136 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[September, 
vacancies in our ranks, I feel I cannot too 
gratefully speak of the honours they have so 
generously and spontaneously heaped upon 
me.” 
Of Mr. Dodwell’s work as a cultivator it 
may he stated that his business engagements 
at Derby permitted no leisure for competition 
outside the Carnation and Picotee. Of his 
success as a seedling raiser we may speak with 
more freedom. By working on a well-known 
and recognised law of physiological develop¬ 
ment—the law of selection of parents—from 
the first success attended his efforts, which 
even to this day he regards as surprising. And 
the success which has come to him in these 
later days has simply enlarged and extended 
that surprise. Let it not be thought that Mr. 
Dodwell is in any degree oblivious of or thinks 
lightly of the efforts of his friends and friendly 
competitors in this sphere of work. It may 
be safely assumed that no one knows better, 
and no one, we are^sure, rejoices more over the 
great and glowing results they have attained. 
And may we not say of raisers generally, 
that any sense of mere selfish gratification is 
lost in the more human and generous thought 
that they are working for the common good, and 
that success is valued in that it imparts an 
added delight to their fellow-men. “ I have 
been ever sensible,” writes Mr. Dodwell, “ that 
the work I have been permitted to do has been 
limited in its scope, and appraised by the 
favour and sympathy of too partial friends at 
a value far beyond its deserts. None the less 
am I indebted to those of my friends, and 
none the less shall I omit to declare that I 
have worked with my whole might; I have 
reverenced and respected my work. Admit¬ 
ting and proclaiming the insignificance and 
fallibility of the individual, I can admit neither 
insignificance nor unworthiness in the pursuit. 
I feel, to adopt the language of the late Rev. 
George Jeans, ‘it is elegant, instructive, 
scientific, and full of results.’ ” 
Twice in the course of his long floricultural 
life Mr. Dodwell has had conveyed to him 
the sense of his friends and fellows on the 
value of his work in that form in which, 
operating on his pocket, is said by cynics 
to be the most conclusive evidence of an 
Englishman’s opinion—first in 1854, and then 
again in 1881, when from broken health Mr. 
Dodw r ell was necessitated to take rest and 
relief in a purer air than that of Clapham. 
On the first occasion advantage was taken of 
the annual exhibition of the National Carnation 
and Picotee Society at Derby, on August 8, 
when there was a large gathering of florists, 
aud particularly of those interested in the 
Carnation and Picotee. The chair was taken 
by the late Mr. John Edwards, and the pre¬ 
sentation was made by the late Mr. John 
Frederick Wood, editor of the Midland Florist, 
who, among other things, said, “Years ago, 
before he knew Mr. Dodwell, he (Mr. Wood) 
used to visit Derby as a judge, and though 
his friends were then in earnest — they 
heartily desired to present their flowers 
worthily before the public —he must say their 
exhibitions were very insignificant. Earnestly 
as they strove there was a want—and a very large 
want—always perceptible. There was a want 
of arrangement—a want of effect; in fine, there 
was a want of a master mind. Mr. Dodwell 
came amongst them, a total stranger; he had 
no ordinary difficulties to surmount, but with 
unflagging energy, indomitable perseverance, 
and unconquerable pluck—choosing always to 
do that which was right, and to oppose that 
which was wrong—he had steadily pressed 
on until Derby, from a fourth or fifth-rate 
position, might proudly say her exhibitions 
gave place to none in the provinces.” Un¬ 
doubtedly in the qualities ascribed by Mr. 
Wood to Mr. Dodwell we have the key to the 
position which he holds amongst his fellows, 
for they are qualities which create confidence 
and command respect. 
As a cultivator, no less than as a raiser, 
Mr. Dodwell has been remarkably successful; 
and his work at Clapham demonstrated what 
may be effected in the teeth of much difficulty, 
as well as the remarkable adaptability of the 
Carnation especially, as a subject for town 
cultivation. As a raiser, his productions not 
only have outnumbered those of any of his 
contemporaries, but their excellence has been 
of the highest order. So marked indeed has 
this been, that since their distribution, somo 
one or other of his varieties have invariably 
attained the highest honours of the show—■ 
the premiership of the day. 
But it is not alone as a cultivator and raiser 
our friend is known, and will be long remem- 
