416 
JOUB^^AL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  29,  189G. 
on  the  ihaded  sides,  and  pure  strawberry  on  the  side  next  the  son.  As 
the  fruits  are  so  handsome,  the  tree  such  a  splendid  cropper,  and  the 
fruit  will  keep  until  April,  this  variety  will  prove  excellent,  both  for 
private  and  market  purposes. 
We  mast  now  draw  to  a  close,  bat  not  before  a  word  of  congratula¬ 
tion  has  been  tendered  to  all  at  Laagley  for  the  remarkable  freedom 
from  insect  pests  that  characterise  the  trees,  special  attention  being 
given  to  that  important  matter  at  Langley. — Sceftatoe. 
THE  GARDENERS’  PATH. 
{Continued  from  page  392.) 
It  may  be  thought,  from  being  yet  occupied  with  the  start, 
that  we  are  a  long  time  tuning  our  pipes,  but  it  is  necessary  to 
prevent  future  discord,  and  it  is  here  the  keynote  to  character  is 
struck.  As  previously  noted,  some  young  men  find  themselves 
suddenly  placed  upon  a  high  pedestal  in  the  gardening  world,  not 
attaining  it  by  the  graduated  steps  of  one  or  more  intermediate 
positions.  This,  at  this  age,  will  appear  to  be  the  desideratum,  but 
appearances  are  too  often  deceptive.  I  do  not  say  that  these 
fortunate  ones  are  jumped  up  under  false  pretences  ;  such  could 
not  be,  yet  I  cannot  but  think  that  they  are  to  some  extent  ill- 
balanced  in  the  critical  position,  being  weighted  on  the  one  hand 
with  the  abilities  which  warrant  the  elevation,  whilst,  on  the  other, 
deficient  in  that  philosophy  of  life  which  in  itself  is  sufficient  to 
make  or  mar  a  man.  Still  we  cannot  pick  and  choose  ;  if  we  could 
doubtless  all  would  be  royal,  or  at  least  ducal  gardeners. 
There  are  some,  many  indeed,  who  somehow  feel  that  they 
have  missed  their  mark  at  the  first  shot,  and  are  relegated  to  a 
position  inferior  to  their  real  or  supposed  merits.  From  years  of 
observation  I  now  conclude  that  these  rear  rank  situations  afford  a 
kind  of  drilling  which  the  higher  positions  do  not,  and  that  this  is 
the  time  to  take  it.  “  This  is  all  nonsense  ”  you  will  say.  Well, 
one  who  has  tried  both  agrees  with  me.  From  both  he  has  received 
such  teachings  as  each  are  able  to  give  ;  but,  mark  the  sequel,  to 
him  the  wrong  end  came  first,  and  he  felt  in  the  position  of  a  child 
who  swallows  his  cake  first — not  keeping  it  for  a  final  honne  louche. 
Felt,  I  say  ;  that  was  the  resultant  feeling  for  years.  Not  so  now, 
he  is  thankful  to  say,  for  there  is  a  higher  sterner  school  of  the 
philosophy  of  life  to  which  there  is  no  admission  without  stooping. 
Perhaps  I  am  carrying  you  to  far — too  high,  but  I  want  you  to 
take  broad,  comprehensive  views  of  life  ;  to  grasp  now  such  things 
as  alone,  under  some  conditions  of  life,  make  it  worth  living. 
We  will  now  turn  to  one  of  those  more  practical  matters  which 
is  nearer  and  clearer  to  view ;  it  is  the  relations  of  a  head  gardener 
with  his  men,  and  boys  too,  for  we  can  no  more  leave  the  bothy 
out  of  these  papers  than  could  Dickens’  Mr.  Dick  keep  King 
Charles’  head  out  of  his  literary  efforts  ;  and,  between  ourselves, 
the  young  fellows  are  very  apt  to  criticise  us — old  boys,  who  are  set 
in  authority  over  them .  It  is  a  most  excellent  way  to  begin  as  you 
mean  to  go  on,  provided  that  the  beginning  is  good,  for  a 
vacillating  policy  is  of  all  policies  the  worst.  There  is  here,  as 
there  is  in  most  things,  a  happy  medium,  which  keeps  error  on 
either  side  at  a  safe  distance.  Of  the  three  courses  pursued,  and 
depicted  here  to  illustrate  my  meaning,  we  will  call  this  the  middle 
road,  but  leave  it  till  the  last,  for  a  pleasant  ending  is  most  satis¬ 
factory.  I  must  here  digress  by  saying  that  my  several  types  of 
travellers  are  not  snapshots  of  latter-day  life,  as  I  am  still 
exhuming  and  dissecting  the  past,  hence  not  being  vivisection  there 
are  no  feelings  to  be  sacrificed  ;  also  let  it  be  understood  that 
anything  which  has  been  said,  or  will  be  said,  must,  if  occasion 
appears  to  require  it,  be  taken  with  that  grain  of  salt — “  present 
company  excepted.” 
