466 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  2,  1904, 
tion,  the  battle  will  be  more  than  half  won.  The  “  I’easonable  j 
reninneration  for  services  rendered  ”  will  then  follow  in  due  | 
course.  Did  employers  but  realise  more  frecpiently  the  great 
difference  a  few  shillings  weekly  may  make  in  the  households 
of  their  employes,  they  would  not  require  the  pressure  of  an 
association  to  cause  them  to  disburse  that  which  they,  in  cue 
majority  of  cases,  would  never  miss. 
Leaving  for  the  moment  head  gardeners,  who.se  salaries,  for 
the  class  of  work  and  responsibility  entailed,  are  universally 
acknowledged  as  being  far  too  low,  let  us  turn  to  the  position 
of  journeymen  and  others.  AVe  have  toiled  in  more  youthful 
days  from  six  o’clock  in  the  morning  as  long  as  daylight  lasted 
in  summer  for  sixteen  shillings  per  week,  and  the  question¬ 
able  hospitality  of  a  wretched  building  called  a  bothy.  Duty 
weeks  meant  working  until  eleven  at  night,  and  in  bad  weather 
all  hours  of  the  night.  AVe  believe  that  nowadays  bothies  are 
better  generally,  and  there  is  a  more  general  tendency  to  pay 
for  overtime;  but  the  terms  are  much  the  same  for  a  journey¬ 
man  to-day  as  they  were  twenty  years  ago.  The  work  of  a 
good  journeyman  is  unquestionably  that  of  a  skilled  worker, 
j-et  though  the  wages  of  all  other  skilled  workers  have  shown 
a  considerable  advancement,  theirs  for  manj'  years  have  been 
at  a  standstill.  These  coming  gardeners  are  the  men  the  asso¬ 
ciation  will  seek  to  enrol :  the  thoroughly  earnest,  the  worthy, 
and  only  those  who  can  provide  a  recommendation  obtained 
from  a  trusted  chief.  The.se,  too,  are  more  likely  to  uenefit 
from  the  advantages  of  such  an  association  than  those  of  an 
older  generation,  who  may  not  hope  to  claim,  or  directly  parti¬ 
cipate  in,  the  benents  arising  from  increased  remuneration, 
improved  social  status,  or  a  more  independent  position. 
As  bearing  upon  this  question  of  the  wages  of  the  younger 
men,  we  remember  a  well-known  head  saying,  “  Oh,  yes,  we  are 
obliged  to  have  a  decorator,  and  pay  him  a  guinea  a  week — 
bricklayers’  labourers’  wages!  ”  The  establishment  is  a  very 
large  one,  and  the  owner  several  times  a  millionaire,  yet  what 
a' pittance  to  give  a  man  who  must  not  only  be  a  good  gardener 
up  to  a  certain  point,  but  a  .skilled  artist  also!  AA’^e,  however, 
years  ago,  in  an  establishment  quite  as  large  as  the  one  men- 
Tioned,  carried  out  the  decorative  work  for  less  money  than  a 
guinea  per  week,  so  that  here  at  least  we  must  admit  some 
advancement. 
Taking  the  case  of  foremen  gardeners,  we  may  find  that, 
taken  generally,  wages  are  not  so  high  as  they  should  be.  hat 
a  skilled  artisan,  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  men,  would  say  if 
offered  the  noble  remuneration  of  18s.  per  week  (with  the  usual 
bothy,  milk,  and  vegetables,  of  course),  we  need  not  here  stay 
to  consider:  it  would  without  doubt  be  something  more  forcible 
than  polite.  Yet  your  thoroughgoing  young  gardener  who  has 
attained  to  the  position  of  foreman  is  frequently,  for  all  prac¬ 
tical  purposes,  as  good  a  man  as  his  chief;  nay,  we  have  known 
instances  where  the  positions  for  many  branches  of  work  should 
have  been  reversed.  There  are,  it  is  true,  places  where  fore¬ 
men  are  as  well  and  better  paid  than  numbers  of  head  gar¬ 
deners,  but  these  are  singularly  few  and  far  between.  The 
foremen  or  heads  of  departments  in  nurseries  are  better  paid, 
but  their  positions  are  more  on  an  equal  with  those  of  heads  of 
private  establishments. 
