522 EGGPLANT 



regions. The first reports of its use as a vegetable come 

 from India, hence 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 the year have not been fully supplied. 

 Its cultivation demands as much a specialist as 

 either celery or tobacco, while the specialization must 

 be in a different direction from that of either one of 

 these. Nearly all of the 

 fruit that grows to pro- 

 per size is edible, and 

 there is no special de- 

 mand for particular fla- 

 vors. Eggplants are 

 forced under glass to a 

 limited extent for home 

 use. They require the 

 temperature of a tomato 

 house, and great care 

 must be taken to keep 

 off red spider and mites. 

 In order to insure large 

 fruits, practice artificial 

 pollination. Non - polli- 

 nated fruits will grow 

 for a time, but always 

 remain small (Fig. 750). 

 (Cf. Bailey, Forcing- 

 Book.) 



Soil. Eggplant will 

 grow on almost any soil 

 in the South, but it de- 

 velops to greater per- 



750. Non-pollinated fruit. faction on a rich, deep, 

 loamy soil free from de- 

 bris. In the clay districts this is not easily obtained, but 

 there are often small fields that are sufficiently dry and 

 yet contain enough sand to make Eggplant growing 

 profitable. No matter whether clay land, loam or sandy 

 land be employed for raising this crop, it will be neces- 

 sary to plow deeply and thoroughly. The land should be 

 drier than that required by cabbage or beets. In fact, it 

 will stand a greater drought than the ordinary vege- 

 tables. On the other hand, we should not attempt to 

 grow a crop on land that is composed of large particles, 

 such lands as are ordinarily called thirsty in the vege- 

 table-growing sections of Florida. 



Fertilizer. There is considerable difference in vari- 

 ous sections of the country as to whether manure may 

 be applied or not. In the south Atlantic and Gulf 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 directions in regard to what may be used. 

 The following formula will be found fairly well bal- 

 anced for Eggplant in the South. If the soil contains a 

 great deal of humus, less nitrogen may be used. If the 

 soil is poor in this element, 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 FORMULA 



Nitrogen ,^ 



Potash 9* 



Available phosphoric acid !....!!!!..!!!] 5# 



The following table of fertilizers will "suggest useful 

 amounts of the different elements when we wish to em- 

 ploy 500 pounds of the above formula to the acre (par- 

 ticularly for the South) : 



f 350 Ibs. cotton seed meal; or 



Nitrogen J 20 Ibs. dried blood ; or, 



150 Ibs. nitrate of soda; or, 

 1 100 Ibs. sulphate of ammonia. 

 [500 Ibs. kainit; or, 



Potash J }bs. muriate of potash ; or, 



200 Ibs. sulphate of potash and 

 I sulphate of magnesia. 



Phosphoric acid. . . { 250 } bs - acid phosphate; or, 

 (. JOO Ibs. dissolved bone. 



EGGPLANT 



Propagating the Seedlings. The time required to 

 bring plants into bearing from seeds varies with the 

 conditions of the soil and temperature. During cool 

 weather the plants grow very slowly, but during hot 

 weather they grow rapidly and mature fruit in much 

 less time. Those who wish to have early fruit and are 

 able to use hotbeds or propagating houses should sow 

 the seed 120 to 150 days before the fruit is wanted. Pre- 

 pare the hotbeds as for other seedlings, and sow in rows 

 a few inches apart. When these are beginning to show 

 their leaves, or when the seedlings are beginning to look 

 spindly, they should be pricked out and transferred to 

 another bed. In this each plant should be given about 

 a 2-inch square; then they may be forced until the plants 

 crowd one another in the bed, when they should be 

 transferred again. When the plants have attained the 

 size of 6 inches, and the atmosphere will permit, they 

 may be set out in the field. 



A somewhat more laborious, but at the same time 

 more successful plan, is to plant the seedlings in 2-inch 

 flower pots, and then shift to larger ones as often as the 

 plants become pot-bound or crowd one another in the 

 bed. Fig. 751 represents a plant, three-tenths natural 

 size, just taken from a flowerpot and ready to be shifted 

 to a larger one. By shifting until G-inch pots are reached, 

 the Eggplant may be forced along without injury to 

 blooming size or even to a size when fruit is beginning 

 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 

 of the crop, the plants cannot stand a severe shock in 

 their growth without detriment to the crop. When the 

 plant is once started it should then be forced right 

 along, and never allowed to become stunted during its 

 growth. The amount of damage done by neglecting 

 plants before they are set to the field varies with the* 

 severity of the shock and the length of time during 

 which the plant undergoes the disadvantageous condi- 

 tions. If it becomes necessary to harden the plants off 

 before setting them to the field, this should be done 

 gradually. 



Culture in the Field. After the field has been 

 thoroughly prepared in the way of plowing and fertiliz- 

 ing, which should have been done at least two weeks be- 

 fore the plants were set out, the rows should be laid off 

 from 3 to 4 feet apart. The plants may be set from 2 to 

 4 feet apart in the row, varying with the varieties to be 

 used and the soil. Tillage should be continued, and 

 varied according to the conditions of the weather. Dur- 



751. Pot-grown plant ready for setting in the field. 



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- 

 cumstances it does not pay 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 



