From Weldon’s: “This is a popular knickerbocker hose for shooting, mountaineering, and other purposes, as it is thick and strong, and very bold and effective in pattern. It has a ribbed top which is to be folded below the knee, and which, being knitted with fewer stitches in the round than are used in the plaid pattern, will cling closely around the top of the leg and retain the stocking in position.”

The pattern is written out without charts or diagrams.

see also this version (free):
Gentleman’s Stocking, 1885

Knitted in Scotch Plaid Pattern

Weldon’s Practical Stocking Knitter, 1885
Plaid pattern is shown as a chart rather than the original lines of text.