Soptembor 8, 1868. 



JOURNAL OF HORTIOULTUEE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



IGO 



on acconnt of its tlivorse-coloaretl leaves, its hardmess, and ita easy 

 cultivation. He considored it a chai-minf^ addition to our greenhouse 

 decorative (danta. Mr. Wilson then pointed out a stem of Ijilinm 

 tigrinuni splendent, and said that Mr. Eyles had informed him that it 

 was a most important now variety, taUcr in habit, with the llowers 

 marked by larger epots, and altogether much finer than the common 

 Tiger Lily. 



MESSRS. RIVERS' NURSERIES, 

 SAWBRIDGEWOIITH. 



To say nnything in praLso of this great establishment is, of 

 course, a work of supererogation ; to say that the orchard 

 houses are as usual iu splenclid order, the trees healthy, and 

 the fruit delicious, is but to repeat an oft-repeated tale. Still, 

 " llest and be thankful " is not our motto, neither is it that of 

 Mr. Rivers. In this vast establishment there is always some- 

 thing new, and something to be learnt. New ideas and new 

 projects are continually on trial there, so that visit Sawbridpe- 

 worth when one may, there is always a treat in store. Mr. 

 Rivers is one of the greatest of British experimental horticul- 

 turists, and in his own particular line — fruits, he has done, and 

 is doing, more for their improvement, and for fruit culture in 

 this country, than any other man living. When I mention 

 orchard houses I will have said enough. 



Six thousand Peach, Nectarine, and Apricot trees in pots, are 

 the number cultivated in this establishment this season. The 

 quantity seems enormous, yet there they are, and all will be 

 able to bear some fruit next year under good management. 

 Taking the average of them at only ten fruits a-piece, we 

 have the enormous quantity of sixty thousand fruits. Sixty 

 thousand Peaches and Nectarines certain ! Why, it makes one's 

 teeth water. Many of them, however, will bear much more 

 than that. I noticed some trees with several dozens of fine 

 fruit on them. 



Mr. Rivers has long been famous as a raiser of seedling 

 fruits. For Peaches, especially, we are to him much indebted. 

 Mr, Rivers's efforts have been mainly directed to the attainment 

 of a better class of early and late Peaches, and in this he has 

 succeeded with Early Beatrice, which ripened this season on 

 the 4th of .Tilly, Early Louise on the 8th, an Early Rivers on 

 the 14tb, all of which are earlier than (he Early York or Acton 

 Soot, and equally good iu quality. Of late varieties we get 

 Lord Palmerston, a first-class Peach, and many others. The 

 Alexandra, a seedling from the Noblesse, looked remarkably 

 fine. It differs only from the Noblesse in having round glands 

 on the leaves. It is of a much more vigorous constitution, and 

 is not subject to mildew like the old variety. Some of the seed- 

 lings of this year, yet unnamed, are of exceeding great promise. 

 One marked S. IS", noticed in this Journal, page 133, a seedling 

 from Rivers's Orange Nectarine, is the richest-flavoured Pea^h 

 I ever tasted. It partakes somewhat of the flavour of the Nec- 

 tarine and Peach combined. Mr. Rivers styles this the Peach 

 of the season. 



Among Nectarines there are also many grand acquisitions. 

 The old Stanwick is well known for its superior flavour, as 

 well as for its bad habit of splitting and cracking. Mr. Rivers 

 has long worked assiduously to overcome this evil, and with 

 success. The extremely rich flavour of the Stanwick has been 

 imparted to many of the now seelliugs, both Peaches and 

 Nectarines. Indeed, the Stanwick forms the groundwork of the 

 major part. It is the " true blue blood " in Mr. Rivers's stock 

 book. How very interesting it is to listen to Mr. Rivers, while 

 he is pulling fruit after fruit for one to taste, to hear him de- 

 tailing the pedigrees of each, with as much exactitude as is 

 bestowed on some of our " Derby favourites ; " to learn thnt 

 this beautiful Peach we are now eating is a seedling, may be 

 the " third remove," as Mr. Rivers terms it, from a yellow- 

 fleshed Nectarine. Nectarines are raised from Peaches, and 

 Peaches from Nectarines, without any sort of regularity. They 

 come just as often the one way as the other. Here is a Nec- 

 tarine in appearance exactly like the Stanwick, raised from the 

 Victoria Peach. Here is another, a white Nectarine, raised 

 from the Bellegarde Peach, and another, a white Peach, raised 

 from Hunt's Tawny, a yellow-fleshed Nectarine. Early Peaches 

 are raised from late Nectarines, and vice versa. Here I have 

 the full pedigree of one. The Princess of Wales Peach, a 

 splendid late kind. It was raised from the Early Silver 

 Peach, which was again raised from seed of the old White 

 Nectarine. Mr. Rivers has some curious theories on this sub- 

 ject. One is, as to whether all our present race of Peaches 

 have not sprung from one source, and that source the White 

 Nectarine. Judging from what has been already learned, it 



seems very probable Mr. Rivers is " on the trail ;" however, 

 I leave it with him, for who but a Rivers can fathom it, or 

 find it out ? It is a regular Darwinian subject. There have 

 been several instances observed of Peaches and Nectarines 

 growing on the same branch of a tree. Mr. Rivers is, however, 

 the first to have raiped seedling Peaches from Nectarines, and 

 Nectarines from Peaches. 



