^Sl 



EUGPLAXr 



EGGPLANT 



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

 iji-om 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 jierfeoticju in the 

 southern states. The demands for it during tho 

 early months of the year have not been fully suj)))lieil. 

 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 X)ro- 



(-_ W,% Pt>i' ^ize is edible, and 



there is no special <le- 

 mand ftir particular fia- 

 vors. Eggplants are 

 forced under glass to a 

 limited extent for home 



s;^?'?^ K--^-4 ^^^^" ^'i^y require the 



fvA l^^^#j^^\ temperature of a tomato 



~<^-«^ ,, liouse, and great care 



^(fff ^^^^ must be talven 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 tlie South, bitt it de- 

 velops to greater per- 

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

 loamy soil free from de- 

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

 there are often small flelils 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 bo 

 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 lauds as are ordinarily called thirsty in the vege- 

 table-growing sections of Florida. 



Fertilizer. -liicve 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 

 tiseful material. There have been no experiments per- 

 formed to indicate which foi-ms of chemical fertilizers 

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

 give general directions in regard to what may be vised. 

 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 ii.OfiO p.muils per acre ma\- be 

 employed. 



FErrnr.izER formcla. 



Nitrogen \^ 



Potash '.'.'.'.'.['.'.'.'. '.K 



Available phosphoric acid ..!!....!!.. 5'^! 



The following table of fertilizers will suggest iiseful 

 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 ) : 



r ri.5n lbs. cotton seed meal; or, 

 KitroEen J -00 lbs. dried blood; or, 



I b'>() lbs. nitrate of sort;u or, 



1 100 ibs. sidphate of ammouia. 

 fSOO lbs. kainit; or, 

 Pot.-bsh ' ■"' lbs. muriate of potitsh; or, 



• ■ I -im Ibs. sniphato of potash ,inil 

 i snlpliate of uiagnesia. 



Phosphoric acicl ) -c" lbs. acid phosphate; or, 

 1 "JOO Ills, dissolved bono. 



Proparial'tufj the Secdl liuh^.—'Vhit 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, Imt 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 Imuses 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 eiudi plant should be given about 

 a 2-inch sifuare; 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 li inches, and the atmosphere will permit, they 

 may lie set out in the field, 



A somewhat more laborious, but at the same time 

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

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

 plants iieoome pot-bound or crowd one another in the 

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

 size, .I'ust taken from a flowerpot and ready to be shifted 

 to a larger one. By shifting until fi-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. 



Eggpl.ant growers should bear in mind cimstantly that 

 from the time of sprouting the seeds to the harvt'sting 

 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 dono 

 gradually. 



Culture in the Field. -Aiter 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 i feet apart. The plants may be set from 2 to 

 i feet apart in the row, v.arying 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-erown plant ready for settin£ in the field. 



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

 as possible, while during dry weather cultivatioii 

 should be shallow, simply sufficient to keep the weeds 

 trom 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 prun<' or pinch ou't the 

 Puds, but where the season is shm-t this may be re- 

 resorled to with some advantage. If it is desirable to 



