The red peppers, cultivated in this country, are used for pickling, for
pepper-sauce, as a condiment for food, and as a domestic medicine.
_Varieties_--are named principally from their shape. The _large
squash-pepper_ is best for green pickles, on account of its size and
tenderness. The _Cayenne_, a small, long variety, much resembling the
original from which it is named, is very pungent, used mostly for
pepper-sauce. Grind, not very fine, any of the varieties, and they are
useful on any food of a cold nature and not easily digestible. They are
all good for medicinal purposes. The capsicum needs a dry, warm soil,
with exposure to the sun. Plants should stand two feet apart each way;
as they are slow growers, they should be started in an early hotbed.
Many will ripen during summer, and may be gathered. In the fall, when
frost comes, the vines will be covered with blossoms and with peppers of
all sizes. Fall-grown green ones, strung on a thread, and hung in a
warm, dry room, will ripen finely. They are very hardy, and may be
transplanted without injury. Hen-manure is best for them.