EGG-PLANT. 



158 



EMPEROR STOCK. 



adapted for conservatory or drawing-room 

 decoration : they thrive best in very rich 

 light soil. The best known are Solanum 

 ovigerum and the Aubergine S. melongena 

 the edible variety of the egg-plant, so 

 extensively cultivated in the south of 

 Europe. 



Time and Manner of Sowing. The seed 

 should be sown in March, or early in April, 

 in well-drained pots of light rich soil, and 

 covered lightly. Place the pots in a cucum- 

 ber or melon-frame, or where a moderate 

 heat is maintained, and keep the soil moist. 

 When the plants are fairly up, place them 

 singly in small pots, using rich soil, and in 

 the same temperature near to the glass. 



EGG-PLANT VO.r. SOLANUM OVIGERUM. 



When they have started into growth, induce 

 a bushy habit by frequently pinching out 

 the points. 



After-management. As soon as the 

 plants have well filled the first pots with 

 roots, shift them into others two sizes 

 larger, still using rich light soil. Keep 

 them well supplied with water at the roots. 

 If they are intended for decorative purposes, 

 they should be shifted into 8 or lo-inch 

 pots before the roots become matted. Stop 

 the shoots at the first joint beyond the fruit 

 as soon as this is set, and keep them in a 

 moist, warm situation until the fruit attains 

 a fair size, when they may be placed in a 

 cool bouse. But if the plants are tt> be 



grown with the view of obtaining the largest 

 possible crop of fruit, they should in 

 favourable localities be planted out of 

 doors, when the weather becomes warm, 

 in prepared trenches, such as are recom- 

 mended for ridge cucumbers. They should 

 have the protection of hand-glasses until 

 they are well established and the weather 

 becomes settled and warm. If they can be 

 planted out on a slight hotbed under the 

 shelter of a frame, there will be more cer- 

 tainty of a good crop than by any other 

 method of treatment. The plants when 

 grown in pots are very subject to the attack 

 of red spider, and will require frequent 

 syringings to keep them clear of this pest. 

 They must be liberally supplied with water 

 at the roots, and weak manure-water after 

 the fruit is set will be useful. 



The varieties of the Aubergine are the 

 Scarlet-fruited, White-fruited, and Black or 

 Purple-fruited, the fruit of the last named 

 being most used in soups, stews, &c. 



Elm and Chief Varieties. 



Of the elm, Ulmus, in addition to Ulmus 

 campestris, which is the old English elm, 

 we find U. foliis variegatis, a variegated 

 elm ; U.glabra pendula, a smooth, weeping 

 elm ; U. rugosa pendula, a rough weeping 

 elm ; U. latifolia, the broad-leaved elm, 

 and many others, all valuable as large 

 trees, for though they require a rich, deep 

 soil, they will live and flourish in the 

 smoky atmosphere of crowded towns. 



Emperor Stock. 



The Emperor or Imperial, sometimes 

 called Perpetual Stocks, are hybrids of the 

 Brompton, growing 18 inches high, and 

 of a robust branching habit. Sown in 

 March or April, they make splendid 

 "autumn-flowering stocks," and form a 

 valuable succession to the summer-bloom- 

 ing varieties: Should the winter prove 

 mild, they will continue flowering to Christ- 



