Since the advent of the potato bug in our Eastern States the labor of raising this fine fruit is almost trebled, the bug regarding it as a delicacy superior even to the potato vines, and from its manner of bearing the fruit it is dangerous to apply Paris green or other poisons for their destruction. Where there is time to attend to it I prefer to have the bugs picked off by hand every day, but this is slow work, as we frequently get as many as a pint from two dozen of plants, and they do considerable damage by eating the young shoots and buds, even between such frequent pickings. The best way is to dust with Paris green or other poison, until the plants are of sufficient size to bear fruit, and then to keep the bugs off as thoroughly as possible by hand picking. In preference to Paris green or other strong poisons, I use _Hammond’s Slug Shot_, an insecticide that is sold in all seed and implement stores, and which is said not to be injurious to man or beast, though poison is present in the impalpable powder; it is also claimed that it is an excellent fertilizer, as well as being sure death to insects. Having used it three seasons, I have found it very satisfactory for the preservation of all small plants, excepting in one case of young seedlings just coming through the soil, in which case a too heavy application burned them up. The egg plant is a strong, rank grower and a great lover of rich soil and of heat. The seed should be started in a warm hotbed or greenhouse about the last of March, and the soil should be as rich and light as possible. If the plants grow rapidly, they will be improved by transplanting in the hotbeds, as it will help them to form a good bunch of fibrous roots, so that they will sustain no check when planted out. They should not be set out in the garden until warm weather is assured, and then should be planted in hills enriched as for melons. These hills need not be higher than the surface of the garden, but if strong growth and large fruits are desired, a hole should be scraped out where each plant is to stand, and two or three shovelsful of well-rotted manure or compost put in, and the soil leveled off again before the plant is set. If the ground is dry when the plants are set out, water should be poured in the holes dug to receive them, and the dry soil drawn up around the stems when the plant has been set. The roots of the freshly set plants should not come in contact with the manure, but should have two or three inches of soil through which to seek it as they become established. The fruit should be cut as soon as it is of sufficient size and before the seeds become hard, as it soon loses its fine quality when it begins to ripen. The plants will also continue longer in bearing if this course is pursued, as it takes greatly from the strength of any plant to ripen its seed. When there is danger of frost in the fall all the fruits large enough to use, from the size of an egg