EGG-PLANT. 87 



EGG PLANT. 



The seeds of this plant require a considerable amount of 

 heat to cause them to vegetate freely hence they should 

 he sown in a hot-bed about the end of March or the begin- 

 ning of April, keeping the sashes on and covering them 

 at night until the young plants show themselves ; then a 

 little air may be given in the middle of the day if bright 

 and warm. If a hot-bed cannot be had, some seeds may 

 he sown in flower-pots, and started on the inside sill of a 

 sunny window of the kitchen or other warm room. 



When the plants are two or three inches high, they 

 should be pricked out into" small pots, one plant in each, 

 replaced in the frame, and watered and shaded for three 

 or four days, until they make new roots. About the first 

 week in June they may be turned out of the pots and 

 planted in the open ground, in a warm sheltered border, 

 at a distance of two and a half to three feet apart each 

 way. The soil cannot be made too rich for them. When 

 they are about a foot high, draw the earth up to them, as 

 in hilling any other vegetables. 



One or two dozen plants will produce enough of fruit for 

 a small family. 



The best two sorts are the Neiv York Improved and the 

 "Black Pekin. The first is distinguished from the other 

 purple varieties, in being more stocky and robust in 

 growth, and in having the stems and leaves thickly set 

 with spines. It is also more productive than the others. 



The Black Pekin has very dark purple, almost black 

 fruit, of a globular shape, large and very solid. It is some- 

 what earlier than the first named sort and very productive. 



The white, striped and scarlet varieties are not worth 

 cultivating in the kitchen garden, being only serviceable 

 as ornamental plants. 



