The egg-plant or guinea squash has never become a popular home-garden product in the North. In the South it is better known.

Unless one has a greenhouse or a very warm hotbed, the growing of egg-plants in the North should be left to the professional gardener, as the young plants are very tender, and should be grown without a check. The seed should be sown in the hotbed or the greenhouse about April 10, keeping a temperature of 65° to 70°. When the seedlings have made three rough leaves, they may be pricked out into shallow boxes, or, still better, into 3-inch pots. The pots or boxes should be plunged to the rim in soil in a hotbed or coldframe so situated that protection may be given on chilly nights. The 10th of June is early enough to plant them out in central New York.

The soil in which egg-plants are to grow cannot well be made too "quick," as they have only a short season in which to develop their fruits. The plants are usually set 3 feet apart each way. A dozen plants are sufficient for the needs of a large family, as each plant should yield from two to six large fruits. The fruits are fit to eat at all stages of growth, from those the size of a large egg to their largest development. One ounce of seed will furnish 600 to 800 plants.

The New York Improved Purple is the standard variety. Black Pekin (Fig. 307) is good. For early, or for a short-season climate, the Early Dwarf Purple is excellent.

307. Black Peklu egg-plant.