212 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 167. 



The Egg-plant and its Cultivation. 



A LATE bulletin from the Cornell Experiment Station gives 

 -^*- some interesting experiences with the Egg-plant, and 

 from it we make the following extracts : 



The chief difficulty in growing the Egg-plant in the north 

 is the shortness of the seasons. It is only by starting plants 

 early and maintaining a vigorous growth that we can succeed 

 in fruiting the large sorts satisfactorily. The plants should be 

 started under glass from the middle of March to the middle of 

 April in a warm house. In the cold and small house used in 

 our early tests the plants grew slowly, and when set out-of- 

 doors they were not of sufficient size and vigor to begin bear- 

 ing at once. We sow in " flats" or boxes, and when the first 

 true leaves are about a half inch in diameter — which is about 

 a month after the seed is sown — the plants are pricked off into 

 two-inch pots. As soon as the pots are filled with roots the 

 plants are shifted into four-inch pots. We have had indifferent 

 success in transplanting into other flats, as the plant is more 

 severely checked when placed in the field from the greater 

 injury to the roots. It is imperative that the plants should not 

 become "drawn." The plants are transferred from the four- 

 inch pots to the garden from the first- to the middle of June. 

 The early sorts, as Early Dwarf Purple, are not so seriously 

 injured by a check in growth as the large and late sorts, and 

 they can therefore be handled with less care. These sorts can 

 be started two weeks later than the others and receive but one 

 transplanting. The effects of early and late setting are shown 

 in the following experiment : 



Seeds of several varieties were sown March 27th and May 

 15th. On the 7th of September they presented the following 

 differences ; Long Purple, Giant Round Purple and Long 

 White from early sowing- were productive, but few or no fruits 

 had formed on the plants from late sowing. Early Long Pur- 

 ple and Round White from the late sowing were fully as pro- 

 ductive as those from the early sowing. Early Dwarf Purple 

 gave best results from plants started April 15th. This shows 

 that there is little or no gain in productiveness in the small 

 early sorts from very early sowing, while the large sorts profit 

 by it. The Black Pekin, which is one of the large varieties, 

 proved an apparent exception, however. Plants started May 

 1st gave better results than those started earlier, but neither 

 lot was satisfactory. The unsatisfactory results from the early 

 sowing may have been due to the loss of the first flowers be- 

 cause of the transplanting. Transplanting usually has the 

 effect of keeping plants growing to the detriment of the flow- 

 ers ; and Egg-plants which are in bloom when removed to the 

 field are apt to drop the flowers. It is important in the large 

 sorts to induce the first flowers to set. 



The best soil for Egg-plants is a rich sandy loam — not too 

 light — which contains an abundance of humus and retains 

 moisture. Manure heavily. Large kinds should be set three 

 feet apart each way. The ground should be thoroughly cul- 

 tivated throughout the se'ason. We run lightly through the 

 land with the cultivator twice a week. The worst enemy of 

 the Egg-plant is the Potato-beetle, which prefers Egg-plants to 

 Potatoes. The Egg-plant grows slowly, and any injury to the 

 young plant is with difficulty overcome. If the plants are se- 

 riously injured when first set there will be little use in attempt- 

 ing to fruit the large kinds. Paris green, at the rate of one 

 pound to one hundred gallons of water, is destructive to the 

 beetle. Very rarely do plants in a large plantation of the late 

 varieties all mature fruit, and such kinds as Black Pekin, New 

 York and Giant Round Purple rarely mature more than two 

 large fruits to the plant in this latitude, and often only one. 

 Some of the early and medium varieties mature from four to 

 eight fruits. The value of any late variety depends largely on 

 the uniformity with which all the plants set and mature fruit. 

 The New York Improved possess this advantage over the old 

 New York Purple. The value of long and careful selection to 

 this end was illustrated in our large plantation of crosses last 

 year. A large percentage of the plants were entirely unfruit- 

 ful, showing that a promiscuous lot of seedlings is likely to be 

 unproductive, and in this case these seedlings were crosses 

 between productive parents. Breeding plants of uniform pro- 

 ductiveness is the most important field in experiments with 

 the Egg-plant now. 



The varieties are not numerous, and vary widely in habit, 

 pubescence, spininess, color of plant and fruit, size, shape and 

 season of fruit. The larger varieties are most popular in 

 market, but some of the earlier and smaller kinds are better. 

