348 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  18,  1900. 
However  correct  this  idea  may  be,  it  will  be  found  necessary, 
when  a  great  quantity  of  the  work  has  to  be  done,  to  start  as 
soon  as  trees  and  shrubs  are  available,  together  with  the  labour 
so  indispensable  for  carrying  out  the  work.  To  the  thoughtful 
person  there  will  have  come,  before  the  time  is  at  hand  for  , 
action,  many  rtflcctions  as  to  future  requirements  in  the  shape  of 
materials. 
No  gardener  should  think  of  laying  down  turf  without  having  | 
previously  ascertained  the  number  of  turves  that  will  be  required;  | 
nor  will  the  planter  who  gives  serious  attention  to  the  matter  j 
fail  to  measure  his  groucd  and  calculate  the  requisite  number  of 
shrubs  or  trees.  These  are  subjects  which  must  not  be  left  until 
the  last  moment  for  decision,  if  so  it  can  scarcely  be  expected  that  ; 
satisfaction  between  employer  and  employed  will  result.  In  planting 
variegated  and  golden-leaved  shrubs  for  immediate  effect  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  rather  close  planting  may  be  an  advantage  for  i 
such  a  purpose.  In  any  case  we  must  learn  to  look  before  us,  and  not 
wait  until  the  time  comes  for 
commencing  operations.  We  must 
use  forethought,  the  gardener’s 
special  friend,  for  without  the 
faculty  to  look  ahead  few  can 
expect  to  rise  in  the  world  of 
gardening. 
Apart  from  the  changes  that 
fall  to  his  lot  in  carrying  out  his 
ordinary  duties,  there  are  others  to 
which  the  gardener  is  liable,  that 
are  not  peculiar  to  any  one  season. 
It  may  be  his  first  experience  of 
these  comes  to  him  when  in  the 
embryo  stage.  Some  old  and  well- 
worn  “head”  finds  that  he  must 
vacate  the  stage,  and  make  room 
for  a  stronger  and  younger  player. 
Then  may  come  new  rules — new 
regulations  in  many  things,  some 
not  readily  acceptable  to  the 
impulsive  and  the  young.  Some¬ 
times  in  such  cases  the  rules,  once 
strictly  enforced,  have  become  re- 
Hxed  under  the  old  “hand,”  and 
the  newcomer  finds  it  hard  to  pull 
things  together.  There  may  be  in 
the  process  of  shaping  matters  to 
the  desired  order  a  certain  amount 
of  friction,  which  has  again  led  to 
changes  and  alterations. 
In  penning  these  remarks  I  can 
recollect  several  instances  where,  under  a  new  chief,  relations  with 
subordinates  have  stretched  to  the  breaking  point.  And  it  were 
well  to  remind  young  men  that  though  their  knowledge  may  be 
extensive  and  peculiar  to  one  or  two  gardens,  yet  the  accumulated 
experience  of  the  chief  gained  in  many  parts  of  the  country,  and 
in  many  and  various  establishments,  is  bound  to  be  of  a  wider  and 
more  diverse  character  than  their  own.  Head  gardeners,  too,  might 
remember  (and  in  truth  many  of  them  do)  that  their  helpers  should 
be  dealt  with  as  tactfully  as  possible,  in  order  to  get  the  best  of  each 
individual’s  ability. 
With  these  thoughts  come  others  of  a  deeper  nature,  involving 
far  more  serious  issues  to  our  fellow  craftsmen.  “  The  old  order 
changeth,”  has  been  quoted  many  times,  but  never  more  aptly  than 
in  connection  with  the  changes  and  alterations  which  have  taken 
place  in  many  gardens  during  the  last  few  years.  Places  have  been 
heard  of  and  known  where  the  gardener  might  be  said  to  have  a  life 
tenure  of  his  situation.  But  these  alterations!  Man 7  men  in  good 
positions  have  found  themselves  face  to  face  with  the  prospect  of  a 
reduced  staff  and  a  lower  wage,  or  being  for  a  time  amongst  the 
“outs.”  This  latter  has  been  the  preference  of  some,  and  there  are 
not  wanting  instances  of  those  who  have  never  got  back  into  harness 
again.  During  late  years  there  appears  to  have  crept  into  private 
gardening  an  element  of  commercialism  which  was  lacking  in  the 
days  of  old.  Through  this  spirit  we  may  have  gained  an  increased 
output.  More  plants,  more  flowers,  fruit,  and  vegetables  may  be 
grown;  but  we  lose  something,  despite  the  decorative  efforts  of 
to-day,  in  the  absence  of  those  grand  stove  and  greenhouse  plants  of 
the  old  practitioners. 
