THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3337, 27 February 1918, Page 50

THE WEEK.

All sorts of things are put down to the war, from the weather to boy babies ; but I cannot help thinking that the great interest that people take in gardening nowadays really must be partly due to it. Possibly the garden competitions inaugurated by the Town-planning Society also have something to do with the matter. They have made many people intensely keen about their gardens, and this keenness spreads even among those who do not enter for 'the competitions, until all over the place may be found circles of people thinking and talking gardens hard, and working too. But- the war has had an effect m/two ways. The constant talk of food supplies, and the adjurations of such authorities as Dr Bedford—to whose memory, in passing, I should like to pay .my small tribute of admiration and sorrow—have caused many a backyard wilderness to blossom, not exactly "like the rose," but at least into a cabbage-bed. Very often the cabbages have come first, and the roses have followed, climbing along the backyard fence; because, if you once begin to grow -\things, you are liable to go on doing so. But, besides this, many people find in their gardens a refuge from all the troubles of the present time, so that those -who were enthusiastic before are even more so now, and many have become "gardeners" who hardly realised that they had any leanings that way at all. The physical- exercise is in itself an anodyne. You' remember Kipling's advice to anyone who has "got the frump" to— Take a large hoe, And a shovel «,lso,And dig till you geiy,ly perspire. In the gentler garden; work, too, in the tending and watching of growing things—and beautiful things at that—and in.pacing through the garden in the cool of the evening, one forgets the horrors that are going on and the anxieties of it all, and follows the example of old Andrew Marvell im—j Annihilating all that's mad<* To a green thought in a green shade. Take a walk through any of our suburbs, especially the newer-built ones, and you will see that, consciously or unconsciously, many people have been feeling like this, for everywhere you will find well-kept gardens on which much loving labour has been spent and has earned its reward. Just now they are still gay with late ramblers and the autumn roses, though the summer flowers are going over. Car'nations and sweet peas still linger, however, as do a few hollyhock blossoms, while the Michaelmas daisies will soon be masses of starry lavender and purple, and scabiousis and gladioli and the autumn rock plants are now in full flower. There is another direction in which the war has had its effect on gardening, and that is the way in which it has caused many girls to think of taking it up as a profession. In England, even before the war, the idea had taken root, and there were several training- colleges available; and the war, of course, has given it an impetus, male labour being so scarce. Out here, unfortunately, the only way to learn the thing thoroughly and become a qualified gardener is to serve an apprenticeship of some years in, say, some large municipal gardens or something of the kind, and that means pretty hard work. Eight hours a day, month after month, right through the different seasons, is more than some girls could stand to start off with, though fairly strong .ones could manage it all right; but if there was a training school where the necessary knowledge could be acquired in a much shorter time, many girls would think about it who would not dream of becoming professional gardeners otherwise. I often wish that some experienced gardening person or persons, with perhaps a larger house and grounds than they know what to do with, would take pupils and start a gardening school of this kind. It could begin in a very small way, but if properly managed and a good train' ing given, I am sure it would be a success. Some sort of diploma or qualification would have to be given, and in that case some outside boohr might help to arrange the course and lay down the conditions for the diploma. I believe somethins of the kind is done by the Royal Horticultural Societv at Home. If the training were available. I believe many girls would take it, either for their own nleasure or as a means of earning a living, for as skilled gardeners they could command a wage at least as good as that obtaining in many occupations which girls usually take up. Passing the other day some of those suburban gardens to which I have referred, I could not help thinking how- many women there must be who would welcome the help of another woman to show them how to start a little garden and come to work with them now and then, even though a man misrht sometimes have to be engaged for the heavy work.

In large private and public gardens, too, should be room for women workers, since for many gardening operations women are better suited than men, and clever women, and those with a love for their work, could in time rise to positions of considerable responsibility. In time the course at such a gardening school as I imagine might include beekeeping, and perhaps poultry-farming and dairying; and a girl, trained in these things would be a most valuable asset to the community, besides having at her disposal means of pleasure and profit to herself/and knowledge that would be an advantage whether she marries or makes her .own way in the world. In garden and orchard work alone, however, there is quite enough scope for a good training and for a possible future. Do, somebody, think about it. and help to widen the future for those girls who are growing up amongst us now—girls many of whom will have to go alone through life because of the toll that war has taken of the manhood of the race. ELIZABETH.