234 EGG-PLANT, PEPPER, AND TOMATO. 



The pods, which are remarkably large, and often meas- 

 ure nearly four inches deep and three 

 inches in diameter, are pendent, broad- 

 est at the stem, slightly tapering, and 

 generally terminate in four obtuse, cone- 

 like points. At maturity, the fruit 

 changes to brilliant, glossy, coral-red. 



The Bell-pepper is early, sweet, and 

 pleasant to the taste, and much less acrid 

 Ben-pepper. or pungent than most of the other sorts. 



In many places, it is preferred to the 

 Squash-pepper for pickling, not only because of its mild- 

 ness, but for its thick, fleshy, and tender rind. 



In England, they are pickled as follows : The pods are 

 plucked while green, slit down on one side, and, after the 

 seeds are taken out, immersed in salt and water for twenty- 

 four hours, changing the water at the end of the first twelve. 

 After soaking the full time, they are laid to d$ain an hour 

 or two, put into bottles O jars, and boiled vinegar, after 

 being allowed to cool, poured over them till they are en- 

 tirely covered. The jars are then closely stopped for a few 

 weeks, when the pods will be fit for use. In this form, they 

 have been pronounced the best and most wholesome of all 

 pickles. 



Bird-pepper. Stem fifteen to eighteen inches high ; pods 

 Vil - erect, sharply conical, an inch and three- 



quarters long, half an inch in diameter, and of a brilliant 

 coral-red when ripe. 



The variety is late. If sown in the open ground, some 

 of the pods, if the season be favorable, will be fit for use 

 before the plants are destroyed by frost ; but few will be 

 fully perfected unless the plants are started under glass. 



The Bird-pepper is one of the most piquant of all varie- 

 ties, and is less valuable as a green pickle than many milder 

 and thicker-fleshed sorts. It is cultivated in rows fourteen 

 inches apart, and ten or twelve inches asunder in the rows. 



