444 NEW JEESEY AGEICULTUEAL COLLEGE 



Xo. 18544. "White Fruit." The fifteen plants of this lot were 

 in nearly all respects similar to those of the above 

 number and were inferior to it because the fruits 

 (long and white) had a strong tendency to crack. 

 Some of the jjlants were alongside of a giant 

 hybrid eggplant and were overshadowed by it. 



The abo^'e two lots of seeds were obtained by Mr. D. G. Fair- 

 child from J\[r, George P. Foaden, of Cairo, Egypt. 



GENERAL NOTES UPON EGGPLANTS. 



The work of breeding eggplants that has been carried forward 

 for the past few years indicates that the number of well-established 

 varieties is not large, and that several so-called kinds differ from 

 some others little more than in name. 



In size of plant, there are the tall kinds, like the "Black Snake" 

 and "Pekin," and the low sorts, as the "Dwarf Purple," between 

 which are grouped into two quite artificial sizes, namely, "medium 

 tall" and the "medium short," the main portion of the popular 

 sorts of to-day. 



The color of foliage offers a point of distinction between some 

 varieties, as the "Pekin" and the "Xew York Improved," but tliere 

 are many kinds in which there is only a small amount of the purple 

 in the plant, making it intermediate between the two extremes. 



In color of fruit there is a character that aids in the separation 

 of varieties, some being white and the larger number dark pui"ple, 

 "■■vhile a few are pink and others striped. 



The form of the fruit is fairly constant in some sorts, as the 

 "Black Snake," with the long, often curved, "eggs," and the 

 "Pekin," having a globular fruit. The oval is met with in several 

 varieties, but the pear shape is more common and is quite typical 

 of the truly dwarf sorts. 



The point that has been particularly impressive is that of the 

 added vigor of the blend plants in crosses between varieties of the 

 garden species and the hybrids secured among the American and 

 Chinese species. As has been elsewhere stated, it seems well w^orth 

 the while for o;rowers of this A-egetable to make crosses between dis- 

 tinct types of eggplants for the special purpose of bringing in- 



