492 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
June 11, 1904. 
gardener, whether young or old, to consider very favourably the 
suggestions that would be made regarding the formation of a 
national association of gardeners. (Applause.) 
Mr. Ward said the object of the association would be to 
endeavour diplomatically to raise the social and monetary stand- 
in 0 ' of all practical gard en ers to- the level which their training, 
culture, and skill entitled them to occupy among their fellows. 
The first-rate gardener required to have a thorough knowledge 
of the culture of all kinds of plants, fruits, and vegetables. He 
was also- expected to be able to- plan and superintend the erec¬ 
tion and heating of all kinds of glasshouses for the growth of 
various plants and fruits, to form and design new pleasure 
grounds, flower gardens, and also to- remodel and beautify old 
ones, planting them with suitable- subjects in order to yield the 
best advantages from a landscape point of view'. He was sup¬ 
posed to- be a fairly reliable weather prophet, to- be a kind of 
walking encycloptedia, and t-o- answer offhand any question that 
may arose in reference- to his multitudinous duties, to account 
for the presence of phylloxera on his Grape \ iiie-s, and the other 
numerous insect pests which from time to- time tend to- worry 
the most even tempered sons of Adam. (Laughter.) ,He, had 
also to contend with many adverse circumstances over which lie 
had little, if any, control, such, for example, as ungenial soils 
and unfavourable situations. He was also- greatly at the mercy 
of the atmospheric elements, as well as the elements which 
from time to time prevail in the kitchen and stillro-om, elements 
which were v-eay often more difficult to deal with than the 
atmospheric ones. For the- possession and application of these 
many qualifications a head gardener was. rewarded with a salary 
of from £65 to £130 a year, with some kind of a house- and fuel. 
The places where £130 were paid were- few and far between. Mr. 
Ward then compared the salaries paid to- thei gardeners, with 
those received by the indoor and stable employees, very unfavour¬ 
able to the former. He thought a- little- diplomacy might do a 
good deal ( with employers, in the way of inducing them to- pay 
better wages and bring better conditions for the gardening staff. 
Whatever was to- be done would have to be done quietly and 
with freedom from any semblance of dictation on the part of the 
Gardeners’ Association or the- individual gardener. The'aohiev-e- 
- ment of the objects, they had in view would be simply a ques¬ 
tion of time. The- prospectus- before- them was. such a clear and 
reasonable -exposition of the scheme- that he believed many 
employers would not only admit the justice of their cause, but 
also the absolute need for such an association as- they were 
about to establish. Employers in considering the details s-et 
forth would, he believed, come to- the conclusion that professional 
gardeners had not only been paid inadequately in the past and 
ati the present time for services rendered late and early, but 
that they had been, and still were,, a patient and long-suffering 
class of men, to- whose claim for a social and monetary improve¬ 
ment they, should accede. (Applause.) 
Mr. George Gordon proposed the first resolution. He re¬ 
marked that it had over and over again been said that gar- 
deners were so isolated-that it was not possible for them to 
combine together for their mutual benefit, but be had long 
felt that if any proper scheme was presented to them that would 
enable them to join together for objects that would be for the ad¬ 
vancement of their calling and of their own interests they would 
be perfectly prepared to combine in the same way as workers in 
other directions had done. They knew there were some gar¬ 
deners, men of considerable ability, who had to work long and 
well to perform the duties that belonged to their respectivei 
positions, who were paid 23s. a week. Now, that happened to 
be somewhat less than was paid in the borough in which he lived 
to the men. who swept the roads. (Cries of “ Shame! ”) Such a 
condition of things could not he satisfactory, and it behoved 
them, as gardeners, to do in a proper spirit what was most 
likely to bring a better state of things about. If they decided 
to form an association, they would, of course, consider the 
employer and the employee. Not one of the members of the 
committee entertained the idea that they were to use force or 
intimidation. 
Mr. Gordon then reviewed at some length the proposals con¬ 
tained in the prospectus, and, concluding, said they wished to 
form a real good gardeners’ association, whose members would 
be able to afford evidence from their initial training that, they 
would do honour to the calling. It was not proposed that 
the association should be composed of men who did a little! 
gardening, managed various kinds of animals, did odd jobs 
about the house, and so on. (Hear, hear.) He them moved : 
« That a British Gardeners’ Association he immediately formed 
on the lines indicated in the prospectus.” (Applause.) 
