4^-- 



JOUENAL OF HORTICXTLTTJEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



July 21, 1863. 



Iri^h, and training it to a round head. It has a beautiful 

 appearance in the autumn. It is the only plant I know 

 miicU naturally ^ows towards the north, and, therefore, if 

 planted against a wall with a south aspect will always keep 

 close to it without nailing. — An Irish Subscriber. 



I^GTES ON NOVELTIES at SAWBEIDGEWOETH. 



Thanes to the orohai-d-house system, we have been en- 

 abled to make the acquaintance of seTcral novelties tliis 

 season which without the aid of such an appliance we might 

 have lived aU our days in ignorance of. Whatever may be 

 said for or against orchard-houses depends entirely upon 

 the point of view that the advocates or opponents of those 

 structures view them from. A gi'eat deal has been said in 

 onr pages lately on both sides, and it cannot be denied but 

 that much ability has been displayed by the writers by the 

 way in which they severally supported their \'iew3 on this 

 subject. It is not oiu' intention at present to supjjort the 

 views of either party, but simply to record such facts as 

 have come under our own observation, and to take advan- 

 tage of the new information we have obtained — information 

 we should have despaned of ever having got except for this 

 mode of cultivation. 



For some seasons past Mr. Eivers has had in operation a 

 glass sti'uoture which he calls a Chen-y-house. It is in 

 every resjiect the same sort of thing as the ordinary orchard- 

 house ; but being devoted exclusively to the cultivation of 

 Chei-ries in pots, he has designated it by this name. 



Like ourselves (and, oh! how often have we felt it), Mr. 

 Rivers had felt the disapjjointment arising from endea- 

 vouring to prove new Cherries on trees gi-own in the open 

 ground. It mattered not how much trouble was taken with 

 them ; however skilfully pinched and pi-uned, or artfully 

 feshioned, they may have been ; or however profusely they 

 may have blossomed ; if a cruel May fi-ost did not devastate 

 the promised crop, the bu'ds devoured it ere it was half 

 ripe. Years passed on, and no progress in knowledge was 

 made, tiU in pure desperation the trees were crammed into 

 pots and taken for refuge to the Chen-y-house. And weU 

 have they repaid the trouble taken with them. The trees 

 ai-e beautiful pyramids 3 to 3 1 feet high, and literally studded 

 with fr-uit of the greatest beautj' and finest flavour. We 

 would strongly advise om- readers to see them. Among the 

 new vaiieties we obsei-ved as possessing vei-y great merit, 

 and which cannot fail to become permanent in our collec- 

 tions, were the following : — 



Eaelt Red Bigarbeac {Bigarreau Range de Goube^i). — 

 The fniit is large, about the size of the ordinary Bigan-eau, 

 but of a decided heart-shape. The skin is bright red and 

 transparent, like that of Belle de Choisy. The stalk is 

 I J inch to an If long. Flesh fh-m, rich, sweet, and excellent. 



This is a very excellent early Chen-y, quite ripe before the 

 old Bigan-eau begins to coloui-. The tree is like a Duke 

 in its habit of growth, but the fruit is so decidedly heart- 

 shaped, and the flesh so fu-m, that it must be classed among 

 the BigaiTeaus. 



Early Black Bigarreau. — This is a fitting companion 

 to the preceding, and ripens at the same time. The fruit 

 is large, distinctly heart-shaped, as large as the Bohemian 

 Black Bigarreau. Skin jet black. StalS 11 inch to If long. 

 Flesh dark piu-ple, fii-m, riclily flavom-ed, sweet, and excel- 

 lent. 



Mr. Rivers received this from the Continent under the 

 name of Bigarreau a gros fruit couleiu- de chair, which is 

 evidently a misnomer. 



LtTDWio's Bigarreau. — Fruit large and perfectly heart- 

 shaped, terminating at the apex in a sharp point, with a 

 slightly maj-ked suture on one side. Skin shining, of a fine 

 bright red coloui-, which is evenly distributed over the whole 

 surface, except that it is a little paler on the shaded side. 

 Flesh pale yeUow, very tender and melting, much more so 

 than Bigarreaus generally are. A delicious early Bigarreau. 

 ripening just after the Early Red Bigai-reau. 



Bohemian Black Bigarreau. — Tliisis a fine large Cherry, 

 of a roundish heart-shape, even and regular in its outline, 

 and flattened a little on one side, where it is marked with a 

 faint suture. Skin jet black and shining. Stalk dark green, 

 remarkably short, being not more than li inch long, stout. 



and rather deeply depressed. Flesh quite black, firm, but 

 not crackling, juicy, richly flavoured, and delicious. 



