684 
THE GARDEN/NG WORLD. 
August 8, 1903 
Letters to the Editor. 
Floods in the Lea Valley. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
S IR; _Amongst the many sufferers from the recent hoods, 
probably to none has the result been more disastrous than to 
Mr. F. Scholes and his brother, who- occupy some 4£ acres of 
land near Lea Bridge Station, Owing to the proximity of the 
local gasworks, the flood-water was charged with ammoniacal 
liquor and other deleterious refuse, and the destruction of them 
growing stock, consisting of hardy perennials, etc., is most de¬ 
plorable, the loss being accentuated by the fact that the seed¬ 
beds from which the land would be planted have suffered 
greatly. Dismayed by the trouble by which they have been 
overtaken, Messrs. Scholes have appealed to me to know it 
anything can be done to assist them, and, having seen liow 
great is the destruction, I am sending this statement, and 
would deem it a favour if you would insert it in your valued 
journal. I shall be pleased to acknowledge any sums your 
generous readers may send to' me, and will ask a few prominent 
growers to associate themselves with me in. the disposition of 
the fund. Thanking you in anticipation.—Yours faithfully, 
H. B. Mat. 
Dyson’s Lane Nursery, Upper Edmonton, N. 
Lady Gardeners. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sir,—A lthough the case for this estimable body of workers 
is put with the well-known and always admired logical skill of 
Mr. A. Dean, and despite the fact that the lady gardener has 
“ come to stay ” (to use an Americanism), I am strongly dis¬ 
posed to “ hold a brief ” for the other “ side ’’—that championed 
by my good old friend Mr. Burbidge. With the Editor’s per¬ 
mission I would like to say a few words for poor man the male 
gardener. 
I quite believe there is some truth in the _ charge brought 
bv 'Mr. Dean as to the men being careless, inattentive, and 
almost contemptuous whilst lectures were being, given. . Let 
us look at the matter from a purely business point of view - 
an important view in this strictly utilitarian age. Take private 
gardening in the present day. What is there in it to attract 
the ambitious young man who has a future to make? I know 
there are some prizes in the profession ; but, most unfortu¬ 
nately, they are few and far between—like angels’ visits. 
I have rubbed shoulders with the gardening craft for well 
nigh 40 years, and I have seen during that long period great 
changes in Adam’s noble profession. Trade has entered into 
private gardening even. At many of our best establishments 
the ground has to produce money for the proprietor in addition 
to choice fruit, flowers, and vegetables for his table ; and then 
how sorely the labour staff has been reduced in such places ; 
an additional burden and anxiety on the poor gardeners’ already 
too heavily freighted shoulders. 
I know it is a somewhat delicate and thorrfy subject to intro¬ 
duce—it is the subject of wages. Gardeners, after all, are only 
human, in spite of the superhuman efforts they are expected 
to make by many unthinking employers, and the gardener’s 
very humanness and struggle for existence bid him seek the 
market wherein he may obtain the biggest shilling, and small 
blame to him ! Compare, by way of argument, the gardener’s 
financial position with that of, say, the common bricklayer’s 
labourer, a man who has no character to study or education to 
advance. Certainly the balance, from a monetary point of view, 
is infinitely in favour of the man of bricks and mortar. Were 
it not such a serious matter, it is often very amusing to read 
what is required of the young gardener to properly fit him for 
his career. He must be a veritable paragon, educationally and 
horticulturally, and for what, in too many cases ? A pound a 
week and his vegetables! There must be no encumbrance! 
Well, it is good in many cases if the “ no encumbrance ” point of 
view is not present, for certainly the gardener’s wages will not 
allow him to bring them up decently, respectably, and as 
citizens of a great emjhre. It has often struck me, and doubt¬ 
less countless others, as to the want of unity and combination 
amongst the craft. They are always “ striking ”—cuttings—but 
not for their advancement. 
