496 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  4,  1905 
Gardeners’  Commissions. 
Very  remarkable  it  must  appear  to  men  of  thought,  that  while 
gambling,  horseraeing,  gigantic  embezzlements,  general  swind¬ 
ling  concerns,  Ac.,  mark  the  progress  of  civilisation,  the  small 
gratuity  sometimes  tendered  by  the  payee  in  the  settlement  of 
an  account  is  magnified  as  among  the  most  heinous  of  social  vices. 
It  is  yet  another  instance  of  straining  at  the  gnat  and  swallow¬ 
ing  the  camel.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  enormity  of  the  evil  is 
altogether  a  product  of  the  ill-designing  imagination.  It  is  a 
well-known  fact  that  unfortunate  traders  give  vent  to  their 
vituperation  in  this  direction,  and  very  unfortunately,  they 
always  say  considerably  more  than  their  knowledge  or  conscience 
either  could  approve.  Men  of  sound  sense  have  never  had  any 
doubt  as  to  the  motive  underlying  a  trader’s  tactics  when  he 
condescends  to  attribute  extreme  depravity  of  character  to  a 
very  upright  and  morally  sound  profession.  I  refer  to  the 
average  better  class  gardener ;  I  am  aware  that  there  are  those 
who  designate  themselves  gardeners  who  only  but  yesterday 
started  to  mow  the  villa  back  green,  or  dress  the  weedy  plot  in 
front.  We  are  not  responsible  either  for  their  practice  or  conduct. 
Some  years  ago  a  similar  accusation  was  made  by  what  appeared 
to  be  a  horticultural  builder,  and  really  the  nature  of  his  vindi¬ 
cative  contumely  was  anything  but  an  honour  to  the  respectable 
industry  he  claimed  to  belong  to.  It  is  incomprehensible  Avhat 
can  be  gained  from  such  an  exposure,  even  w  ere  it  true.  Much, 
however,  is  lost,  not  to  the  gardener,  but  to  the  business  man 
wdiatever  his  trade  may  be. 
Since  the  alleged  briberies  have  been  ventilated,  the  seeds¬ 
man  has  not  the  same  respectful  place  in  the  squire’s  estimation 
that  he  had  in  former  times,  and  fewer  noAv  care  to  engage 
a  gardener  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  seedsman. 
And  he  has  no  one  to  blame  for  this  but  himself.  He 
began  with  a  system  of  percentage  in  order  to  increase  his 
business,  and  for  reasons  only  apparent  to  himself  he  then  turns 
round  wdth  the  air  of  a  much  aggrieved  man  and  places  his  self- 
invented  iniquity  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  gardener.  One 
would  almost  think  that  in  a  moment  of  aberrancy,  such  self- 
justified  moralists  must  have  actually  swallowed  the  Decalogue 
or  exhausted  Paley’s  “  Moral  Philosophy.”  At  best  it  is  but  a 
miserable  pittance  that  the  gardener  who  accepts  commission  is 
offered,  and  in  no  case  do  I  think  gardeners  look  upon  it  as} 
consuetudo  pro  lege  servatur.  On  the  contrary,  none  are  very 
much  surprised,  nor  at  all  disappointed,  if  they  are  not  asked 
to  accept  anything  at  all.  There  is  no  arrangement  to  imply  any 
obligation  on  the  part  of  the  payee,  consequently  the  payer  has 
no  reasons  for  expecting  any  commission  on  the  transaction. 
Where,  then,  can  the  Inducement  for  making  big  accounts  for  the 
sake  of  a  sordid  sixpence  or  shilling  a  pound  come  in?  Surely 
there  are  far  easier  and  more  profitable  means  for  swindling  at 
every  gardener’s  disposal  than  this  terribly  clumsy  and  unre- 
munerative  one  if  he  w’ere  the  depraved  stranger  to  moral 
integrity  a,s  some  endeavour  to  make  out.  But  it  is  an  ill  wind 
that  blows  no  one  good. — Alps. 
Gardeners’  Bothies. 
