THE STANWICK NECTARINE. 
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THE STANWICK NECTARINE. 
B ESCRIPTION.—Fruit medium-sized, in our specimen rather below this, roundish oval; 
skin pale dull yellow, becoming deep violet with small brownish specks where fully exposed, 
and passing off to bright red, richly broken towards the shaded parts. Flesh greenish white, 
or very pale greenish yellow, with a slight tinge of red next the stone, which separates freely; 
“ tender, juicy, rich, and sugary, without the slightest trace of the flavour of prussic acid 
when thoroughly matured on the tree it is said to be very high flavoured. Stone middle- 
sized, very rugged, ovate, with a prominent point, and sharp edge, and of a deep tawny brown; 
“ the kernel is sweet like a nut, possessing nothing of the bitter almond flavour.” Ripe about 
the end of August or the beginning of September, in the climate of Yorkshire. 
The tree on its own roots is a robust and late grower. The leaves have the margins crenate- 
serrate, and are furnished at the base with a pair of small reniform glands. The flowers are 
large, and of a palish pink colour. 
History, &c. —This valuable Nectarine, described by Dr. Lindley, as being as far beyond all 
other Nectarines as the Green-gage Plum is beyond all other Plums, was introduced to this country 
by His Grace the Duke of Northumberland, to whose liberality we are indebted for the speci¬ 
men of the fruit from which our drawing was made. The first account of it was given by Mr. 
Thompson, in the Journal of the Horticultural Society (i., 272), from which it appears that His 
Grace raised it from a stone given him by Mr. Barker, formerly Her Majesty’s Vice-Consul at 
Aleppo, now residing near Suedia, in Syria—a gentleman who has been instrumental in intro¬ 
ducing some other valuable Syrian varieties of stone fruits to the gardens of this country. The 
seeds thus obtained, were sown in March, 1843, in his Grace’s garden at Stanwick Park, where, 
under the superintendence of Mr. Crawford Baillie, the first fruit were ripened in August, 
1846, the variety having been budded in the autumn of 1843 on the Bellegarde Peach. 
The Stanwick Nectarine has acquired more than ordinary celebrity among horticulturists, 
from the fact of the munificent surrender of his property in the variety by its noble owner, and 
the application of the proceeds of its sales, after defraying the expenses of propagation,* to the 
charitable purpose of aiding the funds of the Gardeners’ Benevolent Institution. Mr. Rivers, 
of Sawbridgeworth, undertook its propagation; and, on the occasion of the anniversary meet¬ 
ing of the Institution, on the loth of May in the present year, the first twenty-four plants™ 
which had been obtained by grafting—were disposed of at Stevens’ Rooms, at prices varying 
from £2 2s. to £10 10s. each, realizing, in the aggregate, the sum of £164 17s., which, together 
with the money which may be realized by any further sales, is, by the wish of the noble Duke, 
to form the nucleus of a fund for the construction of almshouses for aged and indigent gar¬ 
deners. It is understood that Mr. Rivers will have a number of plants for a further public 
sale in the course of the present autumn. 
Mr. Baillie states that the tree on its own roots grows late in the autumn, even retaining 
its leaves through the winter. Worked upon Apricot, Plum, or Almond stocks, he has no 
doubt it will prove quite hardy, and bear well, even in the north of England. We learn, from 
good authority, that the flavour of the fruit when gathered early and artificially matured, as 
was the case with the specimen from which our description was drawn up, is inferior; and that 
the fruit requires to be fully matured upon the tree to acquire its proper flavour. 
Like other cultivated fruits, this also appears to have its peculiarities in respect to the stocks 
upon which it is worked. As far as these peculiarities have been observed, they are explained 
in the following extracts from a letter, with which we have just been favoured by Mr. Rivers :— 
The buds sent me in August, 1849, from Stanwick, were partly inserted in Muscle Plum 
stocks and partly in a French Plum stock, called the Damas noir, or Black Damask Plum. They 
all appeared to take well, and remained plump and sound all the winter. In the severe frost 
they were protected by inverted flower-pots. In spring, those on the Black Damask Plum 
broke freely, those on the Muscle not so. The severe frost on May 3rd, made sad havoc with 
them; out of eighty buds on the Muscle stock, not more than two plants survived. Those on 
* It is but right to state that Mr. Rivers made no charge for propagating this fruit. 
VOL. II. R 
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