300 



if required, be kept for a considerable time, and will be found very 

 serviceable as a winter vegetable. 



CULTIVATION. 



The Egg Plant may be cultivated successfully in all the Australasian 

 Colonies. Independent of the value of the fruit for culinary purposes, 

 the plants may be utilized to advantage for ornament in pleasure 

 gardens. When used for this purpose their flowers are showy, and 

 the bright-coloured and curiously-shaped fruit of most of the varieties 

 is very effective in miscellaneous beds and borders. Any ordinary 

 good garden soil is suitable for the Egg Plant, but it will only thrive 

 to perfection in rich ground. In preparing the land, manure should 

 be used freely when necessary, and the ground deeply worked. It is 

 essential in the cultivation of this plant for culinary purposes that 

 growth should be strong and rapid. When grown as a crop the 

 plants should be arranged in rows, four feet apart, leaving about 

 three feet between in the lines. As the plants are tender, they 

 cannot be safely planted out till all danger from frost has passed 

 unless means are taken to protect them. The plants should be kept 

 as free from weeds as possible, and more especially during the early 

 stages of growth. Before the hot weather sets in it will be advisable 

 to mulch the surface soil between the plants to conserve the moisture 

 as much as possible. Should the plants show any tendency to make 

 straggling growth, they must be kept within bounds by pinching 

 back the shoots from time to time. As the plants require a steady 

 supply of moisture, water should be used freely in dry weather, and 

 growth will be materially assisted by the use of liquid manure 

 occasionally, 



PROPAGATION. 



As a rule the Egg Plant is propagated from seeds, though, if 

 necessary, plants may be obtained from cuttings of the young shoots, 

 which root freely in sand under a glass. Seed should be saved from 

 the largest and most perfect fruits, which, as a rule are those that 

 are first formed. The fruits must be allowed to get perfectly ripe 

 before they are gathered. If required for home use the seed can be 

 allowed to remain in the fruit till it is wanted, but, if necessary, it 

 may be taken out, washed, dried, and packed away in paper bags. 

 Seed will retain its vitality for about seven years, and will sometimes 

 g'erminate when eight, nine, or ten years old. The seeds should be 

 sown in rich, finely-prepared soil, covering them to the depth of half- 

 an-inch. It is the better plan to sow it in pots or small frames 

 rather than in the open ground. If early plants are required, and 

 in many localities it will be an advantage to have them, they may 

 be obtained by sowing in a hot bed as recommended for Cucumbers 

 (see page 2ttl). Before putting them in the open ground, plants 

 raised by artificial heat should be gradually hardened off, so that 

 they will not be materially affected by the change. It will also be 



