120 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
February 11, 1905. 
thing more than a passing acquaintance with various 
sciences such as botany, chemistry, geology, entomology, 
physiology, and various others,' collectively known as 
the natural sciences, all of which have some bearing or other 
upon the cultivation of the soil. Many there are who scout 
the idea that either of these sciences is a necessity, but we 
have daily evidence that those in responsible positions have 
to turn some or all of them to practical account, or avail them¬ 
selves of the help of others, unless they are contented to grope 
along blindly till they arrive at the desired results with much- 
labour, or as a mere accident. 
If men of such acquirements or accomplishments are not 
worth more than unskilled labour, then their exertions will 
have been made in vain, and horticulture would indeed be in 
a decadent way. For many years past there has been evidence 
that horticulture is lagging in certain branches, and that 
there are many men in it who are not satisfactory members 
of their profession. We cannot be surprised that such would 
be the case when remuneration is at such a low ebb that young- 
men of intelligence and talent are being attracted to other 
vocations with more remuneration for their services, and more 
inducements for exertion to excel in their adopted lines of 
labour. The places left vacant in gardening by such men 
must be filled, and they often get filled in a way that is un¬ 
satisfactory to most people concerned. The employer may 
have acted on his own responsibility or on the recommenda¬ 
tion, perhaps, of an interested party, with little or no prospect 
of betterment to horticulture. 
If the accomplishments of the average gardener were raised 
to a higher standard, and remunerated in proportion, horti¬ 
culture generally and the employer in particular would be 
benefited thereby. We do not presume that all gardener* 
could be equallv accomplished, as their talent and capacity are 
diversified innately from the commencement, but education 
will do much to place the energetic and plodding man more 
nearly on a level with the born genius. This education has 
to be paid for in some form or other, and there must be some 
inducement to climb the hill of knowledge and surmount the 
difficulties of the way, otherwise the labourers in the province 
of gardening must perforce be compelled to remain of very 
unequal merit. 
At present there is only a prospect for one gardener in most 
private establishments ever attaining a position in which he 
can settle down to his life's work. The head-gardener is the 
only one provided with a habitation and a home in most 
modern private establishments. The remainder, by far the 
larger number, must remain as journeymen or rolling stock 
with a distant prospect of a competency and a home. There 
should be a house for every foreman of an establishment of 
any size, to induce men to stay for an indefinite period of 
time, which could not but redound to the advantage of the 
employer, and to the head-gardener and his subordinates. We 
do not mean to suggest that the British Gardeners Associa¬ 
tion intends to urge the employer to build houses for the 
principal under-gardeners, but we have no doubt that it would 
be seen to be an advantage if placed before him in its proper 
light. 
The aim and object of the British Gardeners’ Association are 
(1) registration of gardeners, (2) the regulation of wages, and 
(3) the regulation of working hours, and all these items it 
intends to carry out on constitutional lines and by peaceable 
persuasion. The wide character of the first proposition 
should find acceptance with gardeners generally. The regis¬ 
tration will consist merely in registering the qualifications 
and experiences of its certificated members, so that each 
situation to be filled may have the proper man for the duties 
assigned. This must redound ultimately to the advantage of 
employers, and provided young gardeners are duly qualified 
they will be eligible for public and private gardens, nursery 
and seed trade, and market gardens. Garden labour at pre¬ 
sent is often recruited from young men who have never served 
an apprenticeship, nor passed through the routine of garden¬ 
ing, under the supervision of a good master of the profession. 
This we should regard as a very irregular method of recruiting. 
With regard to the regulation of wages the professional 
gardener need not assume that his conduct is irregular who 
desires to be paid in proportion to his deserts, or that he 
should exercise any choice by means of co-operation. Already 
the gardeners in various parts of the country have been fore¬ 
stalled in a measure by the men in London parks and gardens, 
where they now enjoy better pay and shorter hours- than 
formerly. The plan, moreover, has been found to work 
admirably. If such statements could be made with regard to 
one .section of the gardening community, why should they not 
apply to the profession as a whole? 
The regulation of the working hours may, for a time, prove 
a stumbling block. At present an eight hours day is not 
contemplated by the plea put forward by the Gardeners’ Asso¬ 
ciation. In private establishments the winter’s day is very 
short, particularly in the northern counties of Britain. There 
are, however, large private establishments where the summer’s 
day is proportionately lengthened until it becomes excessive, 
and gardeners left to their own resources are almost compelled 
to sell this extra labour for nothing. Wliether a man can 
profitably work for more than ten hours a day depends upon 
the character of the work, but almost any sort of work over¬ 
done reduces the efficiency of the worker, and induces him to 
drag along indifferently and listlessly. Such a state of matters 
can scarcely be to the ultimate advantage of employer or em¬ 
ployed. If overtime is'a necessity, it should be paid for. An 
evening or two is a small matter, but when overtime is con¬ 
tinued for weeks, the worker should have some tangible com¬ 
pensation. 
Some will protest that many gardeners are not worth higher 
wages, or pay for overtime. On the other hand, if accorded 
such advantages, an earnest gardener would understand that 
it was necessary to exert himself to put in full value, and to 
make himself competent for the work entrusted for the time 
being, and prospectively for the requirements of the future. 
At present, if the careless and indifferent are remunerated in 
the same ratio as the more diligent, accomplishments would 
lie unnecessary, and that would certainly be the attitude they 
would take up. 
On the other hand, if the B.G.A. rises to its duties, and 
declines to register those who are incompetent in most 
branches of the profession, it will be doing work which is 
indifferently done at the present time, or not at all. Pro¬ 
vided investigations are properly conducted before registra¬ 
tion, and only those sent to fill positions who have given good 
evidence of competence, it should be not only an ultimate 
advantage to gardeners, but a decided gain to the employer, 
who would thus gradually acquire confidence in the procedure 
and recommendations of the B.G.A. 
It. is now a well-recognised fact in this country that a 
properly conducted organisation redounds to the advantage of 
all concerned. The individual is encouraged not only to equip 
himself for his duties, but. has a. hope of just recompense for 
diligence, expenses incurred, and experience acquired, which 
latter is his working capital built up, as it were, as a result of 
previous outlay and, it may be, many years of practice, study 
and waiting. Now that an association for the welfare of t! e 
gardening fraternity has been put on a. certain footing and is 
in being for future work, gardeners throughout, the country 
should accord it their whole-hearted support with the object of 
making it a success. 
According to all accounts we hear of it, the association is 
not intended to be an oligarchy for the benefit of a few privi¬ 
leged individuals, but that all members will have a voice and 
vote in its transactions and in the manner of its conduct and 
working. The council at head-quarters will be a representa¬ 
tive one and retire annually for re-election or individually to 
be replaced by those who are known to act on principles con¬ 
ducive to the welfare and rights of gardeners as a community 
—that is, the whole body of men who have qualified for regis¬ 
tration and have been selected a.s members of the association. 
London Orange porters declare they have lost £250 owing to 
the demolition of warehouses to which they have been accus¬ 
tomed to carry large quantities of fruit. 
