66 TRUCK FARMING 



todes), blight or rust. It is a wise precaution to keep these seed- 

 beds thoroughly dusted with Bordeaux Mixture throughout their 

 entire early growth, a semi-weekly application being desirable. 

 When eight weeks old, we should have a plant with a stem 

 diameter nearly the size of a lead pencil. These should be carefully 

 lifted, after first seeing that the bed is thoroughly watered both 

 the evening previous and the morning preceding their removal. 

 A small trowel is very useful for this purpose' and it is essential 

 to remove them with a chunk of earth several inches in diameter. 

 As previously explained for peppers, they should not be planted 

 deep and should invariably be put in soil upon which there is 

 no possibility of an accumulation of stagnant water at any time 

 during their future growth. 



A heavy application, probably 600 to 800 pounds per acre, of 

 vegetable fertilizer, analyzing 6 per cent ammonia,* 7 per cent 

 phosphoric acid and 8 per cent potash, should be thoroughly 

 incorporated in the furrow or with the soil a week or ten days 

 previous to setting plants in the field. It should be applied to the 

 drill about a foot in width, the rows themselves being put about 

 five feet apart. The plants should be set in the row a distance of 

 three feet apart. Heavy applications of fertilizer should be applied 

 every fortnight, and thoroughly incorporated to the depth of 

 kne and one-half inches in the soil, in a circle around the 

 plcnt. They being very susceptible to the ravages of the red 

 spider and varieties of the green aphis, regular applications of 

 whale oil soap or very finely ground tobacco dust should be 

 applied to the seed bed; the latter when the dew is on. Light 

 sprinklings of tobacco dust should also be applied to the older 

 plants as often as once a week, various kinds of worms being apt 

 to attack the tender young leaves during the early stages of their 

 growth. 



The varieties most popular here are known as The Florida 

 High Bush, The New York Purple and Black Pekin. The fruit 

 should in all cases be cut from the plant, using for this purpose 

 one of the clippers commonly used for cutting grape fruit. The 

 stem should at once be cut close to the fruit so as to avoid any 



* See last part of Chapter VI. 



