OCTOBER. 
219 
which Mr. Rivers introduced a few years ago ; and from this, manipulated in 
the most extraordinary way with Nectarines, Clingstone Peaches, and the most 
heterogeneous and anomalous alliances, Mr. Rivers has succeeded in raising a 
number of varieties, some of which in earliness and others in excellence of 
flavour far surpass anything already in cultivation. We have had the opportunity 
for the last two or three years of watching the development of these ; and now, 
after repeated trials and comparisons, the following have been selected from a 
large number, all of which are good. 
The first is Early Alfred, raised from the seed of Hunt’s Tawny Necta¬ 
rine ! Singular fact! It is a Peach of the ordinary size, rather larger than 
otherwise, and marked with a deep suture that is rather higher on one side 
than the other. The skin is remarkably tender, pale straw-coloured on the 
shaded side, and somewhat mottled with bright carmine on the side next the 
sun. The flesh is white, with the jelly-like transparency of that of a Pine 
Apple, perfectly melting, richly flavoured and vinous, having an exquisite 
briskness that excites the salivary glands, and cleans instead of clogging the 
palate. 
This delicious Peach ripens early in August. 
The Dagmar is another of those exquisitely flavoured Peaches, not quite 
so large as the Early Alfred. It is the second generation from the Early 
Albert, another excellent variety raised by Mr. Rivers. The fruit is round, 
and marked with a shallow suture, which is deepest at the apex. The skin is 
very tender, more than usually downy, of a pale straw colour, almost entirely 
covered with minute crimson dots, so dense that they almost form a solid mass 
of colour; but here and there small patches of the yellow ground colour show 
through and give the appearance as if the fruit were mottled with yellow. 
Flesh white, with that gelatinous appearance that the whole of these new sorts 
possess ; it is so tender as to melt entirely away in the mouth, and the flavour 
is very rich and vinous. This ripens about the 10th of August. 
Alexandra Noblesse is a noble Peach, and a great gain—a great gain in 
many ways, for it is of the largest size, and has all the peculiar richness of 
flavour of the old Noblesse; but, unlike that variety, it has glands on the 
leaves, and is never subject to mildew. It is a remarkable fact, which we 
should like to have explained on physiological principles, that almost all the 
Peaches and Nectarines that have glandless leaves are subject to mildew. 
This excellent variety was raised from the old Noblesse, and, as we have 
already said, is of the largest size, round, and marked with a deep suture. 
The skin is covered with a rough down, and is quite pale without any trace of 
colour upon it. The flesh is white, even to the stone, and is very melting, 
juicy, richly flavoured, and vinous. 
A very handsome and excellent Peach, which must take the place of the 
old Noblesse. It ripens early in August. 
Dr. Hogg. —This is also a grand early Peach, both for its size and the 
excellence of its flavour. It differs, however, from all of the preceding in not 
having that very melting flesh that they have, but one more firm and solid. 
In this respect it has a great advantage, as it renders the fruit more portable 
and not so subject to injury from transmission to a distance. As a Peach, 
therefore, for all establishments where the fruit is grown for sale, or sent by 
public conveyance, this will be invaluable ; no other variety, that we know, 
possessing these qualities, combined with such richness of flavour and so early. 
The fruit is large and round, with a very distinct suture, which is deeply 
cleft at the apex. Skin thin but tough, lemon-coloured, dotted with crimson 
on the shaded side, and with a faint crimson cheek next the sun. Flesh 
yellowish white, somewhat firm but melting, with a rich full sugary flavour, 
