180 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[June, 
owner of tlie curiosity, enclosing seeds of the 
veritable tree, which he says is an evergreen, 
and appears to grow the whole year. When 
the trees from this seed are fairly established, 
we shall report. 
The Egg Plant — ( Solanum Esculentum.) 
This vegetable has not yet attained the pop¬ 
ularity it deserves. It is quite extensively 
grown by market gardeners, near cities, but we 
have seldom seen it on the farmer’s table. Some 
have not yet learned to love it, more’s the pity, 
for one accustomed to the taste, finds it, if well 
cooked, almost equivalent to both meat and ve¬ 
getables. The plant is of African origin, of too 
tender habit to be grown in open ground from 
the seed at the far North; but by starting in the 
hot-bed, or in pots in the house, six or eight 
weeks before corn planting time, it can be trans¬ 
planted in June, and brought to maturity. 
In this latitude there is a chance that plants 
may be grown to bear from seed, sown even as 
late as June 1st. We have generally found it 
most convenient, to obtain a dozen or two 
plants from those who grow them for sale. 
The Egg Plant needs a very rich soil, with 
warm exposure. Fork into the ground devot¬ 
ed to it, a liberal supply of horse manure, 
and set the young plants, three feet by two 
apart. Hoe frequently throughout the season, 
and hill up gradually until the blossoms appear. 
Under good treatment the fruit will grow to 
the size of a large muskmelon. When it has at¬ 
tained about the size of a goose egg, it is ready 
for cooking, and continues good until its deep 
purple color changes, and the seeds turn brown. 
They are cooked in various ways. Usually, 
slices one-fourth to one-lialf an inch thick are 
fried in butter or lard. This makes too rich a 
dish for weak stomachs, and not over-healthful 
for any; indeed frying is a poor way of cook¬ 
ing any food. Another way is, to simmer them 
with plenty of water, until quite tender, remove 
the skin and mash them smooth, incorporating 
with the pulp grated bread crumbs, and season¬ 
ing with marjoram and pounded cloves. Then 
brown the whole in the oven. Or, cut the plants 
in halves, remove part of the middle, fill with 
stuffing as for a turkey, and bake. * 
-— --- -- 
Raspberry and Blackberry Plants. 
The crop of fruit next year will depend much 
upon the number and vigor of the new shoots 
grown this season. Persons ignorant of their 
nature have hoed up all young canes, as so 
many trespassers. Of course they got no fruit 
the following year, as the shoots only bear the 
second season, and die in the Fall. Others, 
again, allow too many canes to make a weakly 
growth, with not enough vigor to produce a full 
crop of fruit. Avoid both extremes, leaving just 
sufficient good strong shoots to keep the patch 
in a vigorous condition. The oldest planted 
raspberry roots in the writer’s grounds, were 
set 15 yearn ago, and they are now the best, 
yielding large strong canes which bear abun¬ 
dantly. 
--»-*.- 
Replace Weak Plants. 
If every beet, carrot, melon vine, and other 
plant in the garden were of strong growth, the 
yield would often be nearly doubled. Owing to 
defective seeds, imm-oner planting, injury from 
insects and other hindrances, from one-fourth to 
one-third or more of the plants in a garden often 
fall below the normal standard. This can be 
partially remedied while thinning the plots. 
First, of course, be careful to leave the plants 
of most vigorous growth, even though they stand 
a little outside of the prescribed distance apart. 
Then remove spindling specimens, select the 
best from those which are to be removed and 
transplant them so carefully, that they may go 
on growing without check. This will often prove 
profitable,' especially with melons and other 
vines, where a large produce is yielded from a 
single seed. In some cases it would pay to make 
over a whole bed, and plant new seeds to take 
the place of the stunted plants which had been 
started too early. Where the first roots of a 
plant have been developed under unfavorable 
circumstances, as coldness or wetness of the 
soil, etc., they are weak, and poorly fitted to 
nourish the plant, which will, in consequence, 
remain dwarfed for a considerable time. For 
this reason late planted vegetables often yield 
better than those sown at the opening of Spring. 
