Eminent botanists are of opinion that our plums and damsons have had their origin in the _Prunus Communis_ found in various parts of Europe and Asia, but others consider that the _Prunus Domestica_ is the parent of the majority. Mr A. H. Pearson of Chilwell, Nott. (_v. Journal of the R.H.S._, vol. xxi. part ii.), thinks that "the blood" of more than one species is found in the plums of the present day, as varieties closely resembling one another demand different stocks for their well-being when propagated by grafting. The cherry plum is _Prunus myrobalana_, and of this species there are several varieties, as St Etienne, Mirabelle Précoce, _i.e._ the Early Mirabelle, Mirabelle Petite, and others. Rivers' Early Prolific is said to be of the same race. The Bullace is classed by some botanists under the _Prunus Instititia_, and they place the damson in the same species, but the latter is round, the former oval. The damson, a small plum, may be safely classed with the _Prunus Communis_. It derives its name from the city of Damascus. Damascena is the word used in Pliny for the district round Damascus, and damson originally meant the Damascus plum. The Chinese have for centuries cultivated plums, and in the United States plums from Japan are coming rapidly into use, and appear to be more successful there than in the British Isles. We find the word _prunum_, a plum, in Vergil, Ovid, Martial, and other Roman writers. _Prunus_, a plum tree, is derived directly from the Greek; _prunus silvestris_, in Columella and Pliny, is supposed to mean the black thorn or sloe tree. These illustrations prove that the plum has been known for ages, and that its value is recognised in every part of the world. Our word plum is plainly derived from the Latin (probably through the Anglo-Saxon), and the word prune is almost identical with _prunum_. SOIL AND SITUATION