Only a very few years since, the demand for egg-plants (as the fruit is called), was so limited in the New York market, that but a few could be sold, and it did not pay to plant a crop for shipment. This was probably in part owing to the fact, that the cultivation of this plant at the North is attended with trouble, in consequence of its tenderness, and a successful crop is doubtful. Latterly a more general taste for the vegetable seems to have

been developed, and its consumption has greatly increased. As late as July 8th, last (and egg-plant had been in the Savannah market from Florida since January), a shipment of my own, averaging about sixty-five fruits to the barrel, sold in the New York market at six dollars per barrel. The farmers of the southern part of Florida, from Tampa to Key West, being exempt from frost, may produce such tropi

cal vegetables at will, as far as season is concerned. On Dec. 1ct of last year, egg-plants and tomatoes were mature at Clear Water. The only variety cultivated for market is the "New York Purple Improved." This being a tropical fruit, or berry, it must reach its greatest development and mature its seed most perfectly at the South, for which reason it is not only possible, but advisable to use seed of home growth in preference to that produced at the North.

The seed and young plants require more of a tropical heat (65° to 70°) for their germination and continued

.

healthy growth, than any other crop, and should, therefore, be sown by themselves under glass in cold frames. After sowing, the bed should be well watered and the glass placed on, and not removed until the seed is up. In case of hot sunshine before germination, the sash should be partially shaded. If it is contemplated to prick out the plants into other frames, the sowing may be as early as the middle of January; otherwise ten or fifteen days later. The management while under glass is about the same as with other tender plants, with the exception that they require more careful exclusion of cold air, and have more frequent protection from slight variations of temperature by the glass, than the tomato, pepper, etc., and they will bear a greater degree of heat without being drawn. No vegetable with which I am acquainted, can withstand drouth better than the eggplant, which bears and matures its fruit under a degree of heat and dryness that would be fatal to other crops. If there be a sufficiency of decayed vegetable matter in the soil, this crop may be allotted to the sandiest part of the farm. If planted in low, although thoroughly drained, land, the plants are apt to die off about the time they commence to bloom or bear, a peculiarity more or less common to all the Solanum family. To mature early fruit of the size and quality required by the trade, a shovelful or two of fermented stable manure, or compost, should be mixed in each hill. The hills should be two and a half by four feet apart. The cultivation is about the same as that of any other hill crop. The earth should be slightly drawn to the stems during the hoeing, not sufficiently, however, to touch any of the lower branches. The plow and horse-hoe, once each, run between the rows, and two hoeings should be sufficient for the crop in light unbaked land.

To cut through the tough stems, without disturbing the plants, a thin-bladed, sharp knife, or a pair of nippers

is necessary. To be marketable at good prices, the fruit should be well grown, weighing from one to three pounds but not old, nor light colored and tough; small ones are not readily salable. They are to be carefully handled to avoid bruising and injuring the gloss. Shorten the stems to about half an inch and wrap each in paper. It is then to be firmly and evenly packed in crates, or in well ventilated double-headed barrels. The Flea-beetle frequently attacks the plants when young, for which the usual remedy of lime or soot is applicable, but rarely

necessary.

The large green Tomato-worm is sometimes found on the egg-plant. Should these, the Tortoise-beetle (Cassida Texana) or the false Colorado-beetle (Doryphora juncta), already mentioned, ever become destructive, Paris green might be applied before the fruit, or berry, is formed.

CHAPTER XIX.

KALE, BORECOLE, OR SPROUTS (Brassica oleracea var. sabellica.)

Chouvert, French; Krauskohl or Braunkohl, German; Boerenkool, Dutch; Cavolo aperto, Italian; Col, Spanish.

Kale is a variety of the cabbage of great excellence for the table. It is distinguished from the other varieties by its open growth and its more or less curled or wrinkled leaves. It is the most hardy of all, and withstands a severe degree of cold; indeed, it is not considered to have reached the perfection of flavor and tenderness, until it has been frozen.

Among the many varieties of kale some are dwarfish in habit, while others grow from four to five feet high.

Kale is rarely grown at the extreme South for the Northern markets, its extensive cultivation being confined to Norfolk, Va. The price in the New York market rarely exceeds two dollars and twenty-five cents per barrel. The varieties cultivated are: a local one, called the "Blue Curled," and the "Green Curled Scotch;" the former by far the most extensively.

The preparation and character of the soil, quantity and kind of manure, and

the cultivation of the crop must be similar to that of the other varieties of cabbage. The "Blue Curled " is sown from August 10th to September 15th, at Norfolk, in drills thirty inches apart, at the rate of a pound and a half of seed to the acre; the plants are eventually thinned to a stand of from four to eight inches in the row. The "Scotch Curled," to a much smaller extent, is sown in seed-beds early in August, and transplanted

in September from eight to ten inches apart in the row. The crop is cut for shipment in March. The size of the plants, when cut, varies from six inches to two feet across, and, therefore, the number which will fill a barrel varies greatly. It must be very firmly packed in wellventilated barrels, as with the best care, it will shrink in consequence of its loose growth. It is subject to the same insects as the cabbage, and, sown as it is in the open field in the fall, is affected by the young cut-worms, See chapter on "Insects,"

CHAPTER XX.

LETTUCE (Lactuca sativa).

Laitue, French; Garten-salat, German; Latuw, Dutch; Lattuga, Italian; Lechuga, Spanish.

The Lettuce is a hardy annual which was first cultivated in England in 1562, but whence it was introduced is not known.

Owing to its freedom from insect depredations (exclusive of the cut-worm), its large consumption, and the ease with which it can be grown, lettuce is one of the most important crops of the Northern farm-gardener, notwithstanding the fact, that, of late years, it has become subject to a disease. In New York, the winter and very early spring markets are supplied from hot-beds, in which it is grown in and near Boston, where a specialty is made of this vegetable. In consequence of this extensive supply of superior and fresh stock, the more wilted condition of shipments from the South renders the cultivation of it here unprofitable. It is grown, however, to a considerable extent at Norfolk.

A good sort should form a solid and large head. The varieties used at Norfolk are: "White Cabbage" and the "Boston Market," or "Tennis Ball," the former for open field culture, and the latter under glass.

The seed is sown under glass in September, the plants put five or six inches apart, and the crop is ready for market in February and March.

The trouble with this crop is the liability of the plants to damp off under glass.

For the open field, the seed is sown about the middle of September in a bed, and not quite as deep as cabbage seeds, the plants are transferred to flat beds, setting them