THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 293 



during the winter to prevent the plants heaving out of the soil. 

 Early the following spring the plants will be ready for use as greens, 

 but they are greatly improved if blanched by setting two boards in 

 the forms of an inverted letter V over the row. The blanching not 

 only makes the leaves more tender but destroys a part of the bitter 

 taste. Dandelion greens should be boiled in two waters to remove 

 the bitterness. (F. B. 255-68; S. Dak. 68; U. Id. E. S. 10.) 



DILL. 



Grown as Fennel which it greatly resembles, both being well 

 known herbs used for flavoring pickles, and both being of unsur- 

 passed hardiness. (Mich. E. S. 20.) 



EGG PLANT. 



This delicious vegetable is not so much cultivated in our gardens 

 as it should be. This has arisen largely from the difficulty of 

 getting the plants from seed in the open ground. If you have no 

 greenhouse, hot-bed, nor frame, it will be best to buy the plants at 

 setting- time from some one who grows them early in pots. Plants 

 pulled from a bed are seldom worth planting, as the egg plant is 

 alow to recover from a serious check. 



Kind of Soil. A sandy loam will be found excellent soil; this 

 should be well drained and have a moist subsoil. Land that has 

 been drained, if all other conditions are proper, will make an 

 excellent field. This plant is a deep feeder, so that the land should 

 be plowed as deeply as possible. A new field should not be taken, 

 while one might succeed, the chances are not so good as on an old 

 and well-tried piece of land. Be sure that all rubbish and matter 

 that could interfere with cultivation has been removed. Fertilize 

 the field broadcast ; there is little or no danger of the plants failing to 

 get the food if it is in the soil. The best way is to apply the fertilizer 

 just before plowing the field, and then apply a smaller amount where 

 the plants are to stand; work the fertilizer in well a week or two 

 before setting out. Lay the land off into rows four feet apart, and 

 set the plants three or four feet apart in the row. At convenient 

 distances a row may be skipped to make a road to gather the crop. 

 After the crop has been planted there is little or no use for a hoe; 

 the plow can and ought to do the work. No weeds should be allowed 

 to show more than the seed leaves, and the ground should be kept 

 mellow enough to let a person sink nearly to the ankles in dry times. 

 When the fertilizer has been applied properly the roots will seek 

 the deeper soil, and the ordinary horse cultivator will not reach 

 them at all. Eggplant raising pays best under high cultivation. 

 By replenishing the fertilizer, plants may be kept in bearing until 

 frost kills them in the fall, but it will be found more profitable to 

 renew the field, if a summer or fall crop is desired. (U. Id. E. S. 

 10; N. C. E. S. 132; Fla. E. S. 31; F. B. 255; Iowa E. S. 47.) 



ENDIVE. 



The endive is a form of chicorv. Sow the seeds thinly in drills, 

 and when the plants are well established thin to 8 inches. Water 

 and cultivate thoroughly in order that a good growth of leaves may 

 be made. When the leaves are 6 to 8 inches in length draw them 



