246 
JOURNAL  OR  HORTICULTURE  AXD  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
epteinbcr  10,  1903 
boxes  containing  bulbs  with  any  of  the  above  materials, 
finishing  off  with  a  2!n  or  Sin  thickness  on  the  top.  Never 
remove  the  bulbs  from  their  plunging  material  for  the 
purpose  of  fotcing  them  until  at  least  an  inch  of  growth 
has  been  made.  — Onward. 
Qttid  pro  Quo. 
[Concluded  from  page  210.) 
Hours  and  holidays,  to  save  space,  may  run  tandem  with 
hours  as  the  leader.  Here  the  whole  gardening  staff,  being 
directly  affected,  is  included.  To  head  gardeners  person¬ 
ally  the  matter  is  less  pertinent,  they  as  a  rule  being  first 
in  the  garden  and  last  out  of  it.  With  the  usual  6  a.m.  to 
6  p.m.  arrangement,  and  meal  times,  according  to  local 
custorh,  there  is  probably  but  little  to  cavil  at.  The  long 
days  of  summer,  too,  being  counteracted  by  the  short  days 
of  winter,  with  bad  weather  relaxing  the  tension  of  labour, 
are  factors  we  must  include  in  an  honest  calculation.  The 
main  object  in  approaching  this  phase  of  the  question  is  a 
plea  for  the  early  “  knock  off  ”  on  Saturday. 
In  this  masters  would  confer  a  boon  on  their  men  and 
under  judicious  management  certainly  lose  nothing.  If  the 
gai’den  worker  is  worthy  of  his  hire,  then,  surely,  he  is 
worthy  of  this  little  encouragement,  and  in  those  parts  of 
England  where  men  with  the  cares  of  a  family  upon  them, 
and  often  those  without,  may  be  seen  cultivating  their 
cottage  gardens  till  noon  on  Sunday,  the  Saturday  afternoon 
would,  presumably,  be  devoted  to  it. 
It  is,  however,  less  a  question  of  how  they  would  spend 
it  than  of  obtaining  it,  and  when  that  happens  all  right- 
minded  men,  old  or  young,  in  the  bothy  or  out  of  it,  would 
undoubtedly  appreciate  the  boon  to  the  extent  of  its  giving 
an  additional  zest  for  their  employer’s  w'ork  and  interests. 
But  few  with  a  knowledge  of  all  sorts  and  conditions  of 
gardeners  will  hesitate  in  placing  them  on  a  par  with  factory 
operators  or  trade-workers,  with  whom  the  Saturday  after¬ 
noon  off  has  long  since  been  a  recognised  institution. 
The  whole  gardening  Press  advocates  it,  much  has  been 
said  and  is  being  said  in  its  favour,  but  much,  practically 
all,  remains  to  be  done.  The  wheeler  in  our  tandem  team 
is,  perforce,  the  Bank  holidays,  and  what  has  been  said  for 
the  leader  applies  to  it,  beyond  adding  that  when  all  the 
world  and  his  wdfe  are  keeping  lawful  holiday,  the  gardener 
being  left  to  toil  and  moil  the  common  round,  the  daily  task, 
invidious  comparisons  are  drawn,  and  the  inconsistency  is 
glaringly  apparent. 
Perhaps  the  Act  of  Parliament  which  created  Bank 
holidays  might  have  gone  farther,  and  insisted  upon  their 
observance.  Perhaps  not.  However  that  may  be,  it  is  but 
poor  encouragement  to  the  loyal,  honest,  hard-working  gar¬ 
dener  of  any  degree  to  be  ignored  as  one  of  a  class  unworthy 
of  this  privilege,  and,  apparently,  speaks  but  little  for  the 
esteem  or  appreciation  in  wdiich  he  is  held  by  his  master. 
Think  you  that  my  lord,  the  Earl  of - (I  hope  the  time 
will  come  when  his  honoured  name  may  be  published),  who 
but  rarely  sees  one  in  particular  of  his  country  estates,  is 
worse  served,  or  is  one  iota  out  of  pocket  when,  some  two 
years  since,  on  one  of  his  rare  visits  to  it,  the  order  was 
spontaneously  given  that  all  his  employes  should  have  the 
Bank  holidays  ?  Ah,  no !  Like  master,  like  man.  It  is 
such  masters  who  create  the  best  of  feeling,  obtain  the  best 
of  service,  and  transform  men  from  spiritless  drudges  into 
cheerful,  active  servants,  for  “no  profit  is  where  is  no 
pleasure  ta’en.” 
Ere  prescribing  a  salve  for  the  sore,  no  inference  need  be 
drawn  that  any  disparagement  of  masters  is  implied,  for 
none  is  intended.  No  two  classes  of  men  live  in  better  or 
more  intimate  relationship  than  masters  and  their  gar¬ 
deners,  possibly  not  any  as  good.  The  dilatoriness  of  pro¬ 
gress  in  the  betterment  of  gardeners  must  be  attributed  to 
old  customs  inherent  and  peculiar  to  gardening  alone,  old 
customs  which  appear  to  die  harder  here  than  elsewhere  ; 
the  factors  of  supply  and  demand,  in  the  excess  of  the  former 
over  the  latter,  which  would  be  an  inferior  obstacle  if  a  less 
elastic  subject  permitted  a  more  rigorous  selection  of  the 
fittest,  and  a  want  of  cohesion  in  the  gardening  fraternity. 
