314 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



in their respective classes, selected those which I considered improve- 

 ments in colour or habit, and tried them for several years. 



Contemporaries with my early work were few, as the Viola was 

 scoffed at by many traders. I well remember my first exhibit of Violas 

 in London. It was in 1870 at the Crystal Palace. I staged for 

 Messrs. Dicksons forty-eight varieties in bunches of Bedding Violas and 

 Pansies, and instead of booking orders I had to stand the scoffs and 

 jeers of many, including George Glenny, who gave me a terrible 

 dressing for bringing such weeds such a distance. But I was not 

 discouraged ; in fact, I rather enjoyed the castigation, and went home 

 determined to persevere and work out my ideas of what was wanted 

 as a bedding plant, with the result that when the boom came we were 

 ready for it, and Messrs. Dicksons reaped a rich reward, for many 

 seasons selling a very large stock completely out at 25s. per 100 for 

 general varieties, and for all new varieties we obtained 2s. Qd. each, and 

 in many seasons could not meet the demand. In these days (1870 to 

 1885) all the Violas were grown in thumb pots. The cuttings were put 

 in in September in frames, and when rooted, potted up into small pots, 

 being sent out in this way in spring. 



In Scotland Messrs. Dicksons had no serious rivals in the raising 

 and introduction of Violas until Messrs. Dobbie took up their cultiva- 

 tion about 1890, although good work had been done in the way of 

 raising by Dr. Stuart and Mr. John Baxter. 



