HOUSE AND GARDEN 
203 
The common Lupin (Lupinis perennis ) makes a lovely flowering border for indifferent soils 
Tomato vines trained against the house, wall, 
or trellis yield fine fruit 
Tomato Culture 
I F you have only a small space in your 
garden for Tomatoes plan to place them 
where they may be grown against an 
upright trellis, a wall, a fence or against 
posts. This new mode of culture is more 
productive to each plant than any other. 
Eggplant 
L AST year I had no success in my attempts 
to raise Eggplant, and I shall be greatly 
obliged if House & Garden can give me 
some hints on setting out, soil, fertilizing, cul¬ 
ture, etc. As our plants were insect ridden 
will you also tell me what precautionary 
measures should be taken against a reoccur¬ 
rence of this. 
As the Eggplant (Solatium Melongcna) 
is an extremely tender annual, it is seldom 
cultivated north of Philadelphia, and 
must be started under glass except in the 
South. Dwarf varieties are to be recom¬ 
mended for short seasons. A well 
drained, loose sandy loam, very rich and 
quick, and a sunny exposure are required 
for satisfactory results. Two or three 
fruits to each vine form a good yield. 
Plant out, when a foot or more in height 
and well hardened off, the second week 
in June, three feet apart in hills into each 
of which compost, and a fertilizer of 
four per cent nitrogen, eight per cent 
phosphoric acid, ten per cent potash have 
been forked. After setting, fertilize 
further by the application of a liquid 
manurial stimulant. The chief diseases 
to which the Eggplant is subject are 
leaf-blight and blight-fungus. It is diffi¬ 
cult to meet this, but with the former 
destroy any infection - carrying insects 
and spray with Bordeaux mixture, and 
with the latter disease destroy affected 
plants before they spread their contagion. 
Against Aphis spray with kerosene emul¬ 
sion. 
Window Light 
W E have just moved into a three-story 
house and as there are large bay win¬ 
dows on the southern and western sides of the 
house we are anxious to try our luck at win¬ 
dow-gardening. Which of the windows should 
we choose ? We wish to confine our house- 
plants to one room. 
The southern window is an ideal posi¬ 
tion, although you should anticipate the 
glare of even winter’s mid-day suns by 
planning for adjustable shades. Although 
an abundance of light is necessary to suc¬ 
cess with most house-plants, the mid¬ 
day sun may prove too strong for “rest¬ 
ing” plants. Palms and ferns will require 
such protection when the sun is high. 
Number of Plants Required 
W ILL you please tell me how one may 
know the number of plants required to 
the acre? 
Multiply the distance apart (in feet, 
or fractions thereof) at which a plant is 
to be placed from each of two other 
plants at right angles to it, and divide the 
number of square feet an acre contains 
(43,560) by the product thereof. Thus, 
if Strawberry plants were to be placed two 
feet apart each way your problem would 
be 43,560 -=- (2 x 2)= 10,890 plants re¬ 
quired ; or if they were planted two feet 
apart in rows three feet apart your prob¬ 
lem would be 43,560 -t- (2 x 3) = 7,260 
plants. 
Tar Paper 
I HAVE been told that tar paper is good to 
wrap around the trunks of insect-infested 
trees to keep pests away. How should I go 
about this? 
If tar paper is used at all it must not 
be fitted tightly around tree-trunks, and in 
any event it should be removed before 
warm weather. Though it is sometimes 
Plant Sunflowers that their seed may divert 
birds from garden fruits 
recommended for use to prevent the 
attack of such insects as the borer, one 
should dispense with it when possible, 
as it also is extremely liable to injure the 
trees it is supposed to protect. 
Remember that just after they finish 
blooming is the time to prune all spring¬ 
flowering shrubs. 
Protecting Small Fruits 
L AST year we lost a great many berries from 
our bushes through depredations of birds. 
This year we want to anticipate the nuisance. 
Can you suggest a way to prevent it? 
One of the simplest solutions to the 
problem of bird invasions is to cover the 
bushes with mosquito-netting. It will 
not prove expensive where the garden 
owner has but a few bushes of small fruits. 
