442 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER 
May  14,  1888 
for  this  particular  office  ;  and  although  all  live  and  learn,  especially 
gardeners,  and  admit  their  field  of  work  and  length  of  days  cannot 
posiibly  compass  the  erudition  it  contains,  at  this  age  a  man’s 
abilities  and  fitness  for  the  position  have  unquestionably  been 
proved.  There  are,  of  course,  other  reasons  in  this  instance  for 
drawing  a  hard  and  fast  line,  which  need  not  here  detain,  nor, 
indeed,  may  this  phase  of  the  question,  for  compared  with  the 
preponderating  amount  of  private  situations  it  is  of  but  little 
moment. 
With  the  latter  and  larger  side,  as  affecting  the  great  majority, 
the  question  is  less  clear  if  more  important.  Seldom  is  any  clearly 
defined  limit  expressed  in  the  stipulations,  although  a  rejected 
candidate  may  have  a  vague  consciousness  that  this  is  the  only 
objection  raised  against  him.  In  this  case  five  years  are  possibly 
yet  due  to  him  on  the  lines  laid  down  for  public  competition.  (It 
must  be  understood  that  the  age  specifications  are  only  approxi¬ 
mate  here — in  this  paper.)  We  old  boys  are  doubtless  a  little 
envious  of  some  who  advertise  their  age,  amongst  other  qualifica¬ 
tions,  somewhere  in  the  thirties.  Now  and  again  may  be  noticed  a 
man  advertising  in  “the  prime  of  life.”  Place  that  where  you  will, 
I  invariably  interpret  this  statement  as  that  of  a  man  who  has  passed 
the  Rubicon,  and  feels  it.  If  this  class  did  not  include  a  body  of 
men  so  superlatively  qualified  in  all  but  that  miserable  little  failing 
of  age  I  should  not  venture  to  have  broached  this  subject  ;  but  it 
seems  to  me  that  the  superiority  they  may  justly  claim  is  swept 
away  by  this  minor  (or  major)  consideration. 
Why  is  it  so  ?  Why  it  is  so  it  is  difficult  to  understand. 
Physically  the  man  may  be  as  strong  as  he  has  ever  been,  and 
continue  so  for  many  years.  Mentally  he  may  claim  infinitely 
superior  qualifications,  sufficiently  superior  to  more  than  counter- 
balance  any  deficiency  likely  to  occur  in  the  former.  Was  this  a 
question  of  brute  force  pure  and  simple  then  might  we  yield  the 
palm  to  youth,  however  reluctantly  ;  but  the  whole  thing  appears 
to  be  the  result  of  an  obviously  false  reasoning.  Whilst  hoping 
that  space  will  be  granted  for  these  thoughts  on  the  matter,  we 
have,  I  think,  a  considerable  measure  of  sympathy  from  those  who 
are  as  ready  to  publish  a  gardener’s  woes  as  they  are  his  triumphs. 
I  do  not  say  that  they  can  directly  help  us,  but  sympathy  is  always 
helpful. 
In  the  average  duration  of  a  gardener’s  life,  and  taking  as  an 
example  the  man  who  in  its  vicissitudes  has  won  and  acquired  a 
good  position  to  again  lose  it  by  one  or  other  cause  he  is  powerless 
to  control  or  avert,  not  of  infrequent  occurrence,  there  appears  to 
be  far  too  short  a  measure  of  its  span  in  which  his  abilities  are 
allowed  free  scope.  Of  the  earlier  days,  which  are  far  from  being 
all  football  and  frolic,  we  may  take  it  that  the  age  of  thirty  is 
pretty  well  attained  ere  he  is  regarded  as  fit  for  the  higher  and 
more  responsible  position  as  head. 
With  the  bright  pictures  he  then  draws  we  have  nothing  to  do. 
If  hopes  are  realised,  and  the  full  course  is  run  under  the  happiest 
circumstances,  more  could  not  be  expected  or  desired.  From 
personal  observation  and  experience  of  life  I  take  this  to  be  the 
exception  rather  than  the  rule,  and  few  and  short  appear  the  years 
spent  in  one  or  more  places  ere  he  is  forced  to  face  the  disagreeable 
fact  that  age,  though  not  telling  upon  him,  is  telling  against  him. 
