Eggplant and Peyper 



273 



held by tlie greatly elongated hard pedimcle and the immensely 

 enlarging calyx : seeds numerous on many central placentje 

 imbedded in lines in the flesh of the fruit, round kidney-shaped, 

 flat, smooth and shining, with many minute pits, in. or 

 more long, ^Yeighing 2 to A mg., retaining vitality 5 to 8 years. 

 Yar. serpentinum, Bailey, Bull. 26, Cornell Exp. Sta., 25. 1S91. 

 {S. serpentiniun, Desf. Hort. Par. Ed. 3, 115, name only. 

 1829.) Snake Eggplant. Differs in the fruit, which is long 

 and slender, 12 in, and more long and 1 in. or less in diameter, 

 curling at the end. 



Yar. depressum, Bailey, Bull. 26, Cornell Exp. Sta. 25. 

 Dwarf Eggplant. Plant small and weak, spreading or even 

 decumbent rather than erect, nearly or quite smooth and the 

 growing parts often purplish, spineless except sometimes on 

 peduncle and calyx : leaves small and thin, undulate and 

 sinuate but scarcely lobed, nearly or quite smooth, the blade 

 2 to 6 in. long : flowers small, long-peduncled : fruit pear- 

 shaped and perhaps oblong, 4 to 5 in. long, purple. — A race 

 of good short-season small eggplants, very distinct in habit and 

 foliage. 



(The word " Melongena " is an old substantive, perhaps com- 

 pounded with the Greek for apple.) 



PEPPER OR CAPSICUM 



Peppers require the treatment advised for tomatoes and 

 eggplants, hut they thrive in a rather cooler season and will 

 endure some frost, although hest results are obtained in a 

 tvarm climate. Some of the varieties mature in a relatively 

 short season. 



Seeds are started indoors or in hotbed, and transplanted 

 once (and preferably twice) before setting in the field. Sow 

 seeds about in. deep. Plants may stand 8 to 18 in. In the 

 row, depending on variety ; rows may be far enough asunder 

 to allow of horse tillage (2 to 2% ft.) or closer for hand 

 tillage. One ounce of seed should produce 1,500 to 2,000 plants. 



