AN UNCOMMON VEGETABLE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22398, 20 October 1934, Page 21

AN UNCOMMON VEGETABLE

Among the familiar vegetables on the Continent and the unfamiliar ones at home is the egg plant. A well-grown example of this fruit always attracts considerable attention, and in a great many cases it is as an ornamental subject, or as a curiosity, that it is grown. However, they have other uses, if the grower lilies to adopt them. On the Continent egg plants go by the name of aubergines. They are tender annuals, and are related to the potato, This does not mean that the plant is at all similar to the potato in manner of growth, habit, or, in fact, anything, except in the form or botanical characters of the flowers. Here, as with all solanums, there is a strong family, likeness, and there also the obvious association ends. The botanical name of the potato is Solanum tuberosum, while that of the egg plant, or aubergine, is Solanum melongena. This subject is not a novelty, so far as horticulture is concerned, but it has not “ caught on ” in the kitchen. Aubergines, or egg "plants, have been grown for centuries in India and the Far Past, and the fruits arc eaten either raw or cooked, in the same way as tomatoes. There are many varieties; the one, ovigerum, which has given rise to the English name, has fruits the same shape and colour as hens’ eggs. This is not of an edible nature. It is growp in this country as a decorative greenhouse plant. Edible varieties have fruits varying in colour from white to a purplish-black, some being round-shaped, and not unlike a large tomato, while others are elongated and cucumber-like.. Being a native of the warmer parts of the globe, aubergines cannot be grown in the open like indigenous fruits and vegetables, but any amateur who grows tomatoes need not fear to give them a trial, as their culture is very similar. Seeds are sown under glass in June or July, and germinated in a temperature of 65 degrees to 70 degrees. The seedlings are potted singly into three-inch pots, stopped when about six inches high, and then either potted on into larger pots as necessary, and in a richer compost each time, or planted out in November in a