EGGPLANT 259 



most satisfactory results if grown upon friable, well-enriched garden 

 soil. As the leaves are the part used for salad purposes, conditions 

 which stimulate rapid luxuriant growth are most desirable. 



The dandelion is extremely hardy and can therefore be planted 

 early in the season. The plants which are to supply the markets 

 are usually grown from seed sown early in the season, either where 

 the plants are to mature or in seed beds from which the young 

 plants are transplanted to rows from 14 to 18 inches apart and 

 set from 6 to 10 inches apart in the row. When the seed is 

 sown where the plants are to stand, the rows should be from 

 14 to 1 8 inches apart and the young plants thinned to give sufficient 

 room for growth. The thinning should be done early in the season 

 so as to give the plants ample time and space for development. 



The plant is greatly improved in quality by blanching. This can 

 be accomplished by mulching with straw in the autumn, covering 

 with boards or earth, or by the use of inverted flower pots placed 

 over the individual plants after the whorls of leaves have been lifted, 

 drawn together, and tied with a soft material so that they stand in 

 an upright position. The pot should be large enough not to press 

 upon the mass of leaves. By placing a frame of boards, similar to 

 that used for a cold frame, about a section of the dandelion area 

 and covering it with sash early in the season, the plants can be 

 forced into growth and the crop harvested several weeks in ad- 

 vance of the normal season. If the work of forcing and blanching 

 under the frame is to be successful, the plants must be protected. 



Varieties. Although the dandelion has not received attention 

 as a garden plant for more than half a century, yet a number of 

 distinct forms have been developed, differing widely in season 

 of maturity, in type and size of leaf, as well as in yield. 



EGGPLANT 



History and tradition accredit the eggplant to India. In the 

 New World it has become an important market-garden and truck 

 crop, though not rivaling its close relative the tomato. It is raised 

 over' a wide extent of territory, but always in comparatively small 

 areas. Its preparation for the table is not simple, and hence its 

 use, while general, is restricted as compared with that of many other 



