490 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  P,  1904. 
British  Gardeners’  Association. 
'I’iic  groat  mass  meeting  of  professional  gardeners  who 
attended  at  the  Essex  Hall,  Strand,  London,  on  the  second  day 
of  the  Temple  Show,  to  discuss  the  formation  of  a  gardeners’ 
association,  had  a  really  interesting  time.  Only  one  of  the 
.sjieeches  was  dull,  and  that  exception  was  worse  than  dull ;  it 
was  painful  in  it.s  disjointedness,  incoherency,  and  general  low 
h'vel  of  expression.  All  the  other  speakers  were  remarkably 
good,  and  the  meeting  gave  them  a  welcome  hearing.  Even 
Air.  Walter  P.  Wright’s  remarks  prefatory  to  his  proposition  of 
an  amendment  to  the  resolution  put  by  the  chairman,  though 
obviously  against  the  foregone  conclusions  of  the  majority  of  tlie 
audience,  were  most  attentively  listened  to  and  occasionally 
encouraged.  But  from  one  so  practised,  and  with  a  fame 
already  brilliant,  that  was  no  wonder.  Mr.  Wright  pleaded  for 
a  postponement  of  the  decision  to  form  an  association,  because 
that  no  one  outside  the  committee  had  had  any  opportunity  of 
studying  the  prospectus.  This  (though  no  one  pointed  it  out) 
ought  to  have  accompanied  the  plea,  a  copy  of  which  we  printed 
in  these  pages.  To  send  out  a  plea  and  to  present  a  prospectus 
are  different  things  entirely,  and  while  gardeners  were  willing 
to  form  an  association,  yet  they  ought  thoroughly  to  have  under¬ 
stood  the  nature  of  its  details.  As  it  was,  the  meeting  practi¬ 
cally  accepted  the  prospectus  on  chance. 
However,  the  amendment  w’as  lost  by  a  large  majority,  as  its 
supporters  knew  it  would  be,  and  the  association  was  formed,  as 
is  now  fairly  widely  known  by  the  publication  of  the  facts  by 
some  of  our  contemporaries,  who  go  to  press  later  in  the  week 
than  w’e  do.  The  case  for  the  formation  of  the  society  needed 
no  long  arguments,  but  they  should  have  been  explicit  and  force¬ 
ful,  seeing  that  no  one  had  read  the  prospectus.  AVe  see  in  the 
tardy  letters  which  still  continue  to  appear,  that  there  are  many 
gardeners  in  the  United  Kingdom  who  take  a  deal  of  convincing, 
and  their  policy  is  to  hang  back  and  throw  objections  in  the 
way,  and  try  to  invent  impossible  evils  and  to  portray  dire 
results  that  could  never  happen,  instead  of  trying  to  get  the 
l)rofession  to  be  unanimous  and  stand  side  by  side. 
Mr.  AVm.  Pettigrew,  of  the  Parks  and  Open  Spaces,  Cardiff, 
was  the  first  speaker,  and  he  pleaded  for  the  journeymen.  The 
speech  was  admirable  in  all  respects ;  and  Mr.  Pettigrew  may  be 
complimented  for  having  tuned  the  meeting  to  a  spirited  atti¬ 
tude.  Mr.  Ward  came  next,  and  after  him  Mr.  Gordon,  chair¬ 
man  of  the  committee,  who  proposed  the  resolution,  as  follows: — 
“  That  a  British  Gardeners’  Association  be  immediately 
formed  on  the  lines  indicated  in  the  prospectus.” 
This  was  agreed  to  almost  unanimously,  for  probably  every¬ 
body  in  the  room  was  bent  upon  seeing  the  association  formed. 
Those  voting  for  the  amendment  only  wanted  to  make  sure  that 
the  features  of  the  prospectus  were  satisfactory.  As  it  is,  every¬ 
body  is  convinced  that  good  work  will  soon  be  accomplished,  and 
any  necessary  modifications  will  be  for  the  committee  to  deal 
with.  We  print  the  prospectus  hereunder  : — 
PROSPECTUS. 
