THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
177 
pate one of the very l)est seasons the nnrservinen of 
itlie west have Iiad for a g'ood many years. 
THE NURSERY EMPLOYEE. 
By One who has been Through the Mill, 
What are the prospects a yonno- man may look for¬ 
ward to in learning the nursery business f At one 
time a boy began weeding when he was from twelve 
to fourteen years old. Now he is nsnally sixteen or 
more with a grammar school education, possilily bet 
ter, before he applies for work at a nursery and there 
are very few boys of this age (Aniei*ican born) apply 
for outdoor nursery work. This is particularly true 
when the nursery is located near a city, where the 
A boy of sixteen, if he is quick and husky, will re¬ 
ceive four or live dollars a week. About one in ten 
will stick out the spring shiiiping season, '^flie others 
would iTither take up more congenial enq)loyment, 
such as caddy for the golfers, helper on an ice wag¬ 
on, etc., where more money can be made and where 
there is moi'e time for base-ball or other outdoor 
sports. S])ort looms larger iu the eyes of normal 
youth than does future success. 
Nursery work is healthy for those already in good 
health. 
The boy who has intentions of becoming a nursery¬ 
man, must be a sticker, for there are few induce¬ 
ments and much to learn. 
He must become familiar with the common and bot- 
Evergreens at the Arlington Nurseries, Arlington, Nebraska. 
office, store, factory and building trades offer induce¬ 
ments for the young man to learn (piickly and com¬ 
mand higher wages. 
After a period of apprenticeship the average of 
which is four years in the building trades, he can 
command $3.50 to $5.00 per day of eight hours; with 
the Saturday half-holidays, which is enjoyed by most 
all grades of labor the jmar round. 
The office, store and factory offer clean work, 
where he can go and come home dressed, this with 
manv holidavs is a big inducement to the voung man 
at this age. They wear gloves to do any class of 
manual labor. Soiled hands? Never! 
On the nursery the hours are likely to be much 
longer, and where there are greenhouses he is expect¬ 
ed to take his turn at Sunday duty. The Saturday 
half-holiday is allowed on some nurseries for a 
couple of months in summer and sometimes for a i)er- 
iod in the winter. 
anical names of the trees and plants and their mean¬ 
ing. He must learn to know the trees, shrubbery 
and plants. He must learn to distinguish colors, for 
he may be called on any time to give a clear descrip¬ 
tion of flowers, foliage, time of blooming, etc., of any 
one of the numerous varieties of for instance Roses, 
Paeonia, Iris, Spiraea, IMaples, Oaks, etc. 
He must learn to recognize ])lants and trees by 
their foliage, bark, buds, roots, habit of growth and 
to collect, clean and care for all seed, how to care for 
them, time to germinate and many other methods of 
pro])agation, i)ro])er time to perform the work, such 
as cuttings, grafting, layering, inarching, budding 
and which kinds are best grown by the various meth¬ 
ods. 
He must learn the condition under which trees and 
])lants grow in their native haunts, how to create that 
condition for them, the location in which they grow 
best, wet, dry, shade or light places. About their 