Mr. Herbert Burroughs seconded the resolution, and said 
that, ’ although not a gardener, he was able, from his expe¬ 
rience of other trade organisations, to keenly appreciate the 
need that exists for one to cover the interests of gardeners. 
Replying to the objection that had been taken that they were 
too scattered to form a really strong organisation, he reminded 
them that in various parts of the country there are numerous 
mutual improvement societies for gardeners. These, he thought; 
should form the nucleus of a really strong national organisa¬ 
tion. He pointed to the existence of other trade organisations, 
and remarked that, so far from causing friction between em¬ 
ployees and employers, the work of these had resulted in 
better qualified men being attracted to trades and industries, 
and rewarding their employers with better work for any con¬ 
cessions the latter might make towards them. 
Mr. A. Close gave the results of an effort that had been 
made to ascertain the feeling of gardeners as to the needs for 
an association. This showed that a very large majority of 
them favoured the proposal. 
Mr. Walter Wright, rising near the platform, delivered a 
short address, the first part of which was devoted to a criticism 
of Mr. Burroughs’ views on various subjects, and, proceeding, 
said he wanted to know whether the association was intended 
to he a trade union or not. (Loud cries of “ No.”) Proceeding, 
he stated that in the “ Plea for a Gardeners’ Association ” it 
was provided that the sick and aged members and gardeners’ 
orphans were to be taken in hand. Did this mean that the 
association was to take over and work the Gardeners’ Orphan 
Fund? (Cries of “Read the prospectus.”) 
Mr. Watson at. this point read the passage from the “Plea” 
'to which Mr. Wright referred, showing that it stated that, 
among the other questions which the association “ might ” take 
up subsequently, was the assistance of sick and aged members 
and of gardeners’ orphans who might be in need. His cor¬ 
rection of Mr. Wright’s misrepresentation, wilfully or other¬ 
wise, was received with loud applause. 
Mr. Wright, continuing, said that he was constrained to think 
that if this matter was to be dealt with in the future, it might 
he left out of the first “ Plea,” as it seemed to him to he only 
a catchpenny idea. He thought the projects as drafted by the 
provisional committee were a little bit narrow, and as an in¬ 
stance of this he stated that, whilst the Act of Parliament 
allowed motor-cars to be driven by those who were of 17 years 
of age. it was proposed that the association should exclude, 
gardeners who were not 20. (A Voice : “ The age should be 21,” 
and applause.) The Chairman, interrupting, said that the 
points mentioned by Mr. Wright might very well he left to 
the committee. Mr. Wright, continuing, thought that every¬ 
thing should be done to throw the gates of the association open 
to horticulturists in the smallest places and the single-handed 
gardeners. (A Voice : “ There is nothing agamst that in the 
prospectus, sir,” and applause.) He moved as an amendment, 
“ That this meeting approves the project for forming a gar¬ 
deners’ association, but, in view of the short time allowed for 
considering the projects and the- importance of the issues in¬ 
volved, agrees to defer the formation of the association until 
the first day of the Temple Rose Show.” 
Mr. Joseph Hallington (Bewdley) seconded. 
Mr. E. Dean asked whether, assuming they got the 50,000 gar¬ 
deners in the United Kingdom to join the association, they would 
include the whole of these in the register they proposed.^ Then, 
again, in the third and fourth of the conditions in their “ Plea 
they proposed to make regulations regarding hours. What 
did they mean 'by that ? He thought they ought to be veiy 
careful in respect,to the wording of any prospectus they might 
issue. If the association was formed, he would do all in his 
power to promote the welfare of the gardeners, but he did not 
see his way t& support such an association until such time as 
the whole proposal was thoroughly thrashed out. 
Mr. Pearce remarked that it seemed as if the association v. as 
to be formed for the benefit of young gardeners, and that nothing 
was to be dene for the older ones. He suggested that some, 
effort should be made to improve the condition of imddle-agea 
gardeners, many of whom were dismissed from their places 
because they had families and for other reasons. 
Mr. Gordon replied that the gardeners referred to were pro¬ 
vided for. • . 
On the amendment being put by the Chairman, not morn 
than half a dozen hands were held tip in its favour. * On the 
resolution being put, it was carried amid loud cheers. _ 
Mr. Watson" proposed that the work of the organisation 
should be conducted by the provisional committee, together] 
with 12 other gardeners to be elected at the meeting. He re¬ 
minded them that the inauguration of the association wou d 
entail considerable cost, and he urged all present to sem i 
very liberal contributions. He remarked that he had a Dettei 
