endive. 
-fhls salad plant is CO, npavativclv ntt,,, 
unown except among the French and Ce.'. 
population, yet its nse is g.-ndualiy ine'easi.r 
cities and largo towns. 'Pho ralsh.l! nf 
this crop can bo made p,-olltnhlo hy tlms,' 
who will nndoi'tako the matter inL, m 
way at llrst, work np a trade, «n,i snn„m ' 
demand which always exists. pronortlo,; 
to the labor involved it is a p,-olltable cron 
as it can bo added to the list of fall and win’ 
ter salads in all gardens, witli 
and expense. 
Tlio seed germinates easily and quickly in 
the warm weather of tlio last of J„iy jc ti,o 
soil is damp, and transplanting may com- 
mence as soon as tlie plants have reached 
the four-leaved stage. I have not been able 
to notice that lifting the plants has done 
more than to retard their growth; the heads 
wore as perfect and as lai'ge whether ti'aus- 
plauted or not. 
Jly pi-actice is to sow in drills and then 
thinout to aproper distance, and set tlie thin¬ 
nings. As the largest plants will make the 
best heads when grown, it is well to sow 
plenty of seed, and then use only the best 
among the plants. One ounce of seed will 
r.aise a thousand good heads. Endive needs 
warmtli and moisture for gi'owth, and cool, 
diy weather for ble.aehing. I usually make 
two plantings, in order to prolong tlie season. 
When the plants have made their full gi'owth, 
and before they tlirow up the seed stalk, 
they are tied for bleaching. 
The tying should continue till cold weath¬ 
er, and on .approach of severe frost, all the 
plants should be tied up. Wlien tied. Endive 
will resist severe cold, but if left exposed 
and open, freezing temper.ature will turn the 
inner leaves brown, which spoils its value, as 
the brown'part c.amiot be eaten. Unbleached 
Endive is harsh and bitter. It is generall}^ 
recommended to tie with bass bark, but I 
find white cotton cord to answer perfectly. 
Holding the leaves, with the heart of the 
plant in the center, firmly in the left hand, 
I make three piasses around and tie. This 
holds it sufficiently in place, but if loosely 
tied the inner growth will force out at one 
side .and remain unbleached. A week in hot 
weather is all that will be needed to fit them 
for eating, and in cool weather tlie 3 ’^ will re¬ 
main tied and edible seveiail weeks. I have 
tried all the v.aidous metliods of ble.aehing 
recomniended, as covering with carpets, 
mats, shutters, shingles, flower-pots, etc., 
snd have decided npon t 3 dng as the best 
plan. 
^Vhen steady cold weather comes, the 
remainder of the crop is tied up, and the eu- 
Wre plants are lifted with .all the e.artli th.at 
attaches to them, .and carried into a light 
®ellar where they can be kept dry and cool 
wanted. I h.ave kept Endive this way 
’'®m six to eight weeks, up to New Year’s. 
1 like the Green Curled v.ariety the best. 
White and Moss Curled .are not h.ardy, 
‘*’’® no better when bleached .and do not 
S«>w as large. Tlie Bro.ad-leaved is not rel- 
_ed as well by the customers, therefoie I 
ame only the Green Curled. It sells for 
Cents per dozen, and as it is easily r.aise , o 
'miring little attention, except ricli soil and 
mgh moisture, the profits of the ciop, 
fhere is a good local market, are con 
®'®erabie. w. H- 
garden. 
the EGGPLANT. 
the T., ^’^"'“'"''vith the fruit of 
meta'^!’ '^kough I have occasionally 
e a gr peadedmau or wom.an who, in 
lum 1 of ’"‘l"k-ed the 
ccrhilni • ' “"known plant. It 
nor ! " in 
the fruit wltli a few persons, 
the I uit in its season is considered a delicacy. 