Him — he  who  is  now  advertising  that  superior  qualification,  “  in 
the  prime  of  life,”  to  find  that  it  is  seriously  qualified  solely  by 
sentiment,  if  I  may  thus  term  it. 
Gardeners,  as  a  rule,  are  men  that  wear  well,  and  are  not  thus 
early  worn  out.  There  is,  if  I  recollect  aright,  but  one  profession 
claiming  but  a  slightly  higher  place  for  longevity  in  statistics 
compiled  for  the  purpose  of  life  insurance.  Physical  powers, 
which  are  not  a  primary  consideration  in  the  class  alluded  to,  may 
show  but  the  least  perceptible  deterioration  for  many  years,  and 
intellectually  added  years  but  give  increased  power  ;  yet  somehow 
the  man  “  in  the  prime  of  life,”  if  compelled  to  enter  the  lists  of 
competition  for  a  situation,  feels  then  that  he  is  in  sight  of  that 
narrow  stream,  the  Rubicon,  and  very  probably  the  final  result 
makes  him  painfully  aware  that  he  has  passed  it. 
No  invidious  comparison  need  be  drawn  with  his  more 
youthful  conqueror,  but  it  appears  lamentable  that  forty  years 
should  stand  so  little  chance  in  competition  with  thirty,  and  fifty 
none  at  all.  For  the  latter,  in  many  instances,  a  score  of  years 
of  good,  honest,  active  service  may  be  accredited  to  the  worker,  yet 
he  is  weighed  in  the  balance  and  found  wanting.  Wanting  in 
what  ?  It  is  a  question  awaiting  an  answer.  It  is  a  question  I 
have  kept  before  my  mind  for  some  time — have  endeavoured  to 
view  impartially  from  both  sides,  yet  cannot  answer  it.  True  I 
must  admit  that,  to  some  extent,  partiality  cannot  be  entirely 
eliminated  in  my  case,  for  I  have  crossed  the  Rubicon.  Was  this 
not  the  case  I  should,  doubtless,  not  endeavour  to  be  the 
mouthpiece  of  those  who  have  crossed  it  also. 
Ere  concluding,  for  the  benefit  of  all  concerned,  I  would  like  to 
describe  the  feelings  of  those  just  over  the  boundary.  In  the  first 
place  it  is  essential  that  our  typical  example  is  one  who  has  filled  a 
good  position,  and  filled  it  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  term — capably 
and  honourably.  From  some  cause  common  to  a  reverse  of  fortune 
he  is  seeking  fresh  fields  and  pastures  new.  In  the  full  conscious¬ 
ness  of  power — moral,  physical,  and  mental — he  stands  the  perfect 
type  of  a  British  gardener,  or  as  near  to  it  as  we  can  imagine. 
Backed  by  the  weight  of  an  irreproachable  character  ;  strong  in 
that  experience  which  time  alone  can  supply  ;  fitted  for  each  and 
every  phase  of  duty,  not  the  least  of  which  is  the  efficient  handling 
of  the  personnel  of  a  large  establishment,  how  confident  this  man 
feels  of  success  in  open  competition,  or  in  those  frequent  instances 
of  private  treaty  what  more  probable  than  the  known  fact  that 
he  is  eligible  for  re-appointment  should  secure  it  at  the  first  oppor¬ 
tunity  which  occurs  ?  These  are  the  feelings  of  many  doomed  to 
disappointment,  who  run  for  the  prize  but  are  handicapped  by  age 
— not  old  age,  but  he  has  passed  the  Rubicon. 
This  is  not  an  isolated  case  ;  rather  does  it  appear  to  be  the 
common  lot  of  many  at  a  certain  stage  in  their  career.  Hence¬ 
forward  must  they  take  a  back  seat  in  the  drama  of  life,  or  be  left 
standing  “  out,”  to  see  the  more  prominent  parts  taken  by  young 
actors,  who  may  perform  well,  but  by  all  the  rules  of  life  have  yet 
to  ripen  by  age  alone,  which  unaccountably,  at  least  to  me,  will 
seriously  discount  their  future  chances  of  a  similar  situation  should 
they,  unfortunately,  have  to  seek  it. — Old  Boy. 
