232 
THE AMATEUR’S KITCHEN GARDEN. 
and thence to eight-inch, in which they may remain for fruit- 
ing, for they do not usually require any larger size. They 
make fine conservatory plants, and in all their later stages 
may be grown in a sunny greenhouse or frame without the 
aid of artificial heat, and should have air night and day 
during hot summer weather. 
Border Culture of small pepper is of a simple nature. 
Sow in pans in April if there is the convenience of a hotbed 
or stove, but if not sow in a frame the first week of May, and 
as soon as the plants begin to crowd one another, prick them out 
to four inches apart in the same or another frame, or if more 
convenient, thin them as they stand, and pot the thinnings. 
The border should be next a fence or wall facing south, and 
should be raised somewhat above the level of the adjoining 
walk. A rather poor sandy soil is to be preferred to one of 
great depth and richness. The plants may be put out at the 
end of May a foot to a foot and a-half apart, and if the 
weather is cold, they must be protected with hand glasses or 
frame lights, and have a little extra care until they begin to 
grow vigorously, after which they may be fully exposed, and 
all they will require will be regular watering. 
Selection of Varieties. — For ornamental purposes, the fol- 
lowing are the best : Cherry lied , Long Red, Yellow, Green, 
and Carter s Prince of Wales. For salads, the best is Sweet 
Spanish. 
The Egg Plant, Solanum ovigerwn, is an annual of some- 
what coarse growth, producing flowers resembling those of the 
potato, which are followed by fruits of various shapes and 
colours, all of which are edible and wholesome. The variety 
which produces white fruit is the best known, and is the one 
generally cultivated for ornamental purposes, its fruits bearing 
a close resemblance to fowls’ eggs. This, however, is the least 
valuable as an esculent, and therefore when egg plants are 
grown for the table, the common white variety is not worthy 
of attention. They are strictly greenhouse plants, requiring 
the same cultivation as balsams or capsicums. Ours are grown 
in a house devoted to summer cucumbers, which do not shade 
the egg plants over-much, and these last occupy vacant places 
on the beds in which the cucumbers are planted, saucers 
being placed bottom upwards for the egg plants to stand 
upon to prevent them rooting through into the borders that 
are occupied with the roots of the cucumbers. The seed is 