Why  do  many  owners  desire  so  great  a  return  for  outlay?  Not 
always’  for  the  mere  sake  of  gain,  one  would  think.  Surely  there 
are  trade  emporiums  enough,  without  so  much  that  is  best  and  noblest 
in  the  traditions  of  gardening  having  to  be  sacrificed  for  the  sake  of 
a  profit  and  loss  account  ?  It  is  well  to  be  business-like,  and  alterations 
should  be  conducted  upon  this  basis,  but  there  might  be  found  some 
course  intermediate  between  the  means  provided  and  the  supply 
demanded  in  many  present  day  establishments.  “  We  must  have 
more  plants  and  flowers  grown,” 
says  the  lady ;  “  And  more  vege¬ 
tables,”  remarks  the  master  ;  “  and 
can’t  you  grow  more  fruit  ?  ” 
“  You  must  also  keep  the  ex¬ 
penses  lower  another  year.”  Thus 
between  the  lack  of  provision  for 
ways  and  means  and  the  generous 
demand,  the  poor  gardener  falls, 
to  make  room  for  a  successor,  who 
in  his  turn  fails.  Change  succeeds 
change,  and  not  only  gardeners 
but  gardens  suflfer.  Small  wonder 
is  it  if  so  little  of  the  old  style 
is  seen  of  continuity  of  service. 
The  writer’s  own  experience  has 
not  been  narrow,  and  in  some 
respects  none  too  sweet,  but  the 
less  said  on  this  head  the  better, 
as  his  lines  have  for  some  years 
fallen  in  pleasant  places.  I  have, 
however,  seen  enough  to  know 
that  though  gardeners  are  in 
many  ways  to  blame,  they  alone 
are  not  the  cause  of  the  unstable 
conditions  which  prevail,  and  which 
are  only  too  patent  to  a  keen 
observer. 
I  may  be  pardoned  for  adding  to' 
a  lengthy,  and,  perhaps,  discursive 
paper,  some  remarks  touching 
another  phase  of  alteration  in  the 
gardener’s  existence.  A  man  gives  his  best  years  to  his  calling,  and 
the  time  surely  comes  when  he  must  stand  aside  for  those  having 
youth  and  strength.  Well  for  him  is  it,  if  in  failing  health  or  the 
limitations  of  old  age,  he  finds  himself  in  good  hands,  and  those  whom 
he  has  well  and  faithfully  served,  willing  to  provide  the  necessities 
of  life  for  his  few  remaining  years.  Very  often  such  an  arrange¬ 
ment  is  impossible,  and  then  is  seen  the  wisdom  of  those  who  have 
invested  in  the  funds  of  such  a  society  as  the  Gardeners’  Benevol^t 
Institution.  In  this  most  admirable  society  is  solved  for  the  gardetier 
the  problem  of  old  age  pensions ;  if  he  will  but  exerc  se  a  small 
amount  of  self-denial  for  a  few  years,  here  is  found  provision  not 
only  for  his  own  declining  years,  but  it  may  be  also  for  those  left 
behind  alone.  Could  they  not,  too,  by  a  self-denial  that  is,  in 
certain  circumstances,  nothing  less  than  noble,  find  the  necessary 
weekly  pence  that  would  insure  the  education  of  their  children  ? 
Who  giving  a  thought  to  the  future  will  not  spare  those  few  shillings 
a  year  in  providing  for  their  own  cr  some  fellow  creature’s  benefit 
in  that  tiine  to  come  when  alterations  in  circumstances  and  changes  in 
position  are  liable  to  fall  to  the  lot  of  everyone  of  us  ? — J.  W.  J. 
Fig.  96. — Odontoglossum  Wattianom. 
