In 1865, James Dobbie resigned his position of chief constable of Renfrew to start a seed and nursery business. For many years previously he had been a keen amateur gardener and had selected and improved his own strains of flowers and vegetables, which were in request amongst his friends anxious to have these improved forms. In 1862 his selected Leek yielded sixteen ounces of seed, which he packeted under the name "Dobbies Champion", and such was the demand that he sold it all in two days. Thus