EGGPLANT. 53 



These pieces are then mashed or crushed in a barrel, a 

 wooden pounder being used for the purpose; or if at 

 hand, a wine press or a cider mill will answer for crush- 

 ing. 



Fermentation is not permitted with eggplant, as it 

 will make seed harder to clean and also causes seed to 

 be darker in color. In fact, it is considered better not 

 to allow the pulp to stand longer than three hours be- 

 fore cleaning. One grower whose annual crop amounts 

 to several thousand pounds crushes the fruit by horse- 

 power, in a large mill which is fixed not quite breast- 

 high on the edge of a large wooden platform. The 

 crushed pulp drops from the mill on to this platform, 

 from which it is loaded on wagons and hauled to a 

 creek for washing. He does not pare the fruit or cut 

 it into pieces, but dumps the eggs whole . into the 

 hopper of the mill, the stem ends having previously 

 been cut off in the field at time of gathering. 



Washing and Cleaning. This is done by using 

 sieves in a tub or a barrel of water. The pulp is poured 

 on a wide-meshed sieve at first. By working the sieve 

 about in the water, it causes seed to separate from the 

 pulp and pass through the sieve to the bottom of the 

 vessel used. The water and floating pulp are then 

 poured off, seed is taken out and washed again in clear 

 water, this time using a finer-meshed sieve to screen 

 out seed from the remaining pulp. If this does not 

 render seed thoroughly clean, washing is repeated. 



The large grower mentioned above does his washing 

 in a stream which runs by his farm. He uses a box 

 screen, which is 4 feet long, 2J feet wide, 18 inches 

 deep. It has long handles at each end. The screen 

 has a mesh of four to the inch. This screen box fits 

 into an outside box made about 15 inches deeper, the 



