OlZ EOGPLAXr 



reRions. The first reports of its use as u vegetable come 

 from Iiulia, hi-nc^e the above assumption. In the United 

 States it is cultivated as a vegetable as far north as New- 

 York, but it usually grows to greater perfection in the 

 southern states. The demands for it during the 

 early months of tlie vear have not been fully supplied. 

 Its cultivati<m deniands as much a speeialist as 

 eitlu'r celi-rv or tobacco, while the siieeialization must 

 be in a different direction from that "f eitlier one of 

 tins,-. N,;ulv all of tUe 



pollination. Non - polli- 

 nated fruits will grow 

 for a time, but always 

 remain small (Fig. 750). 

 (Cf. Bailev, Forcing- 

 Book.) 



Soil. - Eggplant will 

 grow on almost anv soil 

 in the South, but it .h- 

 velops to greater |i.r- 

 750. Non-pollinated fruit. fection on a ri.h. .1. , ]„ 

 loamy soil fi-ro ffum .l<- 

 bris. In the clay districts this is not easil\- nht.iiu.d, I nil 

 there are often small fields that are sulli.i.nil) >\r\ ami 

 yet contain enough sand to make Ei.'i.'|il:iiii ltchi iii;; 

 protitable. No matter whether clay land. h>:Mn ..i- ^.in.ly 

 land be employed for raising this crop, ii will In m r, n- 

 sary to ]ilow deeply and thoroughly. Tlii> I ukI v|i,,iiM k.. 

 drierthan that required by cabbage or b. . i~. In I.m i, it 

 will stand a greater drought than the ciidiiiMV \ . ir. 

 tables. On the other hand, we should umi mi, iii|,( to 

 grow a crop on land that is composed of l.n u-. |i:iii ii l.s. 

 sueli lands as are ordinarily called thirsiy in ilir v. -i- 

 table-growing sections of Florida. 



/■'.■/■/(Vijfc. -There is considerable diftercnre in vari- 

 ous sections of tlie conntrv as to whetlier manure niav 

 be applied or not. In tlie s.iutli Atlantic and (lulf states 

 it is not advisable to use stable manure. If this form of 

 fertilizer is at hand, the gardener should make it up in 

 the form of compost, when it will be found to be a very 

 useful material. There have been no experiments per- 

 formed to indicate which forms of chemical fertilizers 

 are the best. In the absence of such work, we can only 

 give general dini-tiims in regard to what may be used. 

 The foUowin;; f..riiiiilu will be found fairly well bal- 

 anced for E^'u'pbinl in tlir South. If the soil contains a 

 great deal of hiiinns. bss nitrogen may be used. If the 

 soil is poor in this eioment, nitrogen, a greater amount 

 of nitrogen may be used. On moderately fertile land 500 

 to 1,000 pounds will be sufficient, while on poor lands 

 as much as 2,500 to 3,000 pounds per acre may be 

 employed. 



FERTILIZER POEMUI.A. 



Nitroeeu 4* 



Potash n« 



Available phosphoric acid oS 



The following table of fertilizers will suggest useful 

 amounts of the different elements when we wish to em- 

 ploy 'illO pounds of the above formula to the acre (par- 

 ticularly for the South)- 



fl-ifllbs cotton seel meal or 

 Nitrogen. ' f !' j'''- dried blood or 



^ 1 )() lbs nitrite of sod I oi 



1 100 lbs sulphate of j 

 poo lbs kiniit rr 

 Potash... .'IIIll I 



Phosphoric atid 



EGGPLANT 



Propagating the Seedlinr/s. — The time required to 

 bring plants into bearing from seeds varies w-ith the 

 conditions of the soil and temperature. During cool 

 weather the plants grow very slowly, but during hot 

 weather they grow rapidly ami mature fruit in much 

 less tinii-. T!h>-' ■l" \\\-h ii. !i:i,' .:irly fruit and are 

 able ti. M-c lii.ii,, .: , , . . : ^ . i-es should sow 



the seed lL_'ii 1" l..'i ,; . I,,:.. I ' .. I ! iii IS wanted. Pre- 

 pare tin li.,i i.^ .; - . I ' . J . ;ui(l sow in rows 



a few ilirli,, :i|:;,r; , \\;i>i,ll,, -, .n, i .. :.• ilillilll.' t(^ shoW 

 their Ie;ars,,,r „1,,.|, il,,- -, ,.,llin-- ,ii-, l,.L-inninL- to look 



crowd one aiinth 

 transferred agaii 

 size of 6 inches. 



r..r.'...l mil dtbe plants 

 when they should be 

 lints have attained the 

 here will permit, they 



size, just taken from a llower put and nad) u. In shifted 

 to a larger one. By shifting until (Mnrb ].,it- an n ached, 

 the Eggplant may be forced abniu' wiilnrui injury to 

 blooming size or even to a size win n fniit is bi-^-inning 

 to set, and then set out in the field without injury to the 

 plants or crop. 



Eggplant growers should bear in mind constantly that 

 from the time of sprouting the seeds to the harvesting 



"Ck 



s.'Vi-nly ..I ll,.' si k aii.i II..' '. < ■■ , : ' . ,lnnng 



wliirb til.' plant ,i,i,l.n--...s ll,.- ,1, ,■ „ i, ...ndi- 



ti..ns. If it I in.s ,„■.■.. ssary t.. liirl.,, m. idanlsoff 



b.t'i.re setting them to the field, this should be done 

 era.lually. 



Ciltiire in the Field. -After the field has been 

 th. .roughly prepared in the way of plowing and fertiliz- 

 ing, which should have 1... n .1 11. .1 !■ i-t two weeks be- 

 fore the plants were set . ,1 ■ I li.aild be laid off 



from 3 to 4 feet apart. 'Ih i.. set from 2 to 



4 feet apart in the row. \ ai , m^ , ,i varieties to be 



used and the soil. Tillac. .^In.nl.l 1*. eoiitinned, and 

 varied according to the coudilious of the weather. Dur- 



751. Pot-grown plant ready for sett 



the fi< 



ing a wet season it is well to cultivate the land as deeply 

 as possible, while during dry weather cultivation 

 should be shallow, simply sufficient to keep the weeds 

 from growing, to keep the soil well aired, and to keep a 

 mulching of dry soil on the land. Under ordinary cir- 

 cunistaiic-es it does not jiay to prune or pinch out the 

 buds, but where the season is short this may be re- 

 resorted to with some advantage. If it is desirable to 



