OF ONE ACRE. 
91 
and is crisp, tender and brittle. It has none of the 
cucumber taste of the older kinds, and is not always 
relished at first by those who are fond of the strong- 
flavored varieties, but after becoming accustomed to 
it for a short time, it is preferred to all others. In 
its native home it forms one of the staple foods of the 
inhabitants, being eaten in the natural state without 
any dressing whatever, in the same manner that we 
would eat an apple or a pear. It is certainly one of 
the most remarkable vegetables of recent introduc¬ 
tion. 
EGG PLANT. 
Since the advent of the potato bug in our Eastern 
States the labor of raising this fine fruit is almost 
trebled, the bug regarding it as a delicacy superior 
even to the potato vines, and from its manner of 
bearing the fruit it is dangerous to apply Paris green 
or other poisons for their destruction. Where there 
is time to attend to it I prefer to have the bugs 
picked off by hand every day, but this is slow work, 
as we frequently get as many as a pint from two 
dozen of plants, and they do considerable damage by 
eating the young shoots and buds, even between 
such frequent pickings. The best way is to dust 
with Paris green or other poison, until the plants are 
of sufficient size to bear fruit, and then to keep the 
bugs off as thoroughly as possible by hand picking. 
In preference to Paris green or other strong poisons, 
I use Hammond's Slug Shot , an insecticide that is sold 
in all seed and implement stores, and which is said 
not to be injurious to man or beast, though poison is 
