Solanum melongena.

The Egg-plant is a native of Africa, and is also indigenous to Tropical America. It is a tender annual, with an erect, branching stem, and oblong, bluish-green, powdered leaves. The flowers are one-petaled, purple, and produced on short stems in the axils of the branches; the fruit is often somewhat oblong, but exceedingly variable in form, size, and color; the seeds are small, yellowish, reniform, flattened, and retain their germinative properties seven years.

Soil.--The Egg-plant will thrive well in any good garden soil, but should have the benefit of a sheltered situation.

Sowing and Culture.--The seed should be sown in a hot-bed in March, at the time and in the manner of sowing tomato seed. The young plants are, however, more tender; and should not be allowed to get chilled, as they recover from its effects very slowly. The plant being decidedly tropical in character, the seedlings should not be transplanted into the open ground until the commencement of summer weather; when they may be set out in rows two feet apart, and two feet asunder in the rows. Keep the ground free from weeds, earth up the plants a little in the process of cultivation, and by the last of August, or beginning of September, abundance of fruit will be produced for the table.

If no hot-bed is at hand, sufficient seedling plants for a small garden may be easily raised by sowing a few seeds in March in common flower-pots, and placing them in the sunny window of the sitting-room or

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