This  flower  has  long  been  cultivated  in  Portugal,  as  most  readers  of 
Mr.  Burbidge’s  work  on  the  subject  will  no  doubt  remember.  It  would 
seem,  however,  of  late  to  be  rising  in  popular  esteem,  for  we  notice  in  a 
French  contemporary  that  a  gardener  in  Lisbon  has  recently  published 
a  new  book  in  the  Portuguese  language  dealing  with  the  cultivation  of 
the  flower  from  all  points  of  view.  The  title  of  the  new  work  is 
“  Os  Chrysanthemosea  sua  cultura.” 
Chrysanthemum  Pictures. 
Just  at  the  present  moment  there  is  a  charming  collection  of  cleverly 
executed  water  colour  drawings,  by  Miss  Hill  Burton,  on  view  at  the 
Clifford  Galleries,  Haymarket..  Many  of  them  depict  the  glories  of  the 
Wistaria,  Iris,  Maple,  and  other  flowering  subjects  dear  to  the  heart  of 
the  florists  of  Japan.  No  18,  however,  is  of  interest  to  Chrysanthemum 
admirers,  and  is  entitled  “Gathering  Chrysanthemums  for  Market.”  A 
female  figure  is  busily  engaged  at  work  gathering  from  a  multi-coloured 
bank  of  these  plants,  the  blooms  which  are  to  be  disposed  of.  No.  59, 
“  Chrysanthemum  House,”  is  a  large  finely  coloured  piece  of  work  quite 
typical  of  such  a  scene  as  can  only  be  seen  in  the  native  home  of  our 
favourite.  There  is  a  huge  bank  of  monster  blooms,  probably  on  single 
stemmed  plants,  all  aglow  beneath  the  roof  of  a  bamboo-constructed  house, 
such  as  the  Japanese  use  for  protecting  the  Queen  of  Autumn.  At  an 
opening  towards  the  end  of  the  structure  may  be  seen  a  little  group 
of  native  sight-seers  admiring  what  is  undoubtedly  an  extensive  and 
imposing  collection.  This  picture  is  one  of  the  best  of  its  kind  we 
have  ever  seen,  and  should  find  a  home  in  the  abode  of  some  of  our 
wealthy  English  admirers  of  the  Chrysanthemum. 
A  New  Chrysanthemum  Catalogue. 
M.  0.  de  Meulenaere  of  Ghent,  who  published  an  exhaustive  list  of 
new  Chrysanthemums  two  years  ago,  and  which  was  based  upon  an 
entirely  new  principle  to  which  we  then  draw  attention,  has  brought 
his  work  close  up  to  date  by  the  publication  of  a  supplement  within 
the  past  few  days.  M.  de  Meulenaere’s  new  list  contains  all  the 
novelties  sent  out  between  the  years  1894  and  1896.  The  descriptions 
are  full  without  being  verbose,  classification  is  given,  and  also  dates 
of  introduction  and  raisers’  names.  M.  de  Meulenaere’s  lists  are 
invaluable  additions  to  the  literature  of  the  Chrysanthemum,  especially 
for  those  whose  business  it  is  to  write  for  the  press.  The  publisher  is 
Mons.  Ad.  Hosle,  Rue  des  Champs,  Ghent. 
The  French  N.C.S. 
This  newly  formed  society  now  counts  among  its  list  of  members 
176  supporters,  and  includes  all  the  well  known  raisers  and  growers  in 
France,  besides  many  foreigners  of  distinction.  Hitherto  the  officers  of 
the  Society  only  held  their  appointments  provisionally,  but  at  a  recent 
meeting  held  at  Lyons  the  formal  election  of  the  officers  for  the  year 
was  proceeded  with.  The  following  gentlemen  were  elected  to  serve  for 
the  year  1896  : — President,  Mons.  Maxim  de  la  Rocheterie,  President  de  la 
Socidtd  d’Horticulture  d’Orleans  et  du  Loiret.  Vice-presidents,  MM. 
Bruant,  Calvat,  Couillard,  Ddlaux,  Duval,  Fatzer,  Treyeran,  Van  den 
Heede.  Secretary,  M.  Phillippe  Rivoire,  16,  Rue  de  l’Algdrie,  Lyons. 
Assistant  Secretary,  M.  Brossy.  Treasurer,  M.  Dubreuil.  The  General 
Committee  consists  of  thirty  elected  members,  and  includes  well  known 
