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EGG-PLANT. 
This is a vegetable that is not as well known or as highly ap¬ 
preciated as it should be; especialh^ is this true in the West. When 
properly prepared and cooked, egg-plants make a very appetizing 
dish, not much inferior to the world-famed fried oyster. Being 
natives of tropical America they at all times require a high tempera¬ 
ture, and for that reason succeed better at the south than at the 
north. 
For this locality seed should be sown from the first to the 
middle of March. When grown in hot-beds the plants should be 
separated from the frames containing plants of a hardier nature by 
a partition running across the bed; in this way more heating mate¬ 
rial can be used under the egg-plant beds and each lot of plants can 
be kept at the proper temperature, which would be hard to regulate 
were they not separated; more attention should be given to covering 
sash at night wdth mats or straw, than is required by the tomato or 
cabbage. Nothing is gained by transplanting too early to open 
ground, as the plants will not make any growth until the weather 
becomes warm. For this latitude, June 1st is about the proper 
time to set in garden. The egg-plant is a heavy feeder and the soil 
can not be too rich for its best development; a warm, sandy loam is 
where it gives the best results. Belonging to the same genus as the 
potato, it often happens that the potato beetle is quite troublesome; 
a mixture of paris green and flour—one ounce of the former to six 
pounds of the latter—dusted through a cheese-cloth bag over the 
plants while the dew is yet on, will kill the pests. 
The egg-fruit is fit for use from the time it is the size of a tur¬ 
key’s egg until it is five or six inches in diameter, or until the seeds 
begin to harden, which indicates that the fruit is maturing. 
March 15th, seeds of Early Long Purple, Black Pekin, and New 
York Improved were sown in the forcing-house ; June 6th the plants 
were set in open ground, the same distance apart as tomatoes; they 
were given the same culture, and were irrigated on the same dates as 
the tomatoes. 
Black Pekin .—One of the newer varieties of superior excellence; 
fruit of a glossy, almost black color, globular in form and solid ; 
this variety is earlier than the New York Improved, and of finer 
flavor; average weight of ten specimens, IJ pounds each. 
Early Long Purple .—Early and productive; fruit long, nearly 
the same size at both ends, of a deep purple color; this variety does 
not attain the size of either of the others tested. Average weight of 
ten specimens, ounces each. 
New York Improved .—is a leading market variety; the 
plant is a stronger grower than the earh^ long purple, the leaves and 
stems are thickly studded with spines, which do not appear to any 