I am quite aware of the isolation, so to speak, of the gardener 
and of the domesticity of his calling, for the law, in the tax 
way, schedules him as a domestic servant. As to the isolation 
aspect of the question, we can have too much of irresponsible 
independence, as was foreshadowed by Oliver Goldsmith when 
he wrote in 1764 : — 
“ That independence Britons prize too high 
Keeps man from man, and breaks the social tie.” 
A policy of isolation spells impotence ; a policy of exclusive¬ 
ness rules out the best sympathies of other classes, who, to 
their credit, often help the working classes. Above all,' we 
must remember the dictum of a modern philosopher, “ Nega¬ 
tion supplies no bond.” I have long thought—think still— 
that were those truly admirable gardeners’ mutual improve¬ 
ment associations—a splendid sign of the times—to form them¬ 
selves into a federation, meeting annually to discuss gardeners’ 
grievances, their position in the labour market, and many 
other matters intimately bound up with the profession, much 
good might eventually result. Fraternity, too, amongst gar¬ 
deners would thus be encouraged. However, this is a very 
wide question, only the fringe of which I have been able to 
touch. I sincerely trust that far abler pens than mine will 
take up this vital matter and discuss it thoroughly in the 
columns of The Gardening World, a paper that has always 
stood up for the undoubted rights of the craft. 
Chiswick. J. B. 
Society and Association Notes. 
An Addlestone and Chertsey Gardeners’ Mutual Im¬ 
provement Association has recently been formed, and the 
other week a ymblic meeting was held at Red Hall for the pur¬ 
pose of placing before the public the programme for the current 
year. Several names were handed in for membership, and it 
was stated that arrangements were made for lectures to be 
given by gentlemen of the neighbourhood on various horticul¬ 
tural topics at the forthcoming monthly meetings. Rules were 
also considered. 
•* * 
Esher Horticultural Society. —On the invitation of Sir 
Edgar Vincent, M.P., and Lady Helen Vincent, the fourteenth 
exhibition of the Esher Horticultural Society was held on the 
29th ult. at Esher Place, Esher, but the attendance was con¬ 
siderably interfered with on account of the showery weather. 
One of the finest exhibits was a splendid collection of fruit, 
relieved with small vases of Petunias, set off with Gypsophila 
and Maidenhair Fern, which was sent by the Duchess of Albany 
from Claremont. Lady Helen Vincent was represented by a 
charming collection of cut flowers, other prominent residents 
also contributing to this section of the show. A large number 
of industrial exhibits were put on by the local school children, 
besides which there was/a capital show of wood carving by the 
members of the West End Institute. A class was set apart for 
lady subscribers for the best floral dinner table decoration, the 
Duchess of Albany offering the prize, which was won by Miss 
Sybil Peachey. The Duchess presented the prizes to the 
winners, and was loudly cheered. 
* * * 
Canterbury Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Society.— 
The usual meeting was held on the 28th ult. Mr. Hollman pre¬ 
sided ; and, after the usual formal business, he dwelt at some 
length on the visit to Olantigh, eulogising Mr. Erie Drax and 
his head gardener, Mr. J. Bond. The secretary was instructed 
to write a letter of thanks to Mr. Erie Drax." Mr. D. Fair- 
weather has kindly promised to come on August 4th and give 
a lecture on “The Sweet Pea, and how to grow it.” Mr. W. 
Knight, in his usual straightforward way, gave a lengthy dis¬ 
cussion on ventilation of greenhouses. His remarks were clear 
and concise, and very much to the point. Want of time pre¬ 
vented any questions being asked. 
* * * 
The Rose Show at Balmoral.— At the Rose Show, held by 
the North-East Agricultural Association in connection with 
their horse show, Mr. T. Smith, of Daisy Hill Nursery, 
Newry, displayed a beautiful selection of hardy flowers of over 
200 varieties, including the new variegated Chinese Lily, which 
won the Gold Medal at the last Paris Exposition. He also ex¬ 
hibited, a fine group of Lilies, early flowering Gladioli, Sea 
Hollies, Campanulas, Verbascums, and Peruvian Lilies, and 
a collection of old garden Roses very rarely seen. The exhibit, 