AA’e  thus  see  plainly  what  has  long  been  admitted  by  impar¬ 
tial  judges,  that  gardeners  of  all  stations  are  badly  paid  ex¬ 
cept  in  rare  instances.  The  hours  of  labour  are  many,  and  the 
moments  of  relaxation  few ;  yet,  if  taken  in  a  body,‘  there  are 
no  more  willing  worker.s  in  the  land,  and  none  more  persistent 
in  struggling  against  difficulty  in  earnest  strenuousness.  This 
he  does  often  with  little  encouragement  from  those  he  serves, 
and  too  frequently  labouiing  whilst  feeling  that  another  will 
reap  the  fruits  of  his  labours. 
Granted  all  this,  still  we  find  there  has  never  been  any 
organised  attempt  to  better  his  condition.  AVill  the  association 
now  formed  succeed?  AVhere  single-handed  efforts  have  failed, 
and  individuals  have  suffered  miserably,  a  well-organised  body 
rnay  be  successful.  Success  will  attend  the  association  if  the 
aid  of  some,  at  least,  of  the  employers  can  be  requisitioned. 
The  subject  i.s  of  much  importance,  and  we  could  extend 
these  remarks  to  far  greater  length,  but  must  not.  In  the  forma¬ 
tion  of  a  gardeners’  association,  and  in  the  realisation  of  its 
proposals,  there  lies  the  opportunty  for  a  practical  illustration 
of  that  fraternal  feeling  existing  so  pre-eminently  amongst  gar¬ 
deners  In  fighting  a  peaceful  battle  there  should  be  no  scope 
for  a  display  of  tyranny  on  one  side,  or  of  cowardice  on  the 
other.  AA  e  ^yould,  however,  in  conclusion  cull  another  extract 
troin  the  article  previously  mentioned,  and  which  Ixas  called 
forth  these  remarks,  and  end  with  the  words  of  Howell,  “But 
association  will  not  be  strong,  however  numerous  in  member- 
slnp,  it  the  units  that  compose  it  are  cowards.” 
Cattleya  Statteriana. 
This  remarkable  supposed  hybrid  was  exhibited  by  Air.  John¬ 
son,  gardener  to  Air.  T.  Statter,  of  Stand  Hall,  Alanchester,  at 
a  meeting  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  in  1892,  and,  so 
far  as  we  are  aware,  the  stock  of  the  variety  has  never  left 
Mr.  Stutter’s  collection.  The  plant  flowered  from  an  imported 
piece,  and  it  was  thought  to  be  a  natural  cross  between  C.  gigas 
and  C.  aurea.  The  apical  area  of  the  lip  is  rich  velvety  crimson,, 
and  purplish  ,  streaks  radiate  into  the  throat.  The  crimson 
lobes  are  deeply  coloured  ivith  rich  nankeen  yellow,  and  along 
the  whole  of  the  edge  of  the  flower  runs  a  feathering  of  rosy 
carmine.  The  sepals  are  ivory,  deepening  to  lemon,  and  the- 
petals  are  pure  white. 
Cultural  Notes. 
Dendrobium  Falconeri  is  a  very  distinct  and  beautiful  ifiant, 
differing  from  all  others  in  the' genus  .in  habit,  and  requiring 
special  culture.  The  growth  consists  of  large  numbers  of  smail 
stem-like  pseudo-bulbs,  only  a  few  inches  in  length,  each  root¬ 
ing  separately  from  its  base.  To  allow  these  to  ramble  away 
at  will  without  anything  tangible  to  cling  to  is  to  court  failure 
at  the  outset,  for  each  one  should  be  within  reach  of  some¬ 
thing  that  the  roots  can  lay  hold  of. 