Our artist has given a faithful representation 
of the form of this beautiful 1 lower. It needs 
the addition of the various shades of color to 
give some idea of its richness, but no artist’s 
skill can equal the elegance displayed in the 
flower itself. The specimen shown above is 
new to us, the name given was Passiflora Des- 
caine. It is singularly beautiful in its shadings, 
and one of the finest ornaments of the hot¬ 
house. Being a tropical plant, it needs stove 
heat and a moist atmosphere for its develop¬ 
ment;, with these conditions supplied, it grows 
with great luxuriance, the vine extending fifty 
feet, or more. It blooms freely three or foui- 
times in tlie season. The vine from which the 
above was taken, is now (May 1) in flower. It 
is propagated from cuttings, which root readily 
in the hot-house, and the vines may afterward 
be grown in pots, or better in the bottom soil 
of the house. 
There are several other species of Passion 
flower, a few of which are natives of this coun¬ 
try, and not particularly attractive in vine or 
flower. The name was given from a comparison 
of the various parts of the blossom to the in¬ 
struments used in the crucifixion of Christ. Ac¬ 
cording to tradition, the vine was common in 
Judea, but no bloom had ever been noticed upon 
it until after the crucifixion; when, it is said, 
the disciples were astonished to see it unfold, 
and display the crown of thorns, the cross, and 
the nails, and they at once named it the Passion 
flower. This, of course, is only fanciful, but it 
adds not a little to the interest with which thia 
wonder of the floral creation is regarded. 
---» --—» w -.«■- 
Adorning the Rough Places. 
ANNUAL CLIMBING PLANTS. 
Many of the rough places about the build¬ 
ings, fences, walls, unsightly rocks, etc., may be 
covered with a mass of bloom, from seeds sown 
or plants set out even so late as the present 
month. Here are a few of the plants for such 
purposes, omitting the perennials whose roots 
should have been set out in April or May. 
Morning Glory, ( Convolvulus major ,) is a vig¬ 
orous rapid growing climber, bearing any 
amount of harsh treatment. It often attains a 
liiglit of 20 feet in a season, and blooms from 
July to September, but unfortunately the flow¬ 
ers are only open for a few hours in the morn- 
ing, unless in cloudy or rainy weather. The fo¬ 
liage is abundant, and forms a good screen over 
an unsightly building, 
rustic arbor, or lattice 
work. The vine will 
climb a string or wire in 
any direction. Its largo 
tubular or funnel shap¬ 
ed flowers, of white, 
blue, purple, pink and 
variegated colors are 
quite conspicuous. Sow 
the seed one half inch 
deep any time in May or 
June. The dwarf va¬ 
riety, ( Convolvulus minor), 
a smaller sort, runs from 
6 to 10 feet, but branches 
very much, and will 
form a dense mat of foli¬ 
age and fine bloom. 
The Cypress Vine 
(Ijpomea-quamoclit) is the 
ladies’ favorite. Graceful in foliage and habit, 
with a neat and attractive flower, it may well 
claim a conspicuous position near the house, or 
in the frequented portions of the flower garden. 
Its feathery leaves give little concealment, as 
a screen, and on this account it is usually 
trained upon wires, or strings, attached to the 
top of a central stake, say 10 feet in hight, and 
fastened to short stakes set in a circle around 
the base of the stake, 2 to 6 feet distant from it. 
This gives a cone 4 to 12 feet broad at the bot¬ 
tom, and running up to nearly a point at the 
top, say 8 to 10 feet high. The trellises may be 
of any desired form, however. Sow the seed in 
this circle, or elsewhere, after soaking it in tepid 
water for 12 hours. Sow from the middle of 
May to first of June, covering one half inch. It 
is useless to sow the seed before the ground is 
warm, and they are a long time in vegetating 
unless soaked. The flowers, of funnel form, 
deep crimson, or white, open in the morning, 
and continue in bloom from August until killed 
by frost. 
Cobcea Scandens. —A comparatively new 
perennial plant from Mexico, and requiring the 
protection of a green-house during Winter. 
Sown in a warm situation in May, or even in 
June, it will still run 30 to 50 feet, and flower in 
Autumn, retaining its bloom after considerable 
frosts. It succeeds best, however, started in a 
liot-bed, and planted out early in June. Its 
flowers are bell-sliaped, of large size, purple, and 
very attractive. A valuable climber for cover¬ 
ing sides of stone, brick, or wooden houses. It 
has run over 100 feet (and it is said over 200 