This is ten days corUer than the common Bigarreau. It 

 is a splendid Cherry. 



Drogan's Bigarreau (Bigarreau Blanc de Drogan). — This 

 is a very early form of the Bigarreau, being quite shrivelled 

 when that variety is only just ripe. It is perfectly heart- 

 shaped, rather pointed at the apex, and flattened on one 

 side. .Skin yellow, mottled and flushed with red on the 

 side that is much exposed. Stalk I5 inch long, stout. Flesh 

 firm, sweet, and richly flavoured. A very desii-able variety. 



Transparent. — This is said to be the result of a cross 

 between Eeine Hortense and May Duke, and it has preserved 

 in the form of the fruit that of the latter parent. The fruit 

 is above medium size and oblate, with a bold style-mark on 

 the apex, and vrith a very faint suture on the side. The' 

 skin is thiu and transp.arent, showing through it the netted 

 texture of the flesh, and of a unifonn pale red colour all 

 over. Flesh melting, tender, sweet, and delicious. This 

 comes among the Red Dukes, and is aUied to Belle de 

 Choisy. 



Dbchenaut is another of the Red Duke class. The fruit 

 is large, roundish heart-shaped, broad at the stalk, rather 

 flattened, and marked with a faint suture on one side. Skin 

 bright coi-nelian red. and shining, becoming darker red 

 when quite ripe. The stalk is li inch to If long, inserted 

 in a wide and deep depression. Flesh tender and succulent, 

 with the May Duke flavour. This is a fine large Cherry, well 

 worth cultivating. 



These were among the most attractive of the new sorts of 

 Cherries. There were many more, some really new and 

 others old fi-iends with new faces, or, rather, with new masks ; 

 for the new names under which Mr. Rivers imported them 

 were merely masks to palm-off old sorts, and which but for 

 the orchard-house might have continued undetected for years 

 to come. 



We have heard a great deal lately about the diSiculty of 

 fruiting Apricots in the orchard-house. There seems none 

 about it at Sawbridgeworth, for in one of the large orchaid- 

 houses there are some splendid large trees completely 

 studded with fruit. The whole secret, if secret it is, consists 

 in ramming the soU in the pot when the tree is planted as 

 closely as it is possible to pack it. This soil should con- 

 sist of tenacious loam and dung, and the surface should be 

 mulched in summer with very rich soluble matters, such ae 

 malt-dust and horse-di-oppings satm-ated with very strong' 

 liquid manure. Among the novelties in this department we 

 observed the two following, which will doubtless prove valu- 

 able acquisitions : — 



Early Moorpark. — This came from the Continent undes" 

 the erroneous name of Angoumois Hatif, which is a totally 

 different thing. The fruit of the Early Moorpark is roundishy 

 inclining to oval, with a very deep suture on one side ex- 

 tending from the base to the apex. Skin yellow, mottled 

 and dotted "with ci-imson on the exposed side. Flesh in all 

 respects resembling that of the Moorpark. Stone oblong, 

 with a covered channel along the back, which is pervious. 

 Kernel bitter. This ripens three weeks before the Moorpark. 



Sardinian (De Sardaigne). — This is a small early Apricot, 

 not much larger than the Red Masculine, but equally as 

 early and much superior in flavour to it. The skin is white, 

 but where exjjosed to the sun it is spotted with a few erimsott 

 spots, and sometimes has a flush of red. The fiiiit has A 

 deep sutm-e on one side. The flesh is vei-y juicy, with » 

 sprightly sweet flavoiu-, which is very agreeable. The stonte'- 

 is very small, not more than half an inch long, with a covered 

 channel, which is pervious. Kernel bitt^. 



The tree is a great bearer, and ripens its fruit as early as 

 the Masculine. This season it was ready for use in the 

 orchard-house on the 28th of June. 



The pot-fiiiit-tree culture in this v-ast establishment is^ 

 truly marvellous. We observed house after house literaUy 

 crammed -with Peaches. Nectarines, Apricots, Plums, Figs, 

 Cheixies, and Vines, all in prejiaration for the winter cam- 

 paign. One mass of two thousand of the new Viotori* 

 Nectai-ine, which is to be sent out this season, particularly 

 sti-uck us by the health, vigour, and uniformity of their 

 growth, and the neatness with wMch they had been worked 

 so close to the soU. But there is a new idea Mr. Rivers 

 is about to introduce, and to which he attracted our atten- 



