136 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
February  14,  1901. 
Sawbridgewortli  Revisited. 
all  show  their  excellent  health  in  the  cleanliness  of  the  wood  and  the 
development  of  the  flowers.  Fertilisation  was  proceeding  apace,  and  it 
was  easy  to  distinguish  those  that  bad  been  successfully  operated  upon 
by  the  deepening  of  the  colour  in  the  central  portion  of  the  flowers. 
There  was  an  abundant  promise  of  fruit,  but  even  when  the  crop  is 
ripe  the  house  will  be  no  more  beautiful  sight  than  at  the  moment 
when  the  flowers  are  at  perfection. 
A  Brace  of  Novelties. 
Immediately  one  enters  the  house  one  is  attracted  by  a  plant  in  a 
large  pot  carrying  flowers  that  are  conspicuous  in  the  whole  collection 
for  their  size,  substance,  colour,  and  the  profusion  with  which  they 
are  produced.  That  is  Peach  Thomas  Rivers.  It  is  a  variety  that 
produces  immense  fruits  of  fine  colour  and  excellent  flavour  ;  it  is  a 
most  persistent  cropper,  and  trees  which  were  exhibited  in  London  last 
year  are  now  again  clothed  with 
flowers.  Thos.  Rivers  will  pro¬ 
bably  become  one  of  the  leading 
varieties  in  future  years.  The 
other  conspicuous  novelty  is 
Duchess  of  York,  an  early  variety 
that  has  come  to  stay.  It  also 
is  a  very  free  bloomer,  and  sets 
with  the  same  ease  and  certainty 
as  Thos.  Rivers.  Duchess  of 
York  has  been  exhibited  in 
London  and  elsewhere  several 
times,  and  has  been  with  the 
entire  appreciation  of  everyone 
who  is  competent  to  judge  upon 
the  merits  of  these  fruits.  The 
first  named  variety  has  already 
received  the  first-class  certi¬ 
ficate  of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society,  and  doubtless  this 
honour  will  come  to  the  second 
named  during  the  ensuing  season. 
There  are,  too,  several  novelties 
under  trial,  but  time  alone  will 
prove  their  right  to  permanent 
positions  and  their  ability  to 
oust  present  day  favourites. 
The  General  Stock. 
In  the  majority  of  the  houses 
containing  the  bulk  of  the  stock 
of  Apples,  Pears,  Plums,  Cher¬ 
ries,  Peaches,  and  Nectarines  in 
pots,  the  trees  are  not  in  the 
most  interesting  state  for  inspec¬ 
tion.  Indeed,  one  can  only  think 
of  their  prowess  in  past  years 
and  speculate  upon  their  beha¬ 
viour  in  the  future.  The  doyen 
of  the  collection  is  a  tree  of 
Yiolette  Hative  Peach,  which 
is  about  half  a  century  old.  It  is  a  persistent  producer  of  good  fruit, 
and  is  now  studded  with  splendid  buds,  so  that  a  crop  may  be  safely 
anticipated  this  season.  One  observes  practically  all  forms  of  trees, 
and  that  the  whole  of  them  are  remarkably  clean  and  healthy.  The 
work  of  potting  is  one  of  magnitude,  as  every  tree  is  dealt  with 
each  year  in  this  respect.  It  is  commenced  as  soon  as  the  wood  is 
ripe  in  the  autumn,  and  is  continued  throughout  the  winter.  The 
trees  make  an  immense  number  of  fibrous  roots,  but  these  are 
largely  torn  away  at  each  potting,  and  in  the  new  soil  fresh  ones  are 
formed  annually.  Some  growers  might  be  doubtful  of  the  desirability 
of  adopting  such  a  system,  but  that  is  correct  procedure  is  proved 
by  the  grand  results  that  are  attained  at  Sawbridgeworth.  When 
a  plant  has  been  subjected  to  a  certain  method  of  treatment  for  over 
twenty  years,  little  fault  can  be  found  with  that  method. 
The  Orange  Houses. 
It  is  not  every  day  that  one  finds  a  couple  of  good-sized  houses 
given  over  to  Orange  culture,  but  such  is  the  case  at  Sawbridgeworth, 
where  they  are  a  great  specialty.  Both  the  members  of  the  firm 
consider  it  a  matter  for  regret  that  Oranges  are  not  more  extensively 
Plum  President. 