There  are,  certainly,  other  weak  links  in  the  chain,  but  the 
above  are  the  weakest,  and  upon  viewing  the  matter 
analytically  it  is  less  a  matter  for  surprise  than  it  is  one  for 
regret  that  the  status  of  gardeners  moves  so  slowly  in  the 
hurrying  stream  of  life. 
In  adverting  to  the  fact  that  some  of  the  noblest, 
worthiest,  and  most  philanthropic,  and,  it  may  be  added, 
the  most  practical  patrons  of  the  art  of  gardening,  have 
shown  their  sympathy  towards  its  exponents  in  all  wa.ys 
alluded  to  here,  and  in  other  ways,  for  instance,  in  their 
generous  support  of  the  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Insti¬ 
tution,  paves  the  way  to  promulgate  the  idea  whifch  has 
prompted  this  paper. 
In  a  LTnited  Kingdom  Gardeners’  Association,  which  is 
not  a  very  formidable  name  after  all — in  a  great  combine 
M’hich  shall  bring  all  gardeners  worthj^  of  the  name  within 
its  folds,  we  have - What  1  is  asked.  Is  it  labour  against 
capital  1  Is  it  class  against  class  ?  Men  against  masters  ? 
No!  The  Fates  forbid.  No  such  bogey  need  frighten  the 
most  timorous  brother  of  the  craft.  We — the  weak — shall 
take  the  masters — the  strong — along  with  us,  and,  as  players 
in  this  very  serious  game  of  life — a  gardener’s  life — hold 
them  as  trump  cards,  even  the  King  himself.  In  the  treat¬ 
ment  of  his  gardeners  the  King  is  a  model  master,  and  with 
his  beloved  Consort,  the  Queen  of  all  hearts  in  these  Islands 
(another  trump  card),  a  tower  of  strength  from  whose 
summit  a  kindly  light  may  illumine  the  shady  places  of  gar¬ 
dening  England.  With  a  strong  executive,  composed  of  those 
honoured  masters  who,  in  the  treatment  of  their  men,  have 
’lured  tp  brighter  worlds  and  led  the  way.”  and  with  the 
most  illu^-ious  leaders  in  the  gardening  world,  a  foundation 
could,  surely,  be  laid  for  a  practical  working  scheme  strong 
in  its  simplicity,  with  power  to  permeate  the  United  King¬ 
dom  and  leaven  the  lot. 
The  bulk  of  British  gardeners  can,  of  course,  do  little 
more  than  give  their  moral  support  to  it.  the  little  more 
being,  possibly,  a  tax  on  their  slender  pockets  to  the  tune  of 
an  annual  shilling  to  cover  working  expenses  and  give  them 
a  claim  to  membership.  It  may  reasonably  be  supposed 
that  masters  v.dio  have  already  recognised  their  gardeners 
with  an  adequate  quid  pro  ciuo.  in  its  comprehensive  sense, 
are  sufficiently  interested  and  sympathetically  disposed  to 
lend  their  names  and  possibly  assist  an  object  with  which 
they  are  in  accord,  and. from  which  their  more  fortunately 
placed  gardeners  could  not  only  scarcely  hold  aloof,  but  give 
it  their  warm  and  active  support.  Then,  surely,  it  is  not 
Simposing  too  much  in  saying  there  should  be  but  little 
^iifficultj^  in  drawing  out  working  plans  on  a  scale -sufficiently 
large  to  covdr  all  the  ground  we  have  gone  over-.. 
The  question  of  ways' ‘and  means  can,  perforce,  be  but 
roughly  outlined  here,  and; do  little  more  than  invite  discus¬ 
sion  on  the  subject  th  thelfend  of  future  elaboration  ;  not  too 
far  in  the  future,  it  is  hppfed.  With  a  central  executive  and 
branches  throughout  the  kingdom,  publishing,  possibly,  a 
monthly  journal,  posting  leaflets,  or  other  literature  em¬ 
bracing  a  mass  Of  fact^  evidence  and  examples,  and  setting 
forth  the.  chief  fact-fthaf^his  conjoint  betterment  of  the 
gardenet;  hl  .the  y'ay  of  ^^t^^es,  lod^angs,  hours,  and  holidays, 
does  not  indirectly-affect  the  master’s  pockets,  things  should 
go  ahead.  .  ,  ; 
In  a  general  organization  only  can  vigorous  advance¬ 
ment  be  expected,  and  the  onus  attached  to  individual  effort, 
or  the  danger  of  any  man  being  told  he  is  free  to  leave  w’hat 
he  does  not  like,  reduced  to  a  minimum.  One  cannot  but 
think  that,,  masters  whose  attention  is  diplomatically 
directed  to  what  h  being  done  for  the  betterment  of  gar¬ 
deners,  by  illustrations  of  model  gardeners^  cottages  and 
bothies  ;  by  notices  of  places  where  better  wages,  less  hours 
and  more  holidays  rule  ;  by  pertinent  articles  frorn  men  and 
their  masters;' too,  who  hare  had  experience  of  this  govern¬ 
ment  of  their  gardens — one  cannot  but'thitik  that  the  effects 
would  be  wide  and  far-reaching  and  w'Orthy  of  the  great 
cause  all  have  equally  at  heart.  '  ■  ■ 
Is  it  not  time  that  a  move  should  be  made  in  the  matter  ? 
And  is  it  not  possible  to  move  so  vigorously.- yet  so  tactfully, 
that  even  the  most  conservative  masters  shall  say:  “Your 
gentleness  shall  move  our  force  more  thaD  your  force  shall 
move  our  gentleness.” — Quiz. 
■ - «  » — -  ... 
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