THE AMATEUR’S KITCHEN GARDEN. 
233 
sown in pots or pans in March or April, and has the advan- 
tage of a mild hotbed to start it into growth. As soon as the 
plants are large enough, they are potted singly in thumb pots, 
the soil being light and rich, as for fuchsias or balsams. They 
are kept rather close and warm until they have made a fresh 
start, and thenceforward they require very little care indeed, 
for the same amount of warmth and air and atmospheric 
moisture that suit the cucumbers suit them also perfectly. 
They are shifted on as fast as they fill their pots with roots, 
until they occupy eight or ten-inch pots, after which they are 
allowed to become pot-bound, and they soon flower and fruit 
freely. The culture may begin in February for an early 
supply of fruit, but the young plants will require a good 
hotbed or a snug corner in the stove to keep them going until 
the season is sufficiently advanced to enable them to take 
their places without harm in the greenhouse. Regular sup- 
plies of water they must have, of course, and as they begin 
to show fruit, it will be necessary to increase the supplies, and 
to aid them further with weak manure water. Every plant 
must be tied to a neat stake in good time, but usually they 
will not want support until they are in their fruiting pots. 
Let them swell all the fruit they show, and if by this time 
the weather is unusually hot, they may be put out in the sun 
in a spot sheltered from the wind, and they will enjoy the 
change. We have, however, always obtained handsome plants 
and fine crops of fruit without removing them from the cu- 
cumber house. In a very hot season, egg plants fruit freely 
in an open border, but, as a rule, it is waste of time to plant 
them out. 
Selection oe Varieties. — The Common White, as remarked 
above, is the handsomest, and therefore the best for ornamental 
purposes. It is too tough and fibrous to be of any use for the 
table, and therefore should not be grown as an esculent. The 
Giant Purple produces immense globular or elliptical fruits 
of a beautiful violet or blackish-purple colour. This is a 
good table fruit. The Green Thibet is the largest of all, the 
colour dull green with occasional patches and streaks of 
purple. It is a mass of delicate pulp, with very few seeds, 
and most delicious when nicely cooked. The Black is a large 
fruit of a very dull, deep purple colour. It is handsome and 
curious, but of less value for the table than the green. The 
Scarlet fruited is a very tall-growing plant, flowering and 