A  iew  years  ago  I  had  the  pleasure  of  visiting  the  celebrated 
nurseries  of  Messrs.  Thos.  Rivers  &  Son  at  Sawbridgeworth,  and  a 
week  or  so  ago  my  second  journey  was  made.  The  ground  was  buried 
beneath  a  snowy  mantle,  and  the  trees  and  hedgerows  glistened  under 
the  midday  sun.  It  was  not  an  ideal  day  to  inspect  a  fruit  nursery,  as 
locomotion  was  neither  pleasant  nor  easy,  while  the  exigencies  of  the 
weather  had  put  a  stop  to  the  lifting  and  despatching  of  trees  for 
almoet  the  first  time  this  season.  Until  the  period  mentioned  the 
men  had  been  continuously  busy  at  this  work,  and  the  trees,  well 
furnished  with  roots  and  branches,  were  forwarded  to  their  destinations 
to  be  planted  under  climatal  conditions  that  augured  well  for  their 
future  well  being.  As  the  land 
was  enveloped  in  snow  it  was 
considered  desirable  to  make 
the  houses  the  principal  feature 
of  the  visit,  and  these  were 
entered  under  the  experienced 
guidance  of  Mr.  H.  Somers 
Rivers,  whose  interest  in  the 
experimental  work  for  which 
the  firm  has  been  famous  for 
many  years  is  profound.  His 
elder  brother  and  partner  in  the 
business,  Mr.  Alfred  Rivers, 
seems  to  concentrate  his  energies 
upon  the  outdoor  stock,  though 
he  is  of  course  familiar  with  the 
indoor  work  as  well.  Their 
combined  knowledge  should  in¬ 
sure  the  name  of  Rivers  main¬ 
taining  the  high  position  that 
it  has  occupied  amongst  raisers 
of  fruit  trees  for  considerably 
over  half  a  century. 
The  Orchard  House. 
The  story  of  the  first  orchard 
house  that  was  erected  at  Saw¬ 
bridgeworth  by  Mr.  Thos.  Rivers 
(grandfather  of  the  present 
generation)  has  been  many  times 
told  in  the  pages  of  the  Journal 
of  Horticulture,  and  need  not 
now  be  repeated.  It  was  destined 
to  almost  revolutionise  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  fruit  under  glass,  as 
the  conviction  of  what  could 
be  done  under  the  system  was 
forced  upon  cultivators.  None 
of  the  original  houses  now  stand, 
but  some  of  almost  the  earliest 
type  remain,  and  it  is  curious 
to  notice  how  little  the  principal  ideas  of  the  structures  of  the  present 
day  have  changed  frcm  those  of  forty  or  more  years  ago.  They  are 
much  larger,  loftier,  and  lighter;  but  as  with  the  first  comers,  wood 
enters  largely  into  their  construction,  and  the  provision  for  ventilation 
is  almost  unlimited.  The  appliances  for  heating  vary  of  course  in  the 
several  structures,  according  to  the  uses  to  which  they  will  be  put. 
and  in  seveial  houses  of  the  largest  size  there  is  only  one  row  of  pipes. 
To  keep  the  frost  from  the  pots  they  are  banked  up  with  straw,  this 
being  removed  and  replaced  with  the  changes  in  the  weather. 
A  Superb  Flowering  House. 
It  is  rot  tie  general  rule  in  gardens  to  associate  houses  devoted  to 
fruit  trees  with  beauty  as  much  as  utility,  but  one  thing  is  quite 
certain,  that  no  more  beautiful  spectacle  could  be  seen  than  the  pot 
trees  of  Peaches  and  Nectarines  in  flower  at  Sawbridgeworth.  No 
combination  of  flowering  plants  could  produce  a  more  superb  picture. 
Though  practically  only  one  kind  of  plant  is  here  represented,  the 
lemarkable  differences  in  the  Bize,  substance,  form,  and  colour  of  the 
flowers  combine  to  make  a  perfect  picture.  There  are  hundreds  of 
trees  of  various  sizes  and  in  slightly  different  stages  of  growth,  and 
