November 1, 1877. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



343 



the public of its importance. It had for many years been 

 used in Prance, and a few wero grown in English nurseries, 

 more to indulge a fancy than anything else ; but its use on a 

 large soale was due to the unabated advocacy of Mr. Rivers, 

 and he succeeded at last in convincing the British gardener 

 that to grow garden fruit properly and to economise space the 

 use of the dwarfing stocks with root- pruning were necessary. 



For Apples he, like others, used the French Paradise stock and 

 the Doucin till he found that neither was so well adapted for 

 the purpose as could be desired. The former was a weak and 

 delicate plant not adapted for this climate, and being fortunate 

 in finding a number of trees among some seedling Apples 

 which retained a dwarf habit and the peculiarity of throwing- 

 out an abundance of small roots near the surfaoe of the ground, 

 his ready eye detected them, and they were selected for experi- 

 ments in dwarfing. One or two were chosen as being the best, 

 and at last Mr. Rivers found that every qualification being 

 supplied by the variety called the Nonesuch, this has now 

 become the only dwarfing stock for Apples used in the Saw- 

 bridgeworth Nurseries. Of its excellence for dwarfing and 

 inducing fertility we can amply testify from long experience. 



It was at an early period in life that Mr. Rivers began to 

 raise seedling fruit treeB. As we have already stated in our 

 former notice published last week his father resigned to him the 

 whole interest in the Sawbridgeworth Nurseries in 1827, and 

 shortly afterwards in 1834 he succeeded in obtaining two seed- 

 ling Plums, which were respectively known at that time as 

 RiverB' No. 1 and Rivers' No. 2. These were raised from the 

 Precoce de Tours, an old early variety; and they were both so 

 much earlier, more hardy, and greatly more prolific than their 

 parent, that Mr. Rivers showed his appreciation of them by 

 making a plantation of fruiting trees, which have amply justi- 

 fied his judgment and foresight by the remunerative returns 

 they have made. No. 1 ultimately became known as Early 

 Favourite and No. 2 as Early Prolific, the latter being now 

 better known as Early Rivers ; and if Mr. Rivers had done 

 nothing else to keep him in remembrance the introduction of 

 this valuable Plum would have been sufficient to have done so. 



Shortly after he started growing fruit trees in pots the Stan- 

 wick Nectarine, raised by Lord Prudhoe at Stanwick in North- 

 umberland, was placed in his hands for propagation and distri- 

 bution. The plants were all reared in pots, and on the 25th of 

 May, 1850, the stock, consisting of twenty-four plants, was sold 

 by auction for £164 17s., which amount was handed over to 

 the funds of the Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Institution. The 

 introduction of the Stanwick Nectarine and the discovery of 

 the orchard house combined to lay the foundation of Mr. 

 Eivera' Buccess as a raiser of new fruits. Without either it is 

 very probable that the many new Peaches and Nectarines 

 which have added so many delights to cur gardens would never 

 have existed. The Stanwick gave a new character to the fruit, 

 and the orchard house enabled him to grow and to fruit the 

 trees in a space of time shorter than had ever been accom- 

 plished before, and with a security which induced him to pro- 

 ceed in the work, and this he certainly did with untiring 

 energy. 



At this period the Horticultural Society of London was not in 

 a very flourishing condition ; its efforts for the time seemed 

 paralysed, and there was no authority to which a raiser of new 

 fruits could submit his seedlings to ascertain their merits or to 

 receive a commendation. In 1853 the idea of a Pomologieal 

 Society was first suggested in the pages of this Journal. The 

 need for such a thing was evident from the favour by which it 

 was received, and accordingly on the 10th of July, 1854, the 

 British Pomologieal Society was instituted at a meeting held 

 at the house of the Horticultural Society in Regent Street, the 

 chair being occupied by Mr. Rivers ; and Mr. Spencer of Bowood 

 and Dr. Robert Hogg being respectively Treasurer and Secre- 

 tary, and the promoters of the movement. The impetus that 

 was given to fruit culture by the establishment of this Society 

 was verj marked, and so useful had it become as a promoter of 

 this branch of horticulture that the Horticultural Society of 

 London a few years afterwards invited the members to amalga- 

 mate with that Society, and it ultimately became the Fruit 

 Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society, which still con- 

 tinues to do the work which the original Society was insti- 

 tuted for. 



It was at one of the meetings of the Pomologieal Society that 

 Mr. Rivers exhibited his first seedling, obtained by crossing the 

 old varieties of Nectarines with the Stanwick. He early dis- 

 covered the faults of the Stanwick, and that it would never be 

 a useful fruit for the outdoor climate of these kingdoms. Its 



flavour he knew was exquisite, but its liability to crack, and 

 requiring more heat to ripen it than can be obtained from 

 a cool house or an open wall, were defects he endeavoured 

 to obviate by crossing it with some of the hardier varieties. 

