Since the advent of the potato bug in our Eastern States the labor of
raising this fine fruit is almost trebled, the bug regarding it as a
delicacy superior even to the potato vines, and from its manner of
bearing the fruit it is dangerous to apply Paris green or other poisons
for their destruction. Where there is time to attend to it I prefer
to have the bugs picked off by hand every day, but this is slow work,
as we frequently get as many as a pint from two dozen of plants, and
they do considerable damage by eating the young shoots and buds, even
between such frequent pickings. The best way is to dust with Paris
green or other poison, until the plants are of sufficient size to bear
fruit, and then to keep the bugs off as thoroughly as possible by hand
picking. In preference to Paris green or other strong poisons, I use
_Hammond’s Slug Shot_, an insecticide that is sold in all seed
and implement stores, and which is said not to be injurious to man
or beast, though poison is present in the impalpable powder; it is
also claimed that it is an excellent fertilizer, as well as being sure
death to insects. Having used it three seasons, I have found it very
satisfactory for the preservation of all small plants, excepting in one
case of young seedlings just coming through the soil, in which case a
too heavy application burned them up.
The egg plant is a strong, rank grower and a great lover of rich soil
and of heat. The seed should be started in a warm hotbed or greenhouse
about the last of March, and the soil should be as rich and light
as possible. If the plants grow rapidly, they will be improved by
transplanting in the hotbeds, as it will help them to form a good bunch
of fibrous roots, so that they will sustain no check when planted out.
They should not be set out in the garden until warm weather is assured,
and then should be planted in hills enriched as for melons. These hills
need not be higher than the surface of the garden, but if strong growth
and large fruits are desired, a hole should be scraped out where each
plant is to stand, and two or three shovelsful of well-rotted manure
or compost put in, and the soil leveled off again before the plant is
set. If the ground is dry when the plants are set out, water should
be poured in the holes dug to receive them, and the dry soil drawn up
around the stems when the plant has been set. The roots of the freshly
set plants should not come in contact with the manure, but should have
two or three inches of soil through which to seek it as they become
established. The fruit should be cut as soon as it is of sufficient
size and before the seeds become hard, as it soon loses its fine
quality when it begins to ripen. The plants will also continue longer
in bearing if this course is pursued, as it takes greatly from the
strength of any plant to ripen its seed. When there is danger of frost
in the fall all the fruits large enough to use, from the size of an egg
up, should be picked off and stored in the cellar, as they will remain
fresh and fit for use for over a month at this cool season of the year;
by so doing I have frequently enjoyed this fine fruit long after it has
disappeared from the tables of my neighbors.
[Illustration: NEW YORK IMPROVED EGG PLANT.]
The hills for the plants should be about two feet apart in the row,
and the rows four feet apart. Three dozen plants, which will occupy
hardly a third of one of our kitchen garden rows, will furnish an
ample supply for a large family. The small early variety matures three
or even four weeks before the ordinary kinds, but as they are hardly
larger than a good-sized goose egg, it is not worth while to bother
with them unless you are especially fond of the fruit and wish to have
it as early as possible.