 The white varieties find little demand in the market, and 

 there is an impression that they are unwholesome, but they 

 possess no other fault than a hardness of flesh and rind in the 

 case of the smaller varieties. The White Chinese is as good 

 as any for table use. 



Besides a record of experiments in crossing different varie- 

 ties, the bulletin contains an interesting study of the botany of 

 the plant, by Professor Bailey. A summary of the bulletin is 

 given as follows : 



1. Egg-plants are adapted to cultivation in the north. The 

 requisites of success in growing them are these : early start- 

 ing ; warm quarters ; vigorous plants ; rather late transplant- 

 ing to the field; warm, rich and rather moist soil; constant 

 attention to Potato-beetles ; frequent cultivation. 



2. The best varieties for private use are Early Dwarf Purple, 

 Early Long Purple, White Chinese, with perhaps Black Pekin 

 for late. 



3. The best market varieties are New York Improved and 

 Black Pekin, with perhaps Early Long Purple for the first 

 demands. 



4. In crossing different races of Egg-plants, the purple- 

 fruited types appear to be stronger in* their power to transmit 

 color to offspring than do the white-fruited types ; and this 

 appears to hold whether the purple type is used as the stami- 

 nate or the pistillate parent. 



5. The white-fruited types appear stronger in the power to 

 transmit form and productiveness. 



6. Fewer seeds are produced by flowers artificially polli- 

 nated than by those left to mature, even though an excess of 

 pollen is used. 



7. It is probable that the Egg-plant may be included among 

 those plants which are capable of producing fruit without the 

 aid of pollen. 



Garden Annuals. 



TJ OWEVER valuable perennial plants may be, some, like 

 ■*-■*• the Oriental Poppy, die down early and leave a gap, while 

 others do not make much show until late in the season, and it 

 is just here that the annual plants help out and contribute their 

 share toward the summer display. A garden planted with per- 

 ennials will still have room for patches of Mignonette, a group 

 of China Asters, various in color or all alike, as the fancy is, or 

 some Helichrysums, which, if cut when fully open and before 

 they are discolored by the rain, will keep bright until more 

 may be cut next season. One who tries to grow all the good 

 perennials will still have room for all the good annuals ; and a 

 model flower-border is one that combines the best of both 

 classes with hardy bulbous plants. 

 . Our Narcissus are of necessity planted in a wide border in 

 rows eighteen inches apart, and between the rows will be 

 planted later on a quantity of Asters of various kinds for cut- 

 ting ; this will save despoiling the flower-garden proper, for 

 although Asters make a brave show while they are in flower, 

 a heavy rain gives them a sorry and bedraggled look, and they 

 should never be employed except in a secondary place, where 

 they will aid in forming a display. Zinnias are entirely different, 

 and may be used alone or dotted about in groups among other 

 plants, because they blossom continually until frost, are not 

 hurt by rain, and are excellent for cutting. In these three 

 respects they excel the old bedding Geranium. In a wide bor- 

 der, or in any place where it is customary to plant the Gera- 

 nium, Zinnias will answer the purpose admirably, and one has 

 not to provide room for them all winter. In sowing Zinnias 

 it is best to get separate colors, as in the mixed seed there are 

 so many displeasing shades. Good colors and true to name 

 can now be obtained, and if you want the " finest mixed " buy 

 the colors you like and make ^our own. The same remark 

 applies to Stocks. 



Another annual plant, not half so well known as it should 

 be, is the " Yellow Corn Flower," Centaurea suaveolens. In 

 shape it is similar to the blue one, differing only in color, 

 which is bright yellow. As the flowers are borne on long 

 stems they have already attracted the attention of florists for 

 winter cutting. The plant succeeds well when sowed in the 

 open ground in May. 



The Marguerite Carnation is one of the most valuable of 

 recent introductions for those who cannot grow the ordinary 

 florist Pinks, for, in a comparatively short time, good strong 

 plants can be raised from seed and flowered, and it is surpris- 

 ing how really good the flowers are. The percentage of 

 single flowers is very small. A florist of my acquaintance 

 planted a lot of these on his benches last fall, with other 

 pinks, and they gave an immense crop, many of them 

 being beautiful in color, and all were fragrant. After a little 

 more careful selection this Carnation will be an indispensable 

 garden plant. 



Sweet Peas should be sown by this time, and wherever they 

 may be planted provision should be made for watering in dry 

 weather, or failure is certain. Last summer six weeks of dry 

 weather deprived us of these flowers, and this season we took 



