VEGETABLES DESCRIPTION AND CULTURE. 339 



corn stalks, and other vegetable refuse, and covering 

 them with soil twelve inches deep, in which plant out 

 the eggplants two feet apart in the row. Water abun- 

 dantly until established. Keep the ground well hoed and 

 free from weeds, and earth up the plants a little from 

 time to time. Twelve to twenty plants will be enough. 



For Seed. — Allow oue of the largest fruits from a pro- 

 lific plant to ripen seed. It will keep three or four years. 



Use. — Eggplant is used by the French in various ways 

 in soups and stews, but generally cut iu thin slices, and 

 fried in batter. They are not commonly liked at first, but 

 after a few trials become very agreeable to most tastes, 

 and are esteemed a delicacy. They are fit for use when 

 some two or three inches in diameter, and continue so 

 until the seeds begin to change color. They are not un- 

 wholesome, but cannot be very nourishing, as they con- 

 tain a very large proportion of water. Before frying, 

 they should be cut in slices a quarter to a half of an inch 

 thick, and piled on a plate with alternate layers of salt, 

 in order to remove the acrid taste. 



Marketing. — The eggplant to be marketable must be 

 of good average size, weighing not less than one pound, 

 and must have the coloring not too light, and must be 

 tender. The stem is cut to the length of about one inch, 

 and each eggplant is wrapped in paper before packing. 

 Pack in bushel crates firm and solid, so that there will be 

 no movement in the vegetable while shipping; use every 

 care to prevent bruising. 



ENDIVE. — (Cichorium Endivia.) 



Endive is a hardy annual, a native of China and Japan; 

 first cultivated in England in 1548. The root leaves are 

 numerous, large, sinuate, toothed, and smooth. The stem 

 rises about two feet high, producing generally blue 

 flowers. The best varieties are: 



