November 3, 1892. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
393 
plants grow magnificently and yield noble crops year by year. The 
explanation is that the root hairs are annual and die with the leaves. 
When their work is done they may be torn away with the same impunity 
that the foliage may be brushed off after its maturity has been reached. 
The thick fibres are preserved, and from them a fresh wig of root hairs is 
pushed in due course. Many do not recognise the limited character of 
their functions. Though important they are but temporary. When 
leaves become diseased or are attacked by insects and eventually die 
some root hairs perish : the same rule tells us that when in the fulness of 
time the foliage has imparted its matured and elaborated juices to the 
stem and falls to the ground the balancing agent below ground finishes 
its duty. 
The fruitfulness of these trees is remarkable. They do not produce 
a great mass of puny blossoms, but large substantial flowers that set 
perfect fruit. One tree about 10 feet high has borne sixty, and made 
robust, vigorous, and healthy growth, now ripe and bristling with bold 
triple buds. Year after year the trees go back into the same size of pot, 
the balls being reduced as indicated, and the new compost packed 
firmly around them. Then new root hairs push, and fresh leaves form, 
the tree, as it were, stretching an arm above ground and an arm below 
in search of air and food, the one hidden from the other, but both acting 
in the closest concert nevertheless. What one gives the other elaborates, 
and so perfect correlation is maintained. It may give some idea of the 
magnitude of the scale on which pot fruit trees are grown in Messrs. 
Rivers’ nursery to state that the floor of one great house is occupied 
with a long mound of soil like a huge Potato “ pie probably there 
are 100 tons of it, and all is for the pot trees. Kiln dust and horse 
droppings are the manurial agents chiefly relied on. 
Apples and Pears. 
These were more striking in one respect than the Peaches and 
Nectarines when my visit was paid, inasmuch as many were carrying 
splendid crops of fruit. A tree of Blenheim Orange in a 15-inch pot 
bore thirty-two superb fruits, beautifully moulded, clear and delicate in 
texture. It formed a splendid picture. Trees of the charming looking 
variety, Bijou, in 8-inch pots had seven and eight of the bright red 
fruits, which, besides being of such pleasing appearance, possess the 
further merits of good flavour and keeping qualities. Schoolmaster, a 
seedling from Northern Spy, and which keeps until May, was bearing a 
number of beautiful bright red fruits. King of Tompkins County and 
Bismarck were also laden with magnificent examples, and the same may 
be. said of the Pears Pitmaston Duchess, Doyennfi du Comice, and 
Triomphe de Jodoigne, to mention three only. Pitmaston, in a 10-inch 
pot, was carrying eight noble fruits, and the tree was a very striking 
object, while Triomphe de Jodoigne was heavily weighted. The way in 
which the trees develop superb fruits while still making strong and 
healthy growth is a revelation. But after all the one is perhaps in some 
degree a consequence of the other. Trees cleared of their fruit are 
plunged out of doors and will be housed in spring. They are well 
furnished with fruit buds. The one Cherry in fruit was Guigne de 
Winckler, and it exhibited the same characteristics. It was carrying a 
heavy crop of its bright red fruits, which had been hanging ready for 
eating a month. They were juicy and refreshing, and a dish would 
form a welcome change in the dessert at this season of the year. In one 
corner of a large house a huge tree of Royal George Peach forty years 
old is growing contentedly without any special border, the ground above 
the roots being quite hard, and all the food it receives are the washings of 
liquid manure supplied to the pot plants. 
Plums. 
“ There has been no profit in Apples this year,” said a great Kentish 
grower to me the other day. “ Rivers’ Prolific Plum is the thing that 
has paid us best.” There are many acres of it and other varieties in the 
Sawbridgeworth nurseries. Home are planted with Apples and Black 
Currants for fruiting, the combination being a decidedly paying one, 
and in other quarters are strong, healthy trees awaiting orders. The 
Early Prolific sells in thousands, and so does Monarch, which is also a 
market Plum of great excellence. The former has an advantage over 
other varieties in the fact of the early clearance of the crop, which is off 
in August, affording the tree abundance of time to ripen its growth, and 
thus it is a constant bearer. There is another Plum on the way, this 
time a late one. The last fruit was gathered on October 19th. It is a 
large purple variety, and will probably prove valuable in further pro¬ 
longing the Plum season, which, considering the many uses of the fruit, 
can hardly be made too long. Plums do remarkably well in the clayey 
loam that prevails in the nursery, and Mr. Rivers takes care that a due 
modicum of lime is provided, in which he is a great believer for Apples 
and Pears as well as stone fruits. 
A Good Apple and a Good Pear. 
The Apple is Rivers’ Codlin, the Pear Conference. That section of the 
fruit-growing public present at the Drill Hall a month ago will have had 
an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the new Apple, for it was 
exhibited and certificated there. Should its cropping qualities prove to 
be of the right sort its future is assured. The Kentish grower above 
referred to told me that the best paying Apple this season has been Lord 
Suffield. When the two meet in the market I think that his lordship 
will have to take second place. There is a certain resemblance between 
the fruits, although Mr. Rivers says that his Codlin, which is a seedling 
from American Mother, has no more than a general kinship to the other, 
but the Sawbridgeworth variety is embellished with a number of rosy 
streaks that add much to its attractiveness, and has a powerful aroma. 
It is unexceptionable when cooked, and Mr. Barron, I understand, can 
think of no variety to place before it in flavour. Market growers 
would do well to look after Rivers’ Codlin. The tree is a strong and 
upright grower, and the fruit of fine texture. Conference has had 
more time to prove its value. This fine Pear was certificated a few 
years ago. It is in season at the present time, and is of very good 
quality. The tree forms a natural pyramid, and even on the Pear stock 
bears early and continuously. These two form a pair that should be 
added to every garden. 
Grapes. 
The Vines at Sawbridgeworth are in splendid health, and Grapes are 
undoubtedly finely grown, although the greater part of the crop has been 
cleared. Gros Maroc and Alicante are still carrying excellent bunches, 
the latter being beautiful examples of ripeness and colour, coated with 
a delicate bloom. Two newer varieties are also in fruit. One, named 
St. Antonio, has oval-shaped berries of a burnished black hue, and has 
very firm flesh of excellent flavour. Mr. Rivers tells me it will hang 
until May. This should be well worth trial. The other, also a black, 
rejoices in the name of Prunelas. It will ripen in the Hamburgh house, 
and is of admirable quality, but the bunches are somewhat too loose at 
present, and an attempt will be made to improve it in that respect. 
Oranges and Crabs. 
Not in many places do we meet with so fine a house of Oranges as 
at Sawbridgeworth. A good-sized structure is full of healthy plants 
with fruit in various stages of ripening. They present a really beautiful 
appearance, and as ornamental objects alone are very striking. The 
fruit will hang six months. The chief varieties grown are Silver, 
Sustain, Long, Maltese Blood, and St. Michael’s. The blossom is full 
of interest, and few fail to appreciate its spicy fragrance. Where 
the necessary winter warmth can be provided a few Oranges might well 
be grown. They are easily managed, and after the flowering stage is 
reached require no pruning. Two of the most effective plants in the 
open ground are the Yellow and Purple fruited Crabs. The former is 
roped with fruit like a Damson, the branches drooping almost to the 
ground, and it is extremely beautiful. The blossom is very sweet, but 
the same cannot be said of the fruit. The purple is more upright in 
growth, and the fruit is agreeable in flavour. In shrubbery borders 
such trees would be very valuable at this period of the year, and where 
fruit trees are planted for effect these Crabs should be represented 
amongst them. 
The Nursery Stock. 
The Sawbridgeworth nurseries are extensive, but additions are still 
being made to them, and this bespeaks an increasing demand for general 
nursery stock. Apples, Pear?, Plums, Cherries, Gooseberries, Currants, 
and Raspberries are cultivated on an enormous scale for supplying 
orders. All the popular varieties are represented, and the quality of 
the trees and bushes leaves nothing to be desired. They have made 
strong, robust growth, and it is difficult to imagine their failing to give 
satisfaction. There is the mark of good culture about everything, both 
under glass and in the open air, and that is the simple explanation of 
how a high reputation has been won and spread.—W. P. W. 
Roses at Christmas. 
With suitable attention it is possible to secure a fair display of 
Roses during the closing month of the year, a time when they are 
particularly welcome. A little foresight during the summer months, 
combined with proper treatment and a judicious selection of varieties, 
will do wonders towards enlivening our greenhouses with handsome 
Rose blooms. But plants for the purpose mentioned will by this 
time be well on their way to their period of blooming, and so I pass to 
the next succession of Roses—namely, the first batch intended to flower 
at Christmas and during the first month of the year. For this purpose 
they should have been already pruned and now beginning to push 
into growth. To get them to break strongly abundance of air should 
be admitted by day and night. They are not susceptible to injury by 
frost until they have grown about half an inch. An occasional syringing 
will soften the dormant eyes and aid them to start vigorously. Little 
water at the root is required at this stage, and a temperature of 45° is 
ample, and any attempt (o hurry them is likely to be fatal to success. 
As they increase in strength and vigour the temperature can be gradu¬ 
ally increased until a maximum of 65° is reached, and more water given 
according to requirements. Stimulants should be withheld until the 
buds are seen to form, after which it will be found beneficial if given 
in weak doses, to be afterwards increased in strength. As the buds 
expand air should be admitted more freely. A uniform temperature 
with careful ventilation are the best checks to mildew, although as 
a precaution the pipes may be brushed over with flowers of sulphur 
mixed to the consistency of paint. Roses can be forced successfully if 
planted in borders, but for very early work they are best grown in 