 This he succeeded in doing, and accordingly on the 6th of 

 August, 1857, he exhibited at the meeting of the British Pomo- 

 logieal Society two seedling Nectarines from the Stanwick, 

 being only seven years from the time when the plant was first 

 distributed. One of these appeared for several years in his 

 fruit catalogue as Stanwick Seedling No. 3. On the 5th of 

 August, 1858, he exhibited for the first time a seedling Peach, 

 which was subsequently named Rivers' Early York, by which 

 this excellent Peach has now become widely known. On the 

 9 th of September, 1858, he exhibited a seedling Nectarine 

 raised from a Peach stone, and which is now so well known as 

 Prince of Wales. In 1859 he raised Rivers' Orange Nectarine 

 from Pitmaston Orange, and in 1861 were announced Pine 

 Apple and Victoria Nectarines, and Early Albert and Early 

 Victoria Peaches. The Nectarine Peach raised from the stone 

 of a Nectarine appeared in 1862. In 1865 there was a strong 

 addition to what would to many have appeared sufficient, and 

 these were Peaches which have now established their reputa- 

 tion — Alexandra Noblesse, Dagmar, Dr. Hogg, Early Alfred, 

 and Lord Palmerston. The year 1867 brought a measure of 

 good fortune as compared with which all that had been done 

 before sank into comparative insignificance. This was the 

 raising of Early Beatrice, Early Louise, and Early Rivers 

 Peaches. These by their wonderful earliness have added 

 nearly a month to the duration of the season of Peaches. 

 That grand Nectarine Lord Napier, which was raised from a 

 stone of Early Albert Peach, first appeared in 1870. But space 

 will not allow us to record all Mr. Rivers' achievements in 

 fruit-raising ; suffice it to say that in this way he has accom- 

 plished far more in the short space of time between 1854 and 

 1874 than can be attributed to any other worker in the same 

 field, and with results that will be lasting. 



Whatever tended to add to the pleasure of the people by ex- 

 tending the culture of fruitB by modes that were simple and 

 inexpensive, was sure to meet with Mr. Rivers' support. Cheap 

 glass erections, whether they were mere shades over enclosures 

 of Beech hedges, glazed wooden structures with roofing-felt 

 for walls and heated by a brick Arnott stove which he himself 

 contrived, or a sand-pit planted with Vines and covered with a 

 simple glass roof — theEe were so many ways by which he 

 showed practically that fruit culture was simple, inexpensive 

 and remunerative, producing good returns with a large amount 

 of pleasure. Another of these contrivances, though it did not 

 originate with, was introduced and eagerly fostered by him. 

 This was the ground vinery, which when carried out properly is 

 one of the most valuable adjuncts to a large or small garden. As 

 we have frequently seen it producing most handsome bunches 

 of Black Hamburgh and other Grapes, we are confirmed in 

 our opinion that it is a great boon to the owner of a small 

 garden who either has no glass houses, or who may be afraid 

 to build thfem as fixtures to a freehold which is not his own. 



To recount all the labours of Mr. Rivers would fill a book. 

 We will conclude by giving a list of the fruits that were raised 

 by him as recently published in the pages of a contemporary. 



Peaches — Albatross, Alexandra Noblesse, Comet, Condor, 

 Crimson Galande, Dagmar, Dr. Hogg, Early Albert, Early 

 Alfred, Early Beatrice, Early Louise, Early Leopold, Early 

 Rivers, Early Silver, Falcon, Gladstone, Golden Eagle, 

 Goshawk, Lady Palmerston, Large Early Mignonne, Lord 

 Palmerston, Magdala, Merlin, Nectarine, Osprey, Prince of 

 Wales, Princess of Wales, Radclyffe, Rivers' Early York, Sea 

 Eagle, Stanwick Early York. 



Nectarines. — Advance, Albert, Albert Victor, Byron, Dante, 

 Darwin, Downton Improved, Humboldt, Lord Napier, Pine 

 Apple, Prince of Wales, Rivera' Elruge, Rivers' Orange, Rivers' 

 White, Stanwick Elruge, Victoria. 



Plums. — Autumn Compote, Blue Prolific, Czar, Early Favour- 

 ite, Early Rivers, Early Transparent Gage, Grand Duke, Late 

 Rivers, Late Prolific, Rivers' Early Apricot, RiverB' Early 

 Damson, Sultan. 



Pears. — Beacon, Fertility, Princess, Seedling Bergamot, 

 St. Swithen, Summer Beurre d'Aremberg. 



Apricot. — New Large Early. 



Cherry. — Early Rivers. 



Raspberry. — Autumn Black. 



Strawberries. — Royal Hautbois, Seedling Eh'za. 



And thus have ended the labours of one who did much to 

 make life happy, and so add in no small degree to the in- 