He ng a native of the tropics, the Egg 
tho'^o H k'* ‘^'■“ks^in 
ti c Northern States, unless given a sheltered 
. tmition, and started under glass. In favoi- 
ablo seasons, the earlier v.arioties will often 
npon when started in the open ground, but 
stocky iiot-bed plants that have been well 
NEW YORK IMPROVED EGG-PLANT. 
h.ardened oft' before iilantiug out in the gar¬ 
den, are more reliabie. The seed m.ay be 
sown in the hot-bed, or in boxes iu the house 
during tiie latter part of March. The 3 'oiing 
plants enj 03 '^ a high temperature, but when 
grown in the hot-bed, are likel 3 '' to damp off 
unless given plenty of air. I find it a good 
plan to le.ave an occasional sash open an 
inch or two at tlie top, iu alt but severe 
iveather, so long as the manure is in an acb- 
extra early dwarf purple egg-plant. 
ive state of fermentation. On warm, sunny 
days more air should be given. If the 
plants come up thickly, it is well to prick 
tliem out when two or three inches high, in 
i-ows three Inches apart e.ach way, and to 
keep them .as nearthe glass as PO^ibje, so 
that they will not grow up spind mg. H 
especially fine pLaiits are ^^^VbX" 
to not them in small pots a 
transplanting to tlie garden. They should 
^ be well watered after potting, and 
shaded for a day or two. 
In ordinary sea- 
= mX wnrbegainedby planting out in 
the first of June 
e —- 
The transplanting should 
be done, if possible, just before a rain sets in, 
Tlie young plants find an enemy awaiting 
them in the garden. The Egg Plant is elosely 
.allied to the Potato, and the voracious Colo¬ 
rado beetle is anxious fora breakfast from its 
tender leaves. Paris Green must be resorted 
to wlien this pest is abundant, or it will 
soon make havoc with the young plants. 
Eater, after the plants secure a start, 
they are better able to take care of them¬ 
selves. Fortiin.ately this is the only Insect 
with which it has to contend. The only cul¬ 
ture required Is to keep the sui'face soil mel¬ 
low. By the last of August or the first of 
.September the fruits should be ready for use 
on the table or for market. 
The most popular variety among market 
gardeners is the New York Improved. This 
yields very large, deep purple fruits, which 
in spite of their iarge size, are often entirely 
concealed by the veiy vigorous foliage. 
The earliest v.ariety and one of the best 
for garden culture, is the Extra Early 
Dwarf Purple. This yields numerous small 
fruits of a dull, blackish-purple color, which 
ripen ten days or two weeks earlier than the 
New York Improved. 
Other varieties yield almost pure white 
fruits, some of which have a very striking re¬ 
semblance to a goose egg. Plants of this 
variety w'ith their fruit have attracted much 
attention in our garden. Another variety 
beiirs fruit of a rich scarlet color, and still 
another has fruit striped with yellow .and 
purple. With the exception of the first 
two, none of these are considered valuable 
for the table. “Elm.” 
FRESH SPROUTS. 
The most successful Asparagus growers 
of Long Island, plant the roots four feet 
apart each way. 
Sprinkling the plants with a decoction of 
Tobacco-stems and soft-soap, followed by a 
dusting of lime, is recommended by P. T. 
Quinn as an effective preventive for the fle.a- 
beetle so destructive in many gardens. 
A machine for shelling Pe.as has recently 
been invented in Europe, which is said to be 
a perfect success, doing as much woi-k .as 
sever.al hundred women in the s.ame length 
of time. 
In the experiments made with Potatoes at 
the Ohio Experiment Station, the v.arletles 
first to ripen were Clark, Early Haiwest, and 
Early Ohio; Vanguard, Pe.arl of S.avo 3 q E.arly 
Gem, and Beauty of Hebron ripened five 
days later. 
An .abundance of green foli.age of Aspara¬ 
gus during the summer is necessary, if we 
would have luxurtant sprouts next spring, 
and to pi’oduce this end nothing is more ef¬ 
fective th.an to give the rows a heavy coat of 
imanure as soon as cutting is discontinued. 
Prof. W. E. Lazenby thinks that with Po¬ 
tatoes as well as with many other vegetables, 
the list df varieties has become so inflated 
as to baffle all attempts at accurate descrip¬ 
tion. The only remedy for this is to group 
the several varieties resembling each other 
in their rnost prominent, characteristics into a 
class, and give them one general description. 
