January  14,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
35 
Marquis  of  Bute,  four  or  five  miles  from  Rothesay.  This,  as  the 
“  Buteman  ”  Guide  informs  us,  is  “  the  acknowledged  queen  of 
Scottish  watering  places.”  It  is  the  queen  of  all  that  we  have 
seen,  and  served  by  the  most  queenly  steamers,  of  which  it  is  said 
that  some  forty  call  daily  in  the  summer  to  and  from  the  many 
lochs  that  intersect  the  land  and  wind  away  for  miles  between  bold 
hills  and  glen-like  dales  that  recede  till  they  melt  away  in  the 
distance.  But  there  is  much  more  than  sea  and  pleasure  craft 
skimming  its  surface  at  Rothesay.  There  are  hilly  drives  through 
the  greenest  of  fields  ;  there  are  shady  and  picturesque  woodland 
walks  ;  there  are  flowers  there  of  the  best  and  in  the  greatest 
profusion. 
occasionally,  or  of  whom  we  have  read — and  have  a  restful  talk,  to 
racing  up  and  down  their  “  grounds  ”  after  being  saturated  with  a 
season  of  shows. 
We  had  two  such  pleasant  evenings — one  with  Mr.  Cuthbertson 
in  his  charming  Swiss  chalet-like  home  in  the  wood — “  Firwood  ” — 
overlooking  the  bay  ;  the  other  with  Mr.  John  Dobbie — the 
“  original  Dobbie  ” — in  his  mansionette  beyond  the  Firs,  but  almost 
close  to  the  breezy  sea.  The  first  was  an  evening  of  music  and 
flowers — music  vocal  and  instrumental  by  Mr.  Cuthbertson’s 
talented  friends ;  flower  and  show  lore  by  Mr.  Jones,  his  competent 
nursery  manager,  enlivened  by  the  “  pawky,”  humoursome  inter- 
FlG.  12.— A  VIEW  OF  ROTHESAY. 
■A» 
»  Though  not  otfa  garden-hunting  tour,  We  could  not  bat  know, 
in  common  with  all  the  world  of  horticulturists,  that  Rothesay  is 
the  headquarters  of  “  Dobbie’s  also  that  Mr.  Michael  Cuthbertson, 
a  noted  florist,  has  a  nursery  there,  from  which  he  cut*  the  flowers 
that  his  competitors  do  not  much  like  to  see  at  many  shows, 
any  more  than  they  do  Mr.  Alexander  Lister’s.  Id  should  be 
said,  however,  that  Messrs.  Dobbie  &  Co.  are  not  competitors 
in  their  classes,  so  far  as  we  have  seen,  and  it  was  the  desire  of 
the  head  of  this  now  great  firm  (Mr.  William  Cuthbertson)  that 
after  a  glance  at  its  fields  of  flowers  we  should  go  on  and  see 
“Michael” — whether  as  a  relative  as  well  as  a  friend  of  our  guide 
is  not  known.  It  was  only  by  a  rush  between  the  showers  that  we 
could  carry  out  half  the  programme,  and  this  in  a  half-hearted, 
fearsome  sort  of  way,  in  view  of  a  momentary  drenching.  We 
prefer  to  see  the  friendB  at  home — friends  we  may  have  met 
ludes  of  iiis  happy  partner,  Mr.  A.  Mclndoe  Burnie,  the  third 
partner,  Mr.  Robert  Fife,  having  charge  of  the  branches  in  Kent 
and  Hampshire,  but  coming  in  the  morning.  A  delightful  evening 
truly  ;  but  what  shall  we  say  of  the  next  at  Mr.  Dobbie’s  ? 
From  the  firm  that  this  fine  old  florist  and  horticulturist  founded 
and  established  he  has  long  since  retired.  The  business  grew 
and  grew  till  it  ate  up  his  commodious  house  and  all  its  appur¬ 
tenances  in  High  Street,  and  the  time  for  rest  had  come.  But  the 
spirit  of  improving  strains  of  flowers  and  vegetables,  in  searching 
for  and  fixing  the  best,  that  made  him  famous,  is  with  him  still, 
and  the  delight  of  this  veteran  in  his  garden  at  home  is  in  Leeks  and 
Beets,  and  whatever  he  grows,  to  beat  if  he  can  Dobbie’s  in  the  town. 
Mr.  John  Dobbie  was  not,  as  many  think,  a  gardener  in  his  early 
days,  but  an  amateur.  He  did  not  seek  to  make  a  business,  but  his 