I must not omit to notice here a very curious Peach, which 

 I tasted for the first time — the Honey Peach. It is not a new 

 one. It was raised at the Jardiu des Plantes, Paris, from seed 

 received from Shanghai. It is of oval shape, perfectly white ; 

 the flesh juicy, rich, and delicious, like honey, hence its name. 

 The double-flowering Peaches of China have fruit somewhat 

 similar in appearance, and it may have been observed there ia 

 something of this same honeyed taste in them, only it is mixed 

 with a certain bitterness which spoils them for eating. This 

 variety is valuable for breeding from. It will impart novelty 

 of flavour to Peaches. 



The Shanghai is another curious Chinese Peach, which was 

 introduced by Mr. Fortune many years ago. It is always to be 

 seen in fine order on the Peach wall in the Royal Horticul- 

 tural Society's Garden, Chiswick. It is one of the largest 

 Peaches in cultivation, and handsome. It somehow irresist- 

 ably puts me always in mind of a Chinaman's scalp, it is so 

 big, and has such a " shaved "-like look, being of the palest 

 of yellows. It is tempting to look at, but no better than a 

 Turnip to eat. Something good may come from it by cross- 

 breeding. There is still another curious Peach to be seen here 

 — that is the Sanguinole, the Uesli of which is red, like a Beet- 

 root, but pretty good to eat. Besides these, Mr. Rivers cul- 

 tivates numbers of the varieties of Pavies, or Clingstone Peaches 

 of America, the fruit of which rarely become melting in this 

 country, even in orchard houses. They are used for tarts, 

 however ; and one writer I recollect recommending some ela- 

 borate process of cutting them into slices and frying them, I 

 think, after which, being very nice, they were to be pitched out 

 of the window. 



One large house 100 feet long and '24 feet wide, is almost 

 entirely devoted to proving seedling Peaches and Nectarines 

 this year. There are, besides, many hundreds in the open air 

 that are not yet old enough, one and two-year-old seedlings ; 

 and the pots, too, with the seeds of some of this season are 

 already sown. The stones are sown almost immediately after 

 the fruit is eaten, they germinate more freely than if kept dry 

 until spring time. "The 4 and 5-feet pyramidal trees are the 

 most handsome ; they are perfect pictures. They are, how- 

 ever, more dilUeult of management than the bush trees. They 

 require more close attention as to pinching the young growing 

 shoots, and keeping down the vigour which is sure to appear in 

 the highest part of the tree. Some trees that are planted out 

 in one house, although very roughly treated, are quite pictures, 

 being loaded with fruit. The ground in which they are growing 

 is of a light calcareous nature, with abundance of chalk ; but, 

 oh ! how hard it is, it seems as hard as one of McAdam's road- 

 ways. The soil is never stirred or loosened in the least, or if 

 it is, it is rammed down again, so as to be as firm as before. 

 In these large span-roof houses of Mr. Rivers, it is worthy of 

 note how clean, healthy, and satisfactory all the trees are, and 

 that without auy top ventilation. All the ventilation there is, 

 is at the sides and ends. One would have imagined that, espe- 

 cially in this hot season, the leaves and shoots would have 

 been all scorched, yet such is not the case. It cannot be denied, 

 however, but that it would be better to have top ventilation, 

 excepting on the ground of expense. These houses are erected 

 in the cheapest possible manner, and orchard houses to pay 

 should be erected as cheaply as possible ; they are not show 

 hou.ses. To break the roof for ventilation in a house of this 

 sort adds considerably to the expense, and Mr. Rivers has not 

 found it necessary to do so. Mr. Rivers places his trees along 

 both sides of the house nearest to the ventilators, with a broad 

 pathway in the centre. Supposing this arrangement to be re- 

 versed, and the trees placed in the centre, farthest from the 

 outer air, or the house to be 30 feet wide instead of 24 feet, I 

 fear the trees then would suffer, or if not the trees the fruit 

 would certainly lose piquancy of flavour from want of sufficient 

 ventilation. What gives flavour to ripening fruit ? It is a 

 somewhat cool and bracing air. 



There is one ingenious device here which I must not omit to 

 notice. It is a contrivance, an "orchard-house railway," in fact, 

 for moving all the trees en masse, to have the benefit of the open 

 air. There are, first of all, two lines of rails running through 

 the house : and the stage in the centre, instead of being a fixture 