Taking  first  what  may  bo  termed  the  high  road,  we  see  our 
“  head,”  allegorically,  so  high,  so  self-important,  as  to  be  far  and 
away  removed  from  the  “  hands  ”  he  is  practically  dependent  on  to 
put  his  ideas  into  shape  and  form.  His  young  men  have  no 
sympathy  or  counsel  from  him,  nor  do  they  seek  it,  and  the  old 
ones  under  his  autocratic  eye  perform  their  tasks  in  snllen  silence, 
taking  neither  interest  nor  pleasure  in  their  tasks.  The  days  drag 
out  their  weary  length  under  highly  charged  electric  conditions, 
occasionally  discharging  in  abuse  and  invective  from  one  quarter, 
finding  responsive  grumblings  low  and  deep  from  the  other.  The 
visible  sign  of  these  conditions  is  “  sacking,”  which  is  of  frequent 
occurrence. 
Descending  to  the  lower  road  our  “  head  ”  is,  of  course,  the 
antitype  of  his  pompous  brother.  He  not  only  appears  to  be  on  a 
footing  of  equality  with  his  subordinates,  but  anxious  that  no 
doubt  should  remain  of  its  being  so.  Here  there  are  more  masters 
than  men,  and,  probably,  the  youngest  lad  in  the  garden  thinks  he 
is  as  good  a  man,  if  not  better,  than  his  master  ;  all  arising  from 
that  familiarity  which  breeds  contempt.  “  Extreme  cases,”  you 
will  say  ;  they  are,  I  admit,  but  well  within  the  bounds  of  my 
experience,  for  as  a  boy  I  served  under  these  types  in  succession. 
For  the  first,  whom  I  will  call  Mr.  Hard,  I  felt  nothing  but  fear  ; 
for  the  other,  Mr.  Easy,  nothing  but  contempt.  So  far  as  their 
gardening  qualifications  went  there  was  nothing  wanting,  but  in 
their  management  of  men  there  was  everything  to  be  desired. 
It  is  pleasant  to  turn  to  that  middle  course  where  these  errors 
are  avoided.  Here  the  “  hands  ”  cheerfully  respond  to  the  “  head,” 
always  understanding  his  status  without  the  continual  verbal 
reminder  that  he  is  possessed  of  it.  In  his  intelligence,  integrity, 
and  dignified  demeanour  they  feel  secure,  and  whilst  acknowledging 
him  to  be  their  master  they  feel  not  less  that  he  is  their  friend. 
From  his  authority  there  is  no  appeal,  and  where  Justice  rules  none 
is  required.  In  this  phase  of  the  gardener’s  path  of  duty,  compre¬ 
hending  as  it  does  a  trinity  of  obligations — viz.,  those  whom  he 
serves,  those  who  serve  him,  with  his  duty  to  himself — I  may 
repeat  there  is  no  appeal ;  at  least,  this  is  the  case  where  sole 
control  of  the  “  hands  ”  is  given  to  the  “head.”  This,  I  think,  is 
as  it  should  be  ;  consequently  a  man  thus  placed  in  aathority  should 
feel,  what  I  have  endeavoured  to  point,  that  “  great  gifts  involve 
great  responsibilities.” 
The  wisdom  of  not  forming  hasty  conclusions  upon  any  subject 
is  obvious.  Upon  questions  of  work  thoroughly  sift  the  matter 
in  your  own  mind  in  order  to  evolve  and  fix  upon  the  best 
method  of  proceeding  with  it.  I  do  not  know  of  any  phase  of 
work,  however  trifling,  that  is  not  amenable  to  various  ways  of 
performing  it,  one  only  of  which  can  be  the  best,  and  it  is,  I  think, 
one  of  the  gratifications  of  the  new  position  to  have  this  power 
of  selection  and  to  exercise  it  at  every  possible  oppor¬ 
tunity  and  in  every  possible  way.  It  may  be  that  economy  of 
time,  of  material,  or  of  physical  force  are  factors  claiming  due 
regard,  and  in  this  case  it  is  especially  essential,  but  in  all  cases 
when  aiming  at  perfection  nothing  is  too  trifling  to  be  disregarded. 
