868 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Early Elvers, and that too before they have got a single fruit 

 from Hale's Early or Plowden's Early. Rivers' Early Victoria 

 ranked amongst their finest Peaches last year." In 1874 1 received 

 a shock to my feelings, for in that year I had a drawing sent to 

 me from America of a beautiful crimson Peach, said to ripen 

 in June. Making allowance for the spirit of the artist who 

 coloured the fruit, I at once asked for plants, which I received, 

 and in the summer of 1878 I had the satisfaction of ripening 

 the Early Alexander Peach on June 28th, about ten days before 

 the Early Beatrice. At the same time I received the Early 

 Amsden, ripening at the same time, but not so good. I ami 

 rather of opinion that the names of these two Peaches have 

 been transposed in France, because the French cultivators have- 

 adopted the Early Amsden in preference to the Early Alex- 

 ander. Perhaps the Russian Emperor, from whom I understand 

 it was named, was not quite so popular in France then as he is- 

 now. In any case I am certain that of the two varieties, which* 

 I received from the same house and at the same time, the' 

 " Alexander " was the best. These Peaches which I have named 

 constitute a very fair proportion for July. The Early Rivers 

 Peach, which my father was very proud of, and to which he con- 

 sented to give his name, has disappointed some from a bad habit 

 of cracking at the stone ; but the original tree did not produce 

 cracked fruit, and this fault may proceed from the stock on which 

 it has been worked, or it may require greater heat than our 

 climate affords, for in a letter I received from a fruit farm at 

 Youngstown, N.Y., ten miles below the Niagara Falls, my corre- 

 spondent says : " Allow me to say that the Early Rivers Peach in, 

 this section leads them all for size, flavour, fine appearance, and 

 as a healthy tree it has no equal." On walls out of doors these 

 Peaches will ripen in warm seasons from the 20th of July. I have 

 known Early Louise ripen very fine fruit on the open wall by 

 July 26th. In the Gardeners 1 Magazine of September 15, 1888,, 

 Mr. Clarke says : " With regard to the early Peaches raised by 

 Mr. Rivers, of Sawbridgeworth, I have grown them and seen 

 them growing in different gardens, but I always thought Early 

 Rivers and Early Silver too small to meet with much favour. 

 Early Alfred and Early Beatrice have larger fruit, and have inva- 

 riably produced good crops in good seasons. Early Beatrice was 

 ripe on a south wall on August 12th, and Early Alfred a week later, 