The  objects  for  which  this  association  is  to  be  formed  have 
already  been  made  known  in  a  pamphlet  entitled,  “Plea  for  a 
Gardeners’  Association,”  10,000  copies  of  which  have  been  dis¬ 
tributed  by  post  and  otherwise  to  gardeners  throughout  the 
British  Isles.  These  objects  are  therein  stated  to  be  : — 
1.  To  admit  as  members  all  who  are  professionally  employed 
in  any  branch  of  horticulture,  including  private  and  public 
gardens,  the  nursery  and  seed  trade,  and  market  gardens. 
2.  To  establish  a  register  of  gardeners,  with  a  view  to  regu¬ 
lating  and  controlling  the  labour  market  for  gardeners. 
3.  To  regulate  the  wages  of  gardeners,  with  due  regard  to 
the  interests  of  both  employer  and  employed. 
4.  To  regulate  the  working  hours  of  gardeners  by  fixing  the 
limit  of  a  day’s  work,  beyond  which  all  Work  done  shall  be 
counted  as  overtime,  and  be  paid  for. 
5.  To  co-operate  for  the  promotion  of  the  interests  of  the 
profession,  and  the  welfare  of  all  who  belong  to  it. 
To  organise  the  association  so  as  to  make  it  effective  for  all 
branches  of  the  profession  in  every  part  of  the  country,  it  is 
proposed  to  elect  an  executive  council,  to  appoint  a  paid  secre¬ 
tary,  and  to  rent  an  office  in  London,  where  the  secretary  will 
conduct  the  business  of  the  association,  and  the  executive  council 
hold  their  meetings.  It  is  also  proposed  to  establi.sh  a  branch  in 
every  large  town,  and  Avherever  there  are  sufficient  gardeners 
to  form  one.  As,  however,  the  executive  council  will  require  to 
be  elected  by  the  members  of  the  association,  the  work  of 
organisation  will  be  conducted  by  a  committee  of  selection,  com¬ 
prising  those  members  of  the  provisional  committee  who  are  will¬ 
ing  to  .serve,  and  twelve  other  gardeners  to  be  elected  at  the 
meeting.  These  will  co-operate  with  the  secretary  until  500  or 
more  menibers  have  joined.  The  election  of  an  executive 
council  will  then  be  proceeded  with  on  the  lines  laid  down  in  the 
rules  for  the  general  management  of  the  association.  To  enable 
the  committee  of  .selection  to  commence  operations  and  to  secure 
the  services  of  a  secretary  and  an  office,  the  sum  of  £250  will  be 
needed  at  once. 
An  appeal  committee,  consisting  of  the  general  secretary 
and  of  one  member  elected  by  the  bi’anches  of  each  district,  will 
have  power  to  dissolve  the  executive  council.  This  provision  ia 
made  to  enable  country  members  to  have  a  voice  in  the  general 
management.  Legal  advice  will  be  needed,  and  this  will  bo 
afforded  by  Mr.  R.  S.  Garnett,  solicitor,  Clements’  Inn,  Strand, 
who  has  had  expeidence  in  the  promotion  of  similar  associations, 
and  to  whom  the  provisional  committee  are  indebted  for  help 
and  advice  in  prepaiing  this  scheme. 
Qualification  for  Membership. 
1.  To  be  not  less  than  twenty  years  of  age. 
2.  If  less  than  twenty-three  years  of  age,  to  have  had  at  lea^jt 
five  years’  training  in  good  private,  public,  or  commercial 
establishments. 
3.  If  more  than  twenty-three  years  of  age,  to  have  had  at 
least  seven  consecutive  years’  professional  experience. 
4.  To  be  able  to  produce  satisfactory  testimony  as  to  general 
character. 
Candidates  must  obtain  from  the  secretary  a  form  of  applica¬ 
tion,  which,  Avhen  filled  up,  should  be  returned  to  him.  If  the 
committee  of  selection  are  satisfied  that  the  candidate  is  qualified 
for  membership,  they  will  instruct  the  secretary  to  forward  him 
a  certificate.  The  certificate  wdll  be  renewed  annually  on  receipt 
of  subscription. 
The  charge  for  registration  and  certificate  will  be  2s.  6d., 
and  the  annual  subscription  2s.  6d.  These  two  sums  should  be 
forwarded  to  the  secretary  together  with  the  form  of  application. 
