May  5,  1904. 
389 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Plea  for  a  Gardeners’  Association. 
At  a  meeting  of  gardeners  held  on  February  23,  1904,  Mr. 
Owen  Thomas  in  the  chair,  it  was  resolved  to  form  a  Professional 
Gardeners’  Association,  to  comprise  all  who  are  engaged  in  any 
branch  of  horticulture.  A  Provisional  Committee  was  then 
elected  to  prepare  a  scheme  to  be  submitted  at  a  future  meeting. 
Tliis  committee  met  on  Alarch  8,  and  decided  to  arrange  for  a 
public  meeting  to  be  held  in  London  on  June  1,  1904  (the  second 
day  of  the  Temple  Show),  when  proposals  for  the  formation  of  a 
national  association  of  gardeners  will  be  submitted.  It  was  also 
decided  to  publish  a  pamphlet  setting  forth  the  main  objects 
for  which  the  association  is  to  be  formed,  and  the  advantages 
of  co-operation.  It  is  hoped  that  this  purpose  will  be'served  by 
the  following  notes 
PROVISIONAL  COMMITTEE. 
Gr.  Goedon,  Chairman.  K.  Deost. 
E.  Beckett. 
T.  H.  Cook. 
C.  H.  CUKTIS. 
H.  J.  CuTBUSH. 
W.  H.  Divers. 
W.  Watson,  Hon.  Sec.,  Kew  Road,  Kew. 
C.  Jordan. 
R.  H.  Pearson. 
F.  K.  Sander. 
J.  Weathers. 
An  effort  is  now  being  made  to  realise  the  desire  for  an 
association  which  shall  include  all  who  are  professionally 
employed  in  any  branch  of  horticulture, ‘including  private  and 
public  gardens,  the  nursery  and  seed  ti’ade,  and  market  gardens. 
The  objects  of  the  association  will  be  : — 
(1)  Registration  of  gardeners. 
(2)  Jlegulation  of  wages. 
(3)  Regulation  of  working  hours. 
These  three  are  admittedly  the  most  urgent  matters 
requiring  attention.  Ofh'er  questions  which  the  association 
might  takq  up  subsequently  are  the  proportion  of  apprentices  or 
improv’er,^  to  journeymen,  especially  in  private  gardens  j  foreign 
or  alien  labour ;  the  as.sistance  of  sick  and  aged  members,  and 
of  gardeners’  orphans  who  may  be  in  need. 
There  is  iio  reason  why  gardeners,  working  together  and  in 
the  true  co-6perative  spirit,  should  not  obtain  such  control  over 
questions  of  this  kind,  which  directly  affect  the  welfare  and 
happiiiess' of  the  individual  and  the  best  interests  of  British 
horticulture  as  would  enable  them  to  deal  effectively  with 
grievances  as  they  arise.  There  is  little  doubt  that  the 
employer  has  often  cause  to  complain  of  the  dull-witted, 
unskilled  “  gardener,”,  who  doe's  so  mueh^.to  keep  the  status  of 
the  profession  at  zero,  and  who  will  continue  to  foist  himself  on 
the  employer  so  long  as  means  are  not  adopted  to  secure  to  the 
employer  some  guarantee  of  the  competence  of  the  candidate'for 
employment. 
Although  gardening  Ls  one  of  the  oldest,  and  also  one  of  the 
most  important  industries  of  this  country,  its  votaries  'are 
absolutely  without  organisation.  It  is  said  that  there  are 
10,000  gardeners  in  England  alone,  but  if  we  include  commercial 
and  trade  gardeners,  there  are  probably  at  least  as  many  more. 
An  association  that  succeeds  in  uniting  them  on  co-operative 
lines  will  constitute  a  force  which,  under  proper  guidance,  will 
lift  the  profession  into  a  higher  position  than  it  occupies  now. 