I  have  tried  it  in  various  ways,  such  as  placing  a  number  of 
rough  oak  stakes  in  the  pots,  and  disposing  the  stems  as- 
regularly  as  possible  among  them,  tying  the  strongest  and 
leaving  them  to  take  hold  where  they  can,  wiring  to  cork 
blocks  and  to  pieces  of  tree-fern  stems,  and  all  have  been  satis¬ 
factory  when  once  the  stems  have  taken  hold.  But  in  no  case 
must  much  compost  be  given,  for  the  roots  cannot  take  to  it,, 
and  it  lies  as  a  wet  mass  about  them,  to  their  detriment.  An 
old-fashioned  and  bad  plan  of  growing  this  orchid  was  wiring 
sods  of  peat  to  cork  or  wood  blocks,  and  fastening  the  plants 
to  it.  The  peat  was  always  silting  out  and  making  a  litter 
about  the  house,  and  was  quite  unsuited  to  the  requirements  of 
the  roots. 
The  upkeep  of  a  proper  atmosphere  is  very  important  in  the 
case  of  D.  Falconeri.  It  likes  ample  heat  and  exceptionally 
free  supplies  of  moisture  when  the  weather  is  bright  during  the 
growing  season,  but  when  it  is  dull  no  good  comes  from  unduly 
forcing  the  heat.  The  moisture  is  necessary  as  much  for  the 
sake  of  keeping  thrips  in  check  as  for  hastening  the  growth, 
and  if  these  insects  are  in  a  house  at  all  they  are  sure  to  find 
out  this  superb  plant.  From  the  time  the  flowers  fade  until 
the  little  growths  are  complete,  this  quickened  growing  atmo¬ 
sphere  must  be  maintained  when  less  heat  and  moisture,  com¬ 
bined  with  sunlight,  will  ensure  a  thorough  ripening. 
In  winter  a  cool,  restful  temperature  with  only  sufficient 
root  moisture  to  prevent  shrivelling  is  required,  this  in  its  turn 
being  followed  in  spring  by  a  gradually  increasing  heat,  but  only 
slight  atmospheric  moisture,  until  the  flowers  can  be  distinctly 
seen.  In  appearance  the  flowers  are  not  unlike  those  of 
D.  AA’ardianum,  being  pure  Avhite  in  ground  colour,  all  the  seg¬ 
ments  tipped  with  amethyst,  and  the  lip  blotched  with  deep 
orange  and  purple. — H.  R.  R. 
Chlorophyll, 
At  this  lovely  season  of  the  year  when  foliage  of  infinite 
shades,  and  verdure  in  all  its  vernal  freshness,  clothe  the  land¬ 
scape  with  an  indescribable  charm,  it  probably  seldom  occurs  to 
the  beholder  that  this  universal  greenness  represents  the  first 
and  most  vital  essential  of  his  own  existence,  it  being  practi¬ 
cally  the  one  and  only  vehicle  for  the  transformation  of  solar 
activity  into  potential  life.  All  life  is  dependent,  directly  or 
indirectly,  upon  vegetation,  and  the  old  saying  that  “  all  flesh 
is  grass  ”  is  absolutely  and  literally  true  if  we  accept  grass  as 
the  symbol  of  vegetation  generally.  The  meat-eaters  are 
always  dependent  upon  vegetable-feeding  animals,  as  a 
moment’s  consideration  of  our  own  case  will  clearly  show,  and 
hence  we  are  easily  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  entire  realm 
of  organic  life  is  based  on  the  capacity  of  plants  to  grow. 
AA’^e  next  find  that  all  plants,  except  those  which  are  practi¬ 
cally  parasitic  ones,  or  fnngi,  which  feed  upon  plant  tissues 
dead  or  alive,  and  thus  none  the  less  exist  at  the  expense  of  the 
green  ones,  can  only  form  their  foliage  under  the  influence  of 
sunlisrlit,  direct  or  diffused.  Growth  under  the  influence  of 
electric  or  other  artificial  light  forms  no  exception  to  this  rule, 
for  we  have  only  to  investigate  their  source  to  find  the  sunlight 
as  its  origin,  since  one  and  all  kinds  are  obtained  by  the  con- 
I  sumption  of  coal,  oils,  Ac.,  which  are  merely  the  stored-up 