Proof  of  membership  will  be  the  possession  of  the  association’s 
certificate  for  the  current  year. 
Note. — These  regulations  are  special  to  the  period  in  which 
the  committee  of  selection  wdll  be  in  office.  Regulations  for  the 
election  of  members,  &c.,  are  included  in  the  rules  for  the 
general  management  of  the  association. 
Registration. 
A  register  of  members  will  be  kept  at  the  central  office,  and 
it  will  be  the  duty  of  the  secretaiy  to  see  that  full  particulars  of 
every  member  are  entered  in  a  book  to  be  called  the  General 
Registration  book,  which  will  be  open  for  inspection  by  mem¬ 
bers  at  a  day’s  notice  at  all  reasonable  times.  It  will  contain 
the  name,  age  (date  of  birth),  married  or  single,  present  situa¬ 
tion  of  every  member. 
The  association  will  also  keep  a  record  of  the  professional 
experience  of  its  members.  It  will  thus  be  in  a  position  to  fur¬ 
nish  reliable  testimony  as  to  the  qualifications  and  character  of 
applicants  for  situations.  The  association  will  also  act  as  far  as 
its  resources  will  allow  as  an  Employment  Registry  Office,  so 
that  members  desiring  to  change  their  situations  and  employers 
seeking  to  engage  the*  services  of  a  gardener  may  be  assisted. 
AVages. 
The  association  v  ill  endeavour  by  legitimate  means  to  secure 
for  every  section  of  its  members  a  fair  rate  of  pay.  It  is 
generally  admitted,  even  by  employers,  that  the  present  scale 
of  wages  for  gardeners  is  unsatisfactory.  The  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  improvement  will  not  be  easily  removed,  but  they  will 
have  to  be  faced.  The  result  of  inquiry  in  seventy-five  gardens 
all  over  the  country  in  which  skilled  journeymen  are  employed 
shows  that  the  average  w'ages  are  17s.  with  bothy,  Ac.,  and  if 
the  latter  perquisite  is  valued  at  3s.,  the  total  weekly  wages  of  a 
man  who  has  been  trained  for  at  lea.st  five  years  in  his  profession 
are  20s.  The  appointed  legislators  of  Great  Britain  have  lately 
stipulated  in  Parliament  that  the  lowest  w'eekly  usages  to  be 
paid  for  unskilled  labour  shall  be  21s.  The  association  hopes  to 
effect  an  improvement  by  recommending  the  following  scale  of 
w^eekly  ivages  for  gardeners  : — 
1.  Jcurneymen  18s.  with  bothy,  &c.  ;  21s.  without. 
2.  Foremen  in  gardens  and  small  nurseries  )  24s.  with  bothy  or 
and  single-handed  gardeners  .  i  house  ;  27s.  without. 
3.  Gardeners  and  departmental  foremen  in  \  30s.  with  house  ; 
nurseries  with  less  than  5  assistants  (  35s.  wuthout. 
4.  Gardeners  and  departmental  foremen  in  \  35s.  with  house  ; 
nurseries  wdth  5  or  more  assistants  ...  )  40s.  without. 
It  should  be  clearly  understood  that  these  are  minimum 
rates.  AVhere  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  post  would 
justify  a  higher  rate  the  association  will  endeavour  to  obtain  it. 
AVorking  Hours. 
The  duties  of  a  gardener  often  necessitate  his  working  more 
hours  per  da,v  than  almost  any  other  skilled  operative  ;  he  has 
also  often  to  perform  duties  late  at  night  and  on  Sunday. 
AVhilst  the  association  wdll  recognise  that  it  is  impossible  to  do 
awa.y  with  long  hours  and  extra  duties,  it  will  endeavour  to 
secure  for  its  members  payment  for  all  overtime.  The  result  of 
inquiry  in  seventy-five  gardens,  public  and  private,  in  all  parts 
of  the  country,  is  to  show^  that  it  is  usual  to  pay  for  overtime, 
that  in  many  gardens  Sunday  work  is  paid  for.  but  that  in  only 
a  few'  is  night  duty  treated  as  overtime  and  paid  for.  The  as.so- 