Tlie'  right  of  workers  to  combine  for  mutual  protection  and 
assistance  is  now  recognised  and  even  encouraged.  Trade 
unions,  friendly  societies,  co-operative  societies,  and  similar 
institutions  provide  a  means  for  attaining  and  conserving  that 
independence,  which  is  not  only  a  source  of  strength,  but  the 
foundation  of  prosperity  and  happiness.  “  Associated  effort  will 
find  its  highest  level  in  proportion  as  all  the  elements — the 
body  corporate — are  healthfully  self-reliant,  and  manfully 
united  for  the  common  good  of  all.  But  association  will  not  be 
strong,  however  numerous  in  membership,  if  the  units  that 
comiiose  it  are  cowards.” — Howell. 
An  objection  urged  against  the  proposed  association  by  a 
few  employers  and  gardeners  is  that  it  would  cause  strife 
between  employer  and  employed.  This  objection  is  a  remnant  of 
that  prejudice  against  all  workmen’s,  combinations  which  a 
century  ago  led  to  their  prohibition  by  law.  But  a  very 
different  view  prevails  now.  A  few  years  ago  a  select  committee 
of  the  House  of  Lords,  after  an  elaborate  inquiry  into  what  is 
known  as  the  sweating  system  in  many,  branches  of  industry, 
reported  that— ‘‘  With  respect  to  low  wages  and  excessive  hours 
of  labour,  we  think  that  good  may  be  effected  by  the  extension 
of  co-operative  societies,  and  by  well-considered  combination 
amongst  workmen.”  The  late  Duke  of  Argyll,  whose  views 
will  command  respect,  said  :  — “  The  instincts  of  men,  truer  often 
than  the  conclusions  of  philosophy,  have  rebelled  against  the 
doctrine  that  they  are  the  sport  of  circumstances;  yet  finding 
by  hard  experience  that  this  is  often  true  of  the  individual 
standing  alone,  they  have  resolved  to  try  whether  it  is  equally 
true  of  the  collective  will,  guided  bv  the  spirit  and  strengthenecl 
under  the  discipline  of  association.” 
M  hatever  mistakes  may  have  been  made  by  other  combina¬ 
tions  of  workers,  it  is  not  the  intention  of  the  promoters  of  the 
Gardeners’  Association  to  attempt  anything  inconsistent  with 
the  rights  either  of  employer  or  employed,  or  which  will  not 
commend  itself  to  all  who  have,  the  welfare  of  horticulture  at 
heart. 
The  question  of  wages  will  undoubtedly  demand  attention. 
Generally  the  wages  of  gardeners  are  less  than  those  of  ordinary 
mechanics  who  build  their  greenhouses,  etc.,  and  whose  intelli¬ 
gence  and  responsibility  are,  as  a  rule,  below  those  expected  in 
the  average  gardener.  The  argument  that  gardeners’  wages  are 
low  because •  gardening  is  a  luxury  is  not  worth  consideration. 
Employers  get  labour  as  cheaply  as  they  can.  In  many  cases 
the  agent  or  manager  controls  such  matters,  and  it  is  certain 
that  if  the  price  of  garden  work  were  raised  employers  would 
pay  it  as  they  do  that  of  other  skilled  labour,  the  price  of  which 
has  been  increased  25  to  50  per  cent,  within  the  last  twenty-five 
years,  while  the  gardeners’  wages  have  stood  still. 
There  can  be  no  question  that  the  individual  workman  ha.s 
little  chance  of  obtaining  fair  wages  unless  all  of  the  same 
class  agree  not  to  accept  less,  and  there  can  be  no  agreement 
that  will  hold  without  a  properly  organised  association,  con¬ 
trolled  and  guided  by  a  desire  to  promote  the  interests  of  both 
employer  and  employed.  Low  wages  do  not  always  mean  cheap 
labour.  A  discontented  man  is  not  actuated  as  he  ought  to  be 
by  a  sense  of  duty,  and  is  in  consequence  often  a  poor  workman. 
He  labours  under  a  feeling  of  unfair  treatment,  and  his  work 
suffers  in  consequence.  The  success  of  British  workmen  com¬ 
pared  with  those  of  other  nations  is  due  as  much  to  their 
healthy,  independent  condition  as  to  their  inherent  skill. 
Registration. 
