Eggplant. 55 



safer, as it requires a high temperature to sprout the 

 seeds. A -wann spell should be selected for sowing, and 

 the seed will germinate in three or four days 

 if not too cold. After the plants are up, where cov- 

 ers are used, the bed should be uncovered about four 

 hours each day and allowed to have sunshine during warm 

 wieather. However the temperature should not be al- 

 lowed to go above 80 or 90. Dliring cold weather it is 

 better to keep the bed covered tightly. This retains the 

 heat of both stable manure and sun. Never allow the bed 

 to be uncovered at night ; keep the ground well stirred and 

 never water until the ground is dry enough to wilt the 

 plants. A dry atmosphere and soil is conducive to 

 healthy growth. Keep up the slow, steady growth, but 

 do not stimulate to a rapid growth. Disease is the great 

 enemy to be contended with, and if this can be kept off, 

 and your plants kept healthy until set in the field, more 

 than half of the battle is won. In transplanting, the 

 plants should be set in rows as previously advised, and the 

 dirt pulled up around the plants halfway the stalk; and 

 the soil between rows kept well loosened and stirred, so as 

 to allow sun and air to roots. This is very important and 

 good plants can be grown by no other method. If cut- 

 worms appear, which is quite probable, scatter poisoned 

 bran broadcast over the bed. 



Soil. 



In all cases a sandy loam is to be recommended for this 

 crop. Lowlands and heavy clay soil should never be used. 

 Light hammocks are the soils adopted to this crop. No 

 plant that I know of will stand dry weather as well as 



