September  15,  1898 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
209 
the  direction  of  the  two  Aitons  the  gardens  prospered,  and  the  elder 
published  a  catalogue  of  plants  in  1789,  which  was  amplified  by  the 
younger  in  1810.  It  was  only  in  1841  that  these  royal  gardens  were  first 
thrown  open  to  the  public,  and  dnring  that  year  9174  people  made  use 
of  the  privilege.  From  that  time  the  number  of  visitors  has  steadily 
increased.  In  1848,  when  the  great  Palm  house  was  built,  there  were 
91,708.  In  1851,  the  year  of  the  Great  Exhibition,  the  numbers  reached 
327,900  ;  in  1862,  the  next  Exhibition  and  the  year  the  winter  garden 
was  opened,  there  were  550,132  ;  and  so  on  in  ever-increasing  numbers, 
until  in  1882  over  a  million  visitors  were  recorded,  and  last  year  there 
were  as  many  as  1,239,683  who  visited  the  gardens.  This  remarkable 
growth  in  public  interest  is  a  striking  proof  of  the  general  appreciation  of 
all  that  has  been  done  under  the  able  directorship  of  Sir  William  Hooker, 
assisted  by  Bentham,  Henslow,  and  others,  then  under  Sir  Joseph 
Hooker,  and  at  the  present  time  under  Mr.  Thiselton-Dyer.  The 
gardens,  which  in  1841  consisted  of  about  75  acres,  have  gradually  been 
more  is  expected  of  him.  He  has  to  be  fairly  well  educated,  to  know 
something  of  botany,  to  understand  the  structure  and  physical  life  of 
plants,  and  of  the  families  and  genera  to  which  they  belong,  if  he  is  to 
succeed  in  his  profession.  Men  who  are  trained  in  big  nurseries  come  up 
to  this  high  standard,  and  every  year,  in  gardening  as  well  as  in  other 
branches  of  education,  more  knowledge  is  expected.  Those  who  present 
themselves  to  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  for  examination  find  a  very 
stiff  and  searching  paper  to  answer  before  them,  yet  numbers  pass  with 
credit.  The  candidate  who  passes  first  wins  a  scholarship,  offered  by 
the  Worshipful  Company  of  Gardeners,  which  enables  him  to  study  for 
a  year  at  the  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens,  and  a  second  year  may  be 
spent  at  Kew  or  at  some  garden  abroad. 
Women  also  enter  for  these  examinations,  and  one  appeared  second 
on  the  list  last  year.  This  pursuit  of  gardening  by  women  is  a  new  idea, 
although  not  a  surprising  one,  now  that  so  many  professions  and  occupa¬ 
tions  are  open  to  them  which  had  formerly  closed  doors.  A  women’s 
Fig.  37.— SOLANUM  WENDLANDI. 
increased  to  over  400>cres,  and  there  plants  from  all  climes  can  find  a 
h°n,The  beautifying  of  the  parks  and  public  gardens,  not  only  in  London, 
but  in  all  "Teat  towns,  has  immensely  stimulated  the  taste  for  gardening. 
The  love  of  tiowers  has  always  been  characteristic  of  English  people. 
Travellers  two  centuries  ago  were  struck  by  the  pots  of  growing  plants 
and  the  cut  flowers  to  be  seen  in  the  majority  of  houses  ;  and  the  little 
din"y  window  with  its  few  Geraniums  struggling  to  the  light,  and  the 
gay°  cottage  gardens,  prove  how  general  this  love  of  flowers  still  remains. 
In  all  parts  of  the  kingdom  this  innate  affection  for  gardening  has  borne 
fruit  by  an  increase  in  the  knowledge  of  horticulture.  The  village  shows, 
which  have  so  much  encouraged  this  progress,  are  a  proof  of  the  improve¬ 
ment  effected,  and  the  variety  and  size  of  the  vegetables  and  fruits  and 
flowers  now  exhibited  in  remote  districts  would  astonish  the  most 
advanced  gardener  of  the  Georgian  era.  The  professional  gardener 
to-day  is  very  different  from  his  predecessor  half  a  century  ago.  Much 
branch  was  started  in  1891  at  the  Swanley  Horticultural  College.  At 
first  it  was  represented  by  one  pupil,  but  by  1896  there  were  thirty-nine 
students,  and!  the  numbers  continue  to  increase.  Many  of  these  never 
intend  to  be  anything  but  amateurs,  but  several  have  already  passed  out 
of  the  College  to  take  head  gardeners'  places.  Students  from  Swanley 
have  also  been  allowed  to  continue  their  education  at  Kew,  but  the  some¬ 
what  arbitrary  restrictions,  which  oblige  women  to  wear  so-called 
“  rational  ”  knickerbocker  dress,  have  deterred  many  from  making  use  of 
this  advantage.  The  herbaceous  borders  at  Kew,  however,  were  last  year 
tended  entirely  by  women,  and  Mr.  Thiselton-Dyer  was  satisfied  that  they 
had  never  been  better  cared  for.  Although  some  of  the  work  of  a 
gardener  is  hard,  it  is  an  art  in  which  neatness  and  dexterity  play  so 
important  a  part,  that  it  is  a  calling  eminently  suited  to  women. 
Certainly  the  advantages  enjoyed  by  a  modem  gardener  are  very 
great.  He  can  get  instruction  from  technical  education  lectures,  from 
cheap  yet  accurate  books  ;  but  perhaps  the  largest  amount  of  knowledge 
