Part 8 (1/2)

The enemy of the egg plant, in growth, is the potato bug, which must be hand-picked or poisoned. There is a rot which causes the fruit to drop from the stem before reaching maturity. This rot is a fungus, and the Bordeaux mixture is recommended for it. The blight which sometimes affects the foliage is in part at least caused by cold weather, and for this there is no remedy, except late planting.

Every healthy plant should produce from two to six or more full-sized fruits, and it is therefore easy to calculate that an acre's product under favorable circ.u.mstances may be very large.

EGG PLANT.--There is nothing equal to the New Jersey Improved Large Purple Smooth Stem for the use of farm gardeners. For description, see ”Johnson & Stokes' Garden and Farm Manual.”

[Ill.u.s.tration: Johnson & Stokes' Imperial, or Long Standing Kale.]

KALE OR BORECOLE.

Kale, of which there are many varieties, is a headless cabbage, closely allied to such vegetables as Brussels sprouts, collards, etc.

It is one of the most hardy of vegetables, and in this lat.i.tude it will live over winter in the open ground, with only straw or litter as a protection. If cut for use when frozen it should be thawed out in cold water. The kales are among the most delicately flavored cabbages.

Some of them are of such ornamental shape as to be full worthy of cultivation for decorative purposes. The height varies from 1 to 2 feet, and the colors include both greens, dark purples and intermediate shades.

Kale demands a rich, deep soil. The seed should be sown in a border or seed-bed, and transplanted to the open field and set in rows, after the manner of cabbage. It is largely and profitably grown in the South for s.h.i.+pment to the great Northern markets. Where farmers are situated near centres of population where kale is in demand, its culture will be found profitable, as it requires even less labor than cabbage. It is planted both in spring and autumn. The former crop is for autumn consumption and the latter crop is carried over winter after the manner of spinach, protected by a light covering of some sort of litter.

KALE.--For the South, we recommend Extra Dwarf Green Curled Scotch; for the North, Johnson & Stokes' New Imperial. See our ”Garden and Farm Manual” for descriptions.

LETTUCE.

In some sections, especially in the South, lettuce can be grown with profit by farm gardeners. Depending on the lat.i.tude, the seed may be planted from autumn until spring. The plants are usually sheltered and headed under gla.s.s, or under muslin-covered sash, and are sent North in ventilated barrels.

The lettuce is naturally a cool-weather plant, and its culture is easy. The seed is cheap and it germinates quickly. Well-grown lettuce always commands good prices. It is usual to start the seeds in a border or under a frame, and to p.r.i.c.k out the plants into more roomy quarters as soon as they are large enough to handle. In a few weeks after transplanting, in good growing weather, they are headed ready for market. Good soil, abundance of moisture and free ventilation are essentials in lettuce production.

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In some parts of the North lettuce culture would be found profitable by farmers in the summer season, for there are varieties well adapted to high temperature, provided good soil and sufficient water be furnished. There is not a month in the year when lettuce is not demanded for use in salads, and this demand is likely to increase.

LETTUCE.--For the South, we especially recommend Reichner's Early White b.u.t.ter, Big Boston and New Treasure; for the North, New Sensation, Mammoth Salamander and Hornberger's Dutch b.u.t.ter.

Please see ”Johnson & Stokes' Garden and Farm Manual.”

MELONS.

Melon culture belongs on the farm rather than in the small market garden, on account of the large s.p.a.ce occupied by the growing vines.

An acre of ground will accommodate only about 450 watermelon hills (at 10 feet each way) or about 1,200 muskmelon or cantaloupe hills (6 feet each way), and hence the necessity for large areas of ground for the cultivation of these crops.

The requirements of the various melons are quite similar. Broken sod ground or any green crop turned down favors their growth, and well-rotted stable manure in the hill is the best known stimulant. All the melons are tender, and are suited only to warm-weather growth, and this fact must be remembered in sowing the seed. Light alluvial soil near rivers or streams is adapted to melon growth, and many an old meadow now weedy and unprofitable might be used to advantage for one of these crops.

[Ill.u.s.tration: New Black-eyed Susan Watermelon.]

=The Watermelon.=--For cash-producing purposes the best watermelon is a large one, with a hard rind. It must have a dark pink or red centre and must be a good s.h.i.+pper. It should weigh thirty to forty pounds, and there should be 900 to 1,000 first-cla.s.s melons to the acre.

The best melon for family use or for a strictly retail trade is a medium-sized variety, which has a thin rind, pink or red flesh and extra sweetness, weighing from twenty to thirty pounds.

The preparation of the ground has already been suggested. Two shovels of manure should go into each hill. The planting date is May in this lat.i.tude; or as soon as the ground is thoroughly warm. Four pounds of seed per acre will be required. But one plant per hill is allowed to grow. The end of the main shoots should be pinched off, to encourage branching and flowering.

[Ill.u.s.tration]