Page:How and what to grow in a kitchen garden of one acre (IA howwhattogrowin00darl).pdf/98

 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