Some  time  ago  a  correspondence  appeared  in  the  gardening 
papers  with  respect  to  gardeners’  bothies.  His  Majesty  the 
King  has  show  deep  interest  in  this  matter  as  in  all  others  per¬ 
taining  to  the  welfare  of  his  subjects,  and  recently  there  has  been 
erected  in  the  Royal  gardens  at  Frogmore,  as  part  of  the  re¬ 
construction  of  the  gai’dens,  a  bothy  wdiich  may  be  truly  said 
to  be  a  Royal  bothy.  This  building,  the  details  of  which  have 
had  His  Maje, sty’s  special  approval,  has  accommodation  for 
twenty-four  unmarried  gardeners.  It  occupies  three  sides  of  a» 
square,  and  is  two  storeys  in  height,  in  the  old  English  style  of 
architecture.  On  the  right  of  the  main  entrance,  over  Avhich 
there  is  a  handsome  clock,  there  is,  on  the  ground  floor,  a  dining¬ 
room  26ft  by  30ft,  a  reading  and  recreation  room  27ft  by  15ft, 
and  isolation  or  sick  rooms  Avith  separate  entrance.  These  latter 
comprise  a  bedroom  lift  by  lOsft,  a  sitting-room  16ft  by  15ft  Avith 
large  bay  windoAv,  and  a  bathroom,  lavatory,  Ac.  This  suite  of 
rooms,  wdiich  may  be  called  a  small  hospital,  is  entirely  cut  off 
from  the  rest  of  the  building,  and  is  complete  in  every  w'ay.  In 
the  left-hand  wing  of  the  building  is  the  caretaker’s  house,  w'hich 
corresponds  to  the  sick  rooms  just  described — also  stores,  larder, 
&c.,  and  a  kitchen  25ft  by  21ft,  with  all  kitchen  requisites,  cook¬ 
ing  range,  &c.  A  spacious  hall  and  staircase  diAude  the  kitchen 
from  the  dining-room,  but  a  connection  betAveen  them  is  provided 
by  a  serA'ice  passage  behind  the  staircase.  The  sleeping  accom¬ 
modation  for  the  men  is  on  the  upper  floor.  Each  man  has  a 
separate  bedroom,  about  10ft  by  8ft,  en.suring  absolute  privacy, 
and  there  are  three  larger  rooms  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
foremen,  the.se  nmasuring  about  loft  by  10ft.  All  the  rooms  open 
into  a  Avide  corridor  running  round  the  building.  Behind  the 
main  .staircase  is  a  lavatory  27ft  by  19ft,  Avith  tAvo  bathrooms, 
nine  Avashing  basins,  four  av.c.’s,  &c.,  and  a  boot-brushing  room. 
Enderneath  the  laA’atory  and  the  dining-room,  coA’ered  by  a 
.steel  and  concrete  floor,  is  the  .stokehole  and  the  boiler-house 
for  the  east  section  of  the  garden.  This  is  40ft  long  by  19ft 
Avide,  and  the  stokehole  part  is  about  17ft  high  and  abundantly 
lighted.  The  entire  Avork  has  been  carried  out  by  Messrs, 
Mackenzie  and  Moncur,  Limited,  hothouse  builders  to  Hia 
Majesty.  The  AA-hole  of  the  bothy  has  been  finished  in  a  very 
superior  manner,  and  every  care  taken  to  ensure  the  health  and 
comfort  of  the  men.  It  is  practically  fireproof,  and  a  complete 
system  of  hot  Avater  heating  and  hot  w-ater  supply  is  installed 
throughout  the  building.  All  the  rooms  have  been  mo.st  com¬ 
fortably  furnished,  and  an  abundance  of  good  books  and  many  fine 
pictures  have  been  .supplied  from  Windsor  Castle.  The  King,  in 
thus  providing  such  comfortable  C{Uarters  for  his  gardeners,  ha.s 
set  a  good  example  Avhich  might  be  follow'ed  Avith  adA^antage  by 
many  noblemen  and  gentlemen,  for  certainly  a  large  number  of 
gardeners’  bothies  are  not  creditable  to  their  OAvners. — J.  D. 
Back  to  the  Land. 
I  trust  that  all  Avriters  on  “  Back  to  the  Land  ”  will  bear  and 
forbear.  One  sentence,  sometimes  one  wmrd,  kills  an  ctherAvise 
A-ery  useful  letter.  To  go  OA-er  a  letter  intended  for  your  many 
readers’  good,  striking  out  here  and  adding  there  AA'ill  remove 
a  man  from  sourness  of  .spirit  and  clothe  him  with  “  charity, 
Avhich  thinketh  no  evil.”  For  in.stance,  one  does  not  need  a 
professor  to  tell  one  that  both  bad  and  good  landlords  are  in  the 
flesh.  A  large  one  may  raise  rent  too  .severely  and  too  quickly 
(to  my  knoAvledge),  but  the  .small  landoAvner  is  not  ahvays  free, 
from  Avant  of  balance.  And,  oh!  sir,  .some  farmers,  great  and 
small,  are  enough  to  break  the  hearts  of  good  landlords. — Chables 
Berry,  F.R.H.S. 
