The pepper is another hot-blooded vegetable that shivers at the
suggestion of frost. It is fitting that it should be a native of
India. Its treatment is usually the same as that of the egg-plant.
It matures more rapidly, however, and the seed can be sown about
the middle of May, half an inch deep, in rows fifteen inches
apart. The soil should be rich and warm. When the plants are well
up, they should be thinned so that they will stand a foot apart in
the row. The usual course, however, is to set out plants which
have been started under glass, after all danger from frost is
over. Henderson recommends New Sweet Spanish and Golden Dawn, The
Large Bell is a popular sort, and Cherry Red very ornamental.
From the okra is made the famous gumbo soup, which ever calls to
vision a colored aunty presiding over the mysteries of a Southern
dinner. If Aunt Dinah, so well known to us from the pages of
"Uncle Tom's Cabin," could have left her receipt for this
compound, her fame might have lasted as long as that of Mrs.
Stowe. The vegetable furnishing this glutinous, nutritious, and
wholesome ingredient is as easily raised as any product of the
garden. We have only to sow the seed, from the first to the tenth
of May, two inches deep, and let the plants stand from two to
three feet apart each way, in order to have an abundant supply.
Pages:
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233