A  small  unpretentious  notebook  is  of  the  greatest  service  ;  this, 
with  a  spring  tape  measure  and  a  botanical  lens,  are  admirable 
pocket  companions.  The  man  of  method  is  easily  known  by 
everything  under  his  care  bearing  the  impress  of  law  and 
order,  and  last,  not  least,  he  himself  is  the  embodiment  of  it,  hence 
we  see  those  model  gardens,  irrespective  of  size,  where  all  goes  on 
like  clockwork.  Confusion  is  never  apparent,  nor  conld  it  be  where 
none  exists.  I  suppose  that  one-half  of  the  excuses  made  and  laid 
upon  that  scapegoat  of  the  garden,  the  weather,  if  analysed  would 
simply  resolve  themselves  into  self-accusations,  and  the  remainder 
may  be  set  aside  as  no  excuse  at  all,  for  where  there  is  no  need  of 
an  excuse  it  has  no  right  of  being.  Seldom,  indeed  do  our  leading 
men  make  excuses,  though  they  may  often  have  to  state  facts. 
Blessed  with  health,  and  strength,  and  energy,  although  pro¬ 
bably  no  longer  under  the  dominion  of  that  law  as  exemplified  by 
the  time  bell,  the  habit  of  early  rising  appears  to  be  so  indispens¬ 
able  to  success  that  it  will  not  be  hastily  set  aside  ;  if  it  is,  the 
ill-effects  will  be  quickly  shown,  though  the  cause  may  not  be 
admitted.  The  moral  force  of  example  is  a  potent  factor,  inde¬ 
pendent  of  not  a  few  other  considerations  which  are  obvious.  In 
one  garden,  although  we  of  the  bothy  were  busy  enough  before 
breakfast  with  our  duties,  the  outside  portion  of  the  staff  used  to 
congratulate  themselves  upon  “  the  gaffer  ”  seldom  troubling 
them  before  breakfast ;  but  the  way  he  “  troubled”  them  after  in 
the  endeavour  to  make  up  lost  time  left  them  little  cause  for  this 
elation.  What  admirable  examples  are  afforded  of  success  in  life 
by  our  aged  statesmen,  our  veteran  soldiers,  with  their  remarkable 
mental  endowments  quickening,  barning  brighter  and  brighter  till 
they  set  undimmed  in  a  halo  of  glory,  from  the  observance  of  this 
and  similar  simple  rules.  Young  subjects  of  bothydom  (it  cannot 
be  helped  if  I  am  back  there  again),  and  whom  I  now  thank  for 
many  kindly  expressions.  Do  not  mind  what  people  say  about  the 
“  midnight  oil.”  It  is  an  over-praised  luxury  ;  too  expensive 
when  you  have  the  early  sunbeams  for  nothing. — An  Old  Boy. 
CTo  be  continued.) 
A  GERMAN  FRUIT  SCHOOL. 
Fruit  culture,  I  should  say,  is  seen  at  its  best  in  the  Rhine 
valley.  Every  available  spot  is  cultivated.  The  rocks  are  terraced, 
and  the  Yines  seem  almost  to  grow  out  of  them,  and  in  ascending 
the  hills  they  appear  to  be  pushing  back  the  natural  vegetation  to 
the  very  summit  and  gradually  taking  possession  of  the  whole 
mountain  side.  When  the  train  shot  out  of  the  valley  and  turned 
east  to  Frankfort  we  left  the  Rhine,  but  not  the  vineyards.  They 
kept  us  company  for  many  a  mile  aHer  that,  and  then  gave  place 
to  orchards  in  which  small  fruit,  especially  Currants,  are  grown. 
When  I  saw  them  they  were  in  a  dirty  condition,  rank  grass  being 
abundant  everywhere.  These  Currants  are  sent  to  Rotterdam  and 
shipped  to  England.  As  usual  on  the  Continent,  they  are  conveyed 
by  fast  trains,  and  the  freight  is  low.  In  the  gardens  in  the 