The  articles  which  haA^e  been  appearing  in  your  recent  issues 
have  been  interesting  reading,  the  subject  being  one  of  vital 
importance  to  landlords  and  tenants  alike.  One  has  only  had 
to  see  the  fine,  .sturdy,  intelligent  young  fellows  that  have  been 
lately  going  from  the  port  of  Liverpool  to  Canada  and  various 
other  colonies,  chiefly  AA'ith  a  A’ieAv  of  following  up  agriculture', 
and  it  AA'Ould  certainly  appear  that  there  is  something  radically 
Avrong  in  our  .system  of  land  labour,  else  would  there  be  no  need 
to  part  Avith  good  men.  At  the  present  moment  it  is  not  my 
intention  to  enter  into  this  controversy,  but  an  article  in  “  The 
E.state  Book  ”  (Country  Gentleman’s  Association,  Cockspur 
Street,  S.W.),  by  Mr.  H.  B.  M.  Buchanan-Hales,  near  Market 
Drayton,  may  cause  food  for  reflection,  and  possibly  produce 
much  good  discus.sion,  bearing  as  it  does,  Mr.  Hales  says,  on  the 
subject  in  hand:  “The  read  reason,  I  am  convinced,  why  the 
young  and  vigorous  life  seeks  the  toAvn  is  because  of  the  life, 
movement,  amusement,  and  intellectual  activity  of  the  town. 
Men  Avorking  in  the  country  have  nothing  tO'  look  forward  to  to 
relieve  the  monotony  of  their  AAmrk ;  but  if,  after  some  yearsi 
toiling  and  saving,  they  could  iuAmst  their  experience  and  savings 
in  Avorking  and  stocking  a  small  holding  they  would  put  up  with 
the  dulness  of  the  country.  And  by  a  small  pastoral  holding  is 
meant  one  of  about  six  acres,  that  the  wife  and  family  can  look 
Rfter  Avhile  the  man  is  AA’orking  for  a  w^age  paid  by  the  tenant 
farmer.  The  stock  of  the  place  generally  consists  of  two  cows, 
a  heifer,  a  breeding  sow  and  fattening  pigs,  poultry,  fruit  and 
A^egetables,  and  in  some  cases  a  pony  and  trap.  The  Avife  makes 
the  butter,,  and  once  a  Aveek  takes  the  butter,  eggs,  poultry, 
fruit,  and  vegetables  to  the  market.” 
The  occupier  of  the  small  holding  thus  could  Avork  several 
days  in  the  Aveek  for  the  tenant,  and  the  re.st  of  the  time  he 
could  deAmte  to  looking  after  his  OAvn  little  place.  The  plan  has 
been  tried  in  a  feAv  places  and  not  found  Avanting.  It  has  been 
proved  to  benefit  both  the  tenant  farmer  AA'ho  employs  men  and 
the  latter  themselves.  An  instance.  On  one  or  tAvo  large  farms 
which  adjoin  each  other  the  labourers’  cottages  are  ahvays 
occupied.  On  the  other  farm  the  reA’erse  is  the  case.  Why? 
Because  one  farm  has  the  small  holdings  and  the  other  has  not. 
Another  point  Avhich  may  be  mentioned  is  this.  That  in  those 
slack  seasons  Avhen  the  tenant  farmer  can  find  no  Avork  for  his 
men  the  employes  who  have  small  holdings  of  their  own  can  find 
occupation  for  themselves.  The  woyk  on  such  a  place  is  u.sually 
different  to  that  on  the  large  farm,  and  requires  to  be  performed 
at  different  seasons.  These  could  probably  be  made  to  fit  in  as 
de.sired.  Such  are  the  ideas  set  forth  by  Mr.  Hales  which,  if 
summed  ui5,  mean  that  if  Avorkers  are  to  be  kept  on  the  land 
they  must  have  their  lives  made  as  bright  as  possible,  and  a 
hope  for  the  future. — R.  P.  R. 
