1876 . ] 
THE OAENATION AND PICOTEE.-CHAPTER XII. 
265 
THE FKOGMOEE DAMSON. 
WITH AN ILLUSTRATION. 
JUR old varieties of Damsons are very few, the principal kinds grown being 
the Common^ the Shropshire^ and the Yellow. We may therefore with 
pleasure welcome a new and improved variety of this class of fruit, and 
^ such is the subject of our plate, which represents a Damson that is not only 
new, but distinct from those enumerated above. It originated, as its name im¬ 
plies, in the Royal Gardens at Frogmore, and although a few years have elapsed 
since it was raised and distributed, it is not so well known as it deserves to be. 
The habit of the tree is different from that of the usual type, since it has 
broader leaves, is of spreading growth, and has the shoots less thorny. It is an 
enormous bearer. The fruit is a trifle larger than that of its class, of a purplish- 
black colour, and inclining to obtuse-oval in shape. The flesh is tender and 
richly flavoured. It is suitable for all the purposes to which Damsons are ap¬ 
plied.—J. Powell, Frogmore. 
THE CARNATION AND PICOTEE. 
Chapter XII.— Retrospective—Reminiscences op the Bloom. 
TGHTEEN hundred and seventy-six will long be remembered as a year 
of exceptional conditions. Looking back for nearly forty years, I can 
recall no season more crucial in its character, or one that put a greater 
strain upon the patience and persistent effort of the florist. 
Following the heavy rainfalls of the summer and early autumn of 1875, 
* we had from early November to late April six successive waves of cold, 
sharply alternated by about equal periods of comparatively high temperatures, 
very disturbing to plant life, and detrimental to plant health—the whole culmi¬ 
nating in May in an amount of cold almost without a parallel, and biting, 
bitter winds, which dwarfed and stunted vegetation everywhere. These untoward 
conditions were naturally most severe in their effects in confined situations, such 
as suburban gardens usually are. Of course, parasitic life abounded. Never in 
my experience did I know so severe an attack of green-fly as that which followed 
close upon the cold winds of May, but never, I am happy to say, did I know so 
complete a remedy as is to be found in the repeated application of a weak solution 
of soft-soap and tobacco-water. 
For awhile the condition of the plants was grievous in the extreme; whole¬ 
sale destruction seemed imminent, and that by the most painful, the most pitiful 
of all deaths, the being eaten up alive ; but persistent effort had its reward, and 
I am warranted by experience in saying soft-soap and tobacco-water in weak 
solution are a positive specific for the attacks of green-fly. Not only is it death 
to the parasite, but it appears perfectly so to purge the tissues of the plant as to 
induce the most robust health, and consequent vigorous growth, where imme¬ 
diately before had been evidence of greatest debility. I am indebted for the 
3rd series.—IX. CO 
