SAVOY CABBAGE CAPSICUM AND CHILI 35 



for those of medium growth, and twenty to twenty-four where the 

 ground is strong and large heads are required. In private gardens 

 the smaller kinds, such as Tom Thumb and Early Ulm, are much 

 the best, but the market grower must give preference to those that 

 make large, showy heads. 



CAPSICUM and CHILI 



(Capsicum annuum, C. baccatum} 



CAPSICUMS AND CHILIS are so interesting and ornamental that it 

 is surprising they are grown in comparatively few gardens. Some- 

 times there is reason to lament that Cayenne pepper is coloured with 

 deadly drugs, but the remedy is at the hand of many, for Capsicums 

 are of easy culture, and to prepare pepper is by no means a difficult 

 task. All the ornamental Capsicums are adapted for pot culture, as 

 conservatory and table plants, and the simplest course of procedure 

 is to sow the seeds on a hot-bed in February or March, and pot on 

 the young plants as they develop, keeping them on a mild hot-bed, 

 or in a warm house or vinery until the summer is somewhat advanced, 

 when they may be taken to the conservatory. Any light rich soil will 

 answer, and nice plants may be had in pots five to eight inches in 

 diameter, beyond which it is not desirable to go. 



The Bird Pepper or Chili is grown as a tender annual, the seed 

 being sown at the end of March on a mild hot-bed, or in a sunny 

 frame ; and the plants carefully nursed until the beginning of June, 

 when they are planted out under a hot wall or fence. They will do 

 very well in a gravel walk if there is a warm wall to help them, but 

 in this case a hole can be made with a trowel for each plant, and a 

 little light rich earth must be provided to insure a good start. In 

 gardens favourably situated, as many are in the south of England, it 

 is sufficient to sow a pinch of seed on an open border in the middle 

 of May, and put a hand glass over it, and the plants from this sowing 

 may be planted in any sunny spot, and will yield an abundant crop 

 of peppers. To prepare these for table use, put a reasonable number 

 into a wire basket, and consign them to a mild oven for about twelve 

 hours. They are not to be cooked but desiccated, and in most cases 

 an ordinary oven, with the door kept open to prevent the heat rising 

 too high, will answer perfectly. Being thus prepared, the next pro- 

 ceeding is to pound them in a mortar with one-fourth their weight of 

 salt, which also should be dried in the oven, and used while hot. 



P 3 



