December 26, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
791 
answer both purposes. Then it is not 
every year that Plums will fruit, and in 
some gardens or soils their fruiting is 
very uncertain. Against this the Dam¬ 
sons, though of small size, have small 
stones, and when cooked the stones can 
easily be removed from the fruit. As a 
rule, when Plums are made into jam 
the stones are there as well and of large 
size, whereas the Damson stone is very 
small, and the cooked or preserved Dam¬ 
sons are of excellent flavour and colour. 
Several Damsons are in cultivation, 
the most of them, perhaps, being grown 
by market gardeners. Some of - them 
might profitably be employed in gardens 
of small size, and amongst these we 
should name Farleigh Prolific. It is also 
known as Crittenden, Cluster Damson 
and Kent Cluster. Numerous names at¬ 
tached to a fruit are usually a good mea¬ 
sure of the popularity of the subject bear¬ 
ing them, and that applies here. The tree 
bears profusely, the fruits being in clus¬ 
ters. It is unusually well adapted for 
preserving for the reasons above stated, 
and is largely grown for market, thus 
testifying to its utility and its free-bear¬ 
ing character. The accompanying illus¬ 
tration shows a fruiting spray of this fine 
variety. The trees of this variety require 
less room than Apples, Pears, and many 
of the Plums. 
-- 
Six Good Peas 
for Succession. 
++> 
The Pea season has once more come 
to an end, and now is a good time to 
consider which are the most satisfactory 
varieties. Having to produce a large 
supply, and for as long a season as pos¬ 
sible, I have to study very carefully the 
sorts that give not only the best crop, 
but also the best table quality. These two 
important points are not always to be found 
in the same variety, so it is imperative 
for me to experiment with new varieties 
to see how far it is possible to combine 
as near as may be these essentials. After 
many years’ trials of all the best known 
kinds, I can find nothing quite so good 
as the following six, that I have proved 
in all kinds of seasons. Here they are : 
The Pilot, Carters Daisy, Boston Un¬ 
rivalled, Glory of Devon, Royal Salute, 
and The Gladstone. The best three 
would be : Daisy, Boston Unrivalled, and 
Roval Salute. Were I compelled to grow 
only one variety of culinary Pea I should 
unhesitatingly plump for Boston Un¬ 
rivalled. This Pea produces the heaviest 
and finest flavoured crop it has ever been 
my good fortune to grow. C. Blair. 
Preston House, Linlithgow. 
Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria. 
Lecturing recently at the Royal Botanic 
Society, Professor Bottomley announced 
that there were three new non-liguminous 
plants for which his nitrogen-fixing bac¬ 
teria had proved effective, viz., Onions, 
Hyacinths and Asparagus. In the case 
of Onions there had been an increased 
yield of 39 per cent. The bacteria had 
also been applied to Melons, Lettuces, 
[.Maclaren and Sons. Peas, and Peaches, with good results. 
A Valuable Damson. 
Damson Farleigh Prolific. 
Farleigh Prolific. 
Amateurs in possession of a garden of 
mod size are almost certain to take to 
ruit culture in order to profitably occupy 
he space at command. Most of the com- 
non fruits are as easily cultivated in 
own as they are in the country, even if 
he fruits, do not attain the same size. 
Is a rule they do not colour up so well 
s those more favourably situated, but sel- 
om does it interfere with quality, either 
nr dessert or cooking purposes. 
Most kinds of fruits, even Plums, are 
taken into the calculation in furnishing 
small gardens, but rarely does anyone 
think of planting a Damson. The fruit 
is small certainly, and not much to look 
at, but the Damsons fruit more regularly 
than most kinds of Plums. They are of 
no value for dessert purposes, but for 
cooking purposes they take a deal of 
beating. 
It may be argued that Plums will 
