ON WINTER RHUBARB 



my work in other lines, and there is little to record 

 in connection with the work with either the spin- 

 ach, celery, or asparagus that would have novelty 

 or value. The methods of growing these plants 

 are well known, and there is opportunity for devel- 

 opment of new varieties either along the lines of 

 selection or of hybridization. 



But the rules of selective breeding, as already 

 given and repeatedly illustrated in connection with 

 other vegetables, will sufficiently guide anyone 

 who wishes to work with these. 



There is a tropical plant of a quite different 

 order, however, to which I shall merely refer, be- 

 cause I myself have not experimented with it very 

 extensively, but because work of considerable in- 

 terest has been done with it by others, that will 

 illustrate the possibilities of development of trop- 

 ical plants even when grown in relatively inhos- 

 pitable climates. The plant in question is the not 

 unfamiliar Solarium known as eggplant. Very in- 

 teresting work in experimental breeding has been 

 done with this relative of the potato and tomato 

 by Professor Byron D. Halsted of the Experimen- 

 tal Agricultural Station of New Jersey. It involves 

 no principles, however, that have not been fully 

 exposited in connection with other plants, and for 

 details of the work the reader may be referred to 

 Professor Halsted's annual Bulletins. 



[223] 



