add the charm 
incidental to working either one’s own soil, or 
that to which one may be sure of long and yet 
independent attachment, the cultivator, however 
small his holding, exists in an atmosphere of 
independence such as pen must fail to describe. 
In all farming work we find the cultivator is 
handicapped by his incapacity to turn the land 
he cultivates to other uses and more profitable 
crops quickly, or in such a way as shall enable 
him to rise successfully to the occasion. Let 
Wheat, Hoots, Barley, or Hay, be ever so cheap, 
still must he continue to grow them, and he is 
helpless to change for the better. The gardener, on 
the other hand, not only grows a variety of pro¬ 
duce, but he can with resources entirely within 
his control, immediately change his crops from 
those which are less in demand for those which 
are most in request, and thus accommodate 
himself to the ever-changing wants of the times. 
It was well put the other day by one of these 
thriving gardeners who said, “ We have sent 
forth as it were the very flower of our labouring 
population to the colonies, that we might have 
more work for those left at home, and behold 
these emigrants have become the caterers for our 
food supplies at such cheap rates, that we seem 
little the better off after all.” What, then, we 
must do is not to grow what our colonies can 
send us so cheaply and abundantly, but rather 
by changing our cultural conditions, produce 
for ourselves just what we cannot purchase so 
cheaply elsewhere. 
Weeds and Rubbish. —What a glorious time 
it is for cleaning! for though weeds grow fast, 
they may be quickly destroyed, which is not 
generally the case at this late season, as when 
we get dull weather and rain, hoeing them simply 
means transplanting them by removing them from 
one place to another. With bright sun, such 
as we are getting now, we have only to cut them 
up to kill them, as they soon wither—that is, 
provided the hoeing is shallow, which it should 
be, so as to distui’b the surface as little as possible. 
The best tool for their destruction is the Dutch 
hoe, as that can be driven along the ground at 
a very shallow level, and, if sharp at the edge of 
the blade, will cut all that comes in its way.- 
There is another advantage in using the imple¬ 
ment referred to, as the operator has no need to 
tread on his work, which, with a Dutch hoe is 
done by moving backwards, whereas with a 
draw-hoe, the weeds are trampled on and again 
pressed down, when they are able to root again 
in a fresh place. To prevent this, they should 
have a sort of scarifying with a coarse-toothed 
rake, so as to bring them to the top and expose 
them, for the wind, sun, and air to act on them 
and shrivel them up. That there may be no 
waste, there ought to be a place in some out-of- 
the-way corner to wheel all rakings, sweepings, 
and gatherings to, as, during the year, there are 
great accumulations of this kind in most gardens. 
These are generally designated as “ rubbish,” 
but really that is a misnomer, unless it happens 
to be iu the wrong place. Decomposed vegetable 
matter, of whatever kind, is valuable, and should 
be taken every care of, as it is the food of plants, 
and the more of it the soil has returned to it, the 
less it is robbed. This being so, nothing should 
be lost, but all rakings, sweepings and fallen 
leaves be brought together and saved. Trimmings 
of hedges, and other debris of that kind, that 
won’t rot, should be burned, as the ashes are 
valuable for sowing over seed-beds or young 
plants, as also for manure, they being rich in 
potash, but to preserve what is in them, it is 
necessary, before using them, to keep them quite 
dry. This can be done by storing them in a 
shed, and if soot is added to them, nothing sur¬ 
passes the mixture as a top-dressing applied to 
young crops. The rubbish heap, if so it must be 
called, should be turned over two or three times, 
and at the last turning have some salt and lime 
added ; after which, all will be ready for wheeling 
on to the ground. 
Washing Show Potatos. —A correspondent 
writes to say that he purposes exhibiting Potatos 
at the Crystal Palace as he has done in previous 
years, but finds this season that his tubers, though 
of very good form, present all those skin cracks 
and eruptions which were referred to last week, 
and asks whether we think he should endeavour 
to reduce the roughness by washing or not. On 
this point it is not easy to give a safe opinion, 
because much may depend upon the hardness or 
otherwise of the skins and the appearance which 
may be presented after washing is done. With¬ 
out doubt tubers this year, as a rule, would look 
best if they were not washed at all, but were 
simply cleansed of dirt in a dry state. Still 
washing must be resorted to, and we think, as 
a rule, much using of the brush may tend to 
render the skins even rougher than they now 
appear, and may even remove some of the outer 
coating, and in exposing the flesh give to the 
tubers a blotched appearance that would be detri¬ 
mental. A free use of soap and tepid water, 
rather rubbing the Potatos with the hands than 
with a brush, will probably produce the best 
results. If severe attempts at washing are in¬ 
dulged in it is almost certain that the results will 
tell against the samples exhibited. Of course 
washing all tubers is the fairest thing to do, 
because, if it exposes all defects, it equally 
brings out all the good qualities of the tubers, 
-- 
The Marechal JSTiel Rose.— This splendid 
Rose is in such great request when in season, 
and always obtains such excellent returns in the 
market that its cultivation proves much more 
profitable than does that of any other Rose, 
although many excellent kinds have a much 
more lengthened blooming season. But not only 
does this Rose sell well, it is of all Tea Roses 
for its season the most floriferous, in fact, the 
tiniest of shoots will produce its bloom. We 
©ften see old plants trained over wires in big 
