CAUSES OF SUCCESS. 33 



Botanical Society, advised by their clever, ener- 

 getic curator, Mr. Bruce Findlay, offered ;^iooo 

 in prizes at their June Show, men shook empty 

 heads, and murmured : *' Madness." What was the 

 result ? The receipts one Whitsuntide exceeded 

 Sixteen Hundred pounds ; and of this, Eleven 

 Hundred was paid by the working classes in shil- 

 lings ! 



It is gratifying to notice that this influence is 

 recognized and encouraged more and more by 

 laity, and clergy also ; that, under their auspices, 

 successful shows have been held in London, at 

 which window-plants, and plants grown in yards 

 and on roofs, have well deserved the prizes they 

 have won ; that allotments are more numerous 

 near our larger towns ; that at some of our bar- 

 racks, soldiers have the opportunity of turning 

 their swords into pruning-hooks (metaphorically, I 

 mean, as an actual transformation might not be 

 agreeable to the drill-sergeants) ; and that societies 

 for the improvement of cottage-gardening are 

 multiplying throughout the land. I may mention 

 here, that for some years I tried, satisfactorily, to 

 promote among the children of my parish that 

 love of flowers which we find in them all, not only 

 by giving prizes for their collections of wild-flowers 

 at our annual show, but by taking them walks on 



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