218 
THE FLORIST AKD F0M0L0GIST. 
The following Hauthois sorts are good—but they have been superseded 
here by Rivers’s Royal Hautbois, a great and sure cropper—namely, the Black 
Hautbois, very rich, but too small in berry; the Monstrous Hantbois, and 
Belle Bordelaise. The last is said to be a cross between the old Hautbois and 
the Alpine—two stubborn races that have never yet been broken into! 
Tarrant JRushton. W. F. Radclyffe. 
NEW FRUITS AT THE SAWBRIDGE WORTH ORCHARD- 
HOUSES. 
Perhaps one of the greatest treats the lover of fruit culture can find is to 
visit the orchard-houses of Messrs. Rivers & Son, at Sawbridgeworth, which 
are now in their most attractive condition. We have already made frequent 
visits to this establishment, and have never come away without being not only 
wiser than we went, but deeply impressed with the wonderful field which has 
yet to be explored in fruit culture. For some years past Mr. Rivers, sen., has 
addressed himself to the work of originating new varieties of fruits which 
should supply the deficiencies of those with which our gardeners have been so 
long familiar. His first attempt was to obtain varieties either very much 
earlier, or very much later than those already in cultivation ; and, reasoning 
from a commercial point of view, in securing a crop of fruit a week or ten 
days earlier than it is customary for the ordinary varieties to appear in the 
markets, the fortunate possessor of such gains must necessarily obtain an 
advantage over all other cultivators. This has been strikingly illustrated by 
the Early Prolific Plum, which Mr. Rivers raised now many years ago. This 
is w r ell known to be, if not the earliest, at least one of the earliest, Plums in 
cultivation. When Mr. Rivers saw what the future must be, he attempted, 
but very unsuccessfully, to induce large market gardeners and orchardists to 
plant this Plum on an extensive scale, and thereby secure the supply of the 
home markets before the foreign importations commenced, and before the old 
varieties of home fruit were nearly read}\ Mr. Rivers pressed his views in 
vain, and the large stock of young Early Prolific Plum trees which he expected 
would have been bought up with avidity was left on his hands, much to his 
disappointment. Great, however, was his faith in the correctness of the views 
he had adopted ; and seeing the public w 7 ould not accept the advantage be 
offered he secured it for himself, and the trees that he could not sell he planted 
in row's in his own grounds. How many thousands of bushels of fruit these 
trees have since yielded, and how many hundreds of pounds sterling that fruit 
has since produced, w r e are almost afraid to say ; but true it is that for some 
years past the first Plums to be found in the streets of London are Rivers’ 
Early Prolific, and we believe the supply comes mainly from these trees to 
which we have referred. 
This is one illustration of the advantage of procuring varieties of fruit which 
can be brought to market when the great mass is not in season ; and it is to 
attain this end that Mr. Rivers has devoted so many years to the acquisition of 
such desiderata, and he has been beyond measure successful in arriving at the 
desired result. This season has witnessed the realisation of the most sanguine 
expectations in new varieties of the Peach. For many long years the Red 
Nutmeg and Early Anne w r ere the earliest and best of which we could boast. 
Then came the two small but nice varieties, Acton Scot and Springrove, but 
neither of them was such as ardent fruit-growers could be satisfied with. Then 
we had from across the Atlantic a new race in the form of the Early York 