The  association  will  endeavour  to  control  and  regulate  the 
labour  market  for  gardeners  by  keeping  a  register  of  members 
in  which  will  be  recorded  the  qualifications  and  experience  of 
every  certificated  member.  It  will  be  open  to  every  employer  to 
make  inquiry  as  to  the  competence  and  character  of  an  appli¬ 
cant  for  employment,  who,  if  not  a  member,  would  iirobably  be 
known  to  some  of  those  who  are.  By  this  means  the  association 
will  ensure  to  employers  more  reliable  testimony  as  to  a  gar¬ 
dener’s  character  and  qualifications  than  is  generally  to  be 
obtained  now.  It  will  be  to  the’ best  interests  of  the  association 
to  insist  on  as  high  a  standard  of  skill’  as  possible  among  its 
members,  and  to  refuse  to  help  the  impostor  and  one  who  is 
otherwise  unworthy.  Every  member  should,  therefore,  consider 
himself  a  guardian  of  the  status  of  his  inofessioni 
The  inefficiency  of  many  gardeners  is',  unfortunately,  too 
true,  a  lack  of  education  ?is  well  as  bad  training  being  too  of'ben 
observable  in  them.  It  is  also  to  be  feared  that  boys  are 
accepted  as  garden  appreiMices  who  are  too  dull  and  unpro¬ 
mising  to  find  employment  in  other  industries.  The  association 
will  be  opposed  to  all  such,  weakening  influences  as  these.  It  is 
only  by  insisting  on  a  higher  standard  of  intelligence,  as  well  as 
of  professional  knowledge  and  skill  in  the  youths  who  desire  to 
qualify  as  gardeners  that  the  position  of  the  gardener  can  be 
improved.  Employers  who  have  reason  to  complain  of  tlie  want 
of  skill  and  forethought  in  the  men  to  whom  they  have  entrusted 
their  gardens  will  no  doubt  recognise  the  desirability  of  an 
organisation,  the  main  object  of  which  is  to  guarantee  trust¬ 
worthy  gardeners  of  sound  ability,  and  to  secure  for  them 
reasonable  remuneration  for  services  rendered. 
Reg-ulation  of  Working-  Hours. 
The  working  hours  for  gardeners  vary  in  different  parts  of 
the  country.  There  is  also  considerable  disparity  between  the 
time  worked  in  private  gardens  and  in  public  gardens  in  the 
same  disti-ict.  Gardeners  cannot  hope  to  get  an  eight  hours’ 
day,  but  it  ought  not  to  be  difficult  to  fix  the  limits  of  a  day’s 
work,  beyond  which  all  labour  should  be  counted  as  overtime. 
A  small  staff  of  efficient  men,  properly  controlled,  and  working 
a  reasonable  day,  will  do  more  work,  and  do  it  better,  too,  than 
twice  as  many  men  left  to  drag  through  a  long  day  doing  what 
is  called  routine  work  without  either  interest  or  intelligence. 
“  Excessive  work,  whether  from  long  hours  or  from  overwork,  is 
disastrous  morally  and  socially,  as  well  as  mentally  and  physi¬ 
cally,  and  at  the  same  time,  by  its  exhaustive  process,  it  really 
diminishes  the  productive  power  of  the  worker.” 
It  is  important  that  gardeners  employed  in  commercial  horti¬ 
culture  should  take  part  in  this  movement.  Commercialism  has 
affected  horticulture,  as  it  has  so  fnany  other  arts  in  this 
country,  and  there  has  been  an  enormous  increase  in  the  number 
of  nur.Wries  and  market  gardens  in  the  last  twenty-five  years. 
The  training  to  be  obtained  in  some  nurseries  is  of  such  a  quality 
that  it  should  be  sought  by  young  men  actuated  by  the  pro¬ 
gressive  spirit ;  for  this  country  offers  opportunities  to  the  gar¬ 
dener  where  the  farmer  has  failed,  and  there  are  many  cajiable 
young  men  ‘'champing  the  bit”  in  private  gardens  who  might 
be  profitably  employed,  both  for  themselves  and  the  community, 
in  .some  department  of  commercial  horticulture.  The  Gardeners’ 
Association  may  be  able  to  assist  by  endeavouring  to  obtain  land 
on  easy  terms  for  horticultural  industries.  It  may  also  do 
something  towards  removing  other  disabilities  and  obstacles, 
