October 3rd, 1903. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
829 
Some of Messrs. Rivers’ Fruit Trees. 
Our readers must now be getting! familiar with, the accounts 
of the splendid groups of fruit trees grown in pots and ex¬ 
hibited by Messrs. Thomas Rivers and Son, Sawbridgeworth, 
Herts, at the principal London and provincial exhibitions. For 
the benefit of those living at a distance from those horticultural 
centres we now reproduce a number of these fruit trees, of 
which we took photographs in their nursery the other week. 
These illustrations will convey better than, words the form of 
these trees and their fruitful character, even when grown in 
such confined, spaces as pots. That these trees can be kept in 
a healthy and fruitful condition for many years in such re¬ 
stricted space is a marvel of the art of cultivation. 
The late Mr. Thomas Rivers was the first to introduce the 
culture of fruit trees in pots. The advantages of this system 
of cultivation are many, some of them being that in an un¬ 
seasonable summer like the past, the cultivator can practically 
command success if possessed of the same experience and skill 
as Messrs. Rivers. This applies, in the first place, to 
the fertilisation of the flowers, whatever the nature of 
the weather may be, and the subseqneqt^ development 
of the fruit partly or wholly under glass',' by which they 
can be protected from the wind, rain, and other in¬ 
clemencies of the weather, as well as from insect and 
other enemies. Another point is that* young trees can 
be employed for the purpos#of forcing, thereby saving 
trees that are planted out from the strain of that method 
of cultivation. Fruit grown in this way can. be taken 
into the mansion or private establishments on the occa¬ 
sion of parties, or even under ordinary circumstances, so 
that the diners can pick their own fruits from the trees, 
with the certainty of having them fresh gathered. 
Twelve large houses in the orchard-house department 
are devoted to the cultivation of these trees, while twelve 
other houses are devoted to forcing fruit of various 
kinds, but particularly Grapes. The great vinery is 
300 ft. long; the soil is naturally of a light character, 
and Grapes succeed well in this—that is, in the natural 
soil. 
The outdoor nurseries extend to between 200 and 
300 acres, so that hardy fruit trees trained in all the 
most useful forms are. veiy extensively cultivated. Tire 
firm has long been not ed not only for the cultivation, but 
also for the raising of various stone' fruits for which 
they have been famous for many years, past. The late 
Thomas Rivers raised the original early Prolific Plum 
in 1834, and that acquisition was the means' of first 
bringing the name of Rivers prominently before the 
public. Since' then they have made every endeavour to 
keep the whole nursery up to a high standard of ex¬ 
cellence, and with what results' is now well known to 
everyone who. takes an interest' in fruit culture. 
The cultures at Sawbridgeworth are not alone confined 
to stone fruits, for Apples. and Pears are also 1 veiy suc¬ 
cessfully cultivated under various systems, and for 
various purposes.. The firm has also raised a. consider¬ 
able number of first-class fruits, including Peaches, Nec¬ 
tarines, Pears, Apples; Plums, Cherries, and other sub¬ 
jects. The firm also has one of the most notable, if not the 
most notable, collection of Orange' trees in the country. 
Peach Grosse Mignonne. —This variety of Peach continues 
to be one of the most popular in cultivation, which indicates 
that it is also one of the best, whether for forcing purposes or 
otherwise. As a. matter of fact, it doesi force well, and in the 
orchard house or Peach house, under ordinary conditions, -with¬ 
out forcing, it ripens in September, earlier or later according to 
the character of the season. It is also well adapted for culti¬ 
vation in pots, as may be seen by reference to the pyramid tree 
grown in a. pot. and carrying sixty fruits. This is altogether a 
good example of the skill of Messrs. River's in this form of cul¬ 
tivation. This must also represent a tree which has seen many 
years of cultivation under these conditions and still retains a 
vigorous, healthy, and fruitful condition. It is unnecessary to 
refer, however, to the quality of the fruits, as every gardener 
is now well acquainted with that. 
Plum Late Orange. —In this we have another excellent ex¬ 
ample of the cultivator’s skill in pot culture. The illustration 
represents a bush tree carrying seventy-three fruits. It is one 
of the varieties raised by the firm, and is a liandsome-looking 
fruit of large size, with bright orange skin, covered with a heavy 
bloom. The flesh is very rich and of excellent flavour, and 
parts readily from the stone, so' that this may be described as 
a free-stone Plum. It is also a, dessert variety, and is valuable 
for maintaining a, supply after the other crops have been gath¬ 
ered, because, under ordinary conditions, the fruits do not 
ripen till the end of October. It might be forced to- some 
extent, but. for private use, the chief object of growing it would 
be to take the place of the early varieties! for dessert purposes 
late in. the autumn. When brought before the Royal Horticul¬ 
tural Society it was awarded a First-class Certificate, thus 
acknowledging- its superior merits. 
Bush Tkf.e of Late Orange Plum (Rivers), carrying 73 fruits. 
e Parrot Pear. —We give an illustration of a tree of this 
variety, five years old and carrying twenty-six fruits. The 
is tree is veiy hardy, bears abundantly, and ripens its fruit in 
is October. The fruit isi of large size', obovate, and veiy bright in 
ir colour for a Pear. It is classed amongst the Bergamots, and 
e has a veiy good melting flesh of pleasing flavour. The variety 
l- is' suitable, either for the garden or market, and is well adapted 
o for cultivation in pots, as might, be seen from the fertility of so 
i- small a tree. 
e Apple Blenheim Orange Pippin. —When grown as an 
a orchard tree this requires a growth of ten years or fifteen, years 
1- before it will come into, a hearing condition. When, grown on 
y the dwarfing stock, however, it may be cultivated in pots and 
a, brought, into- a. fruitful condition in quite a small state, as may 
o be seen, by reference to our illustration of a standard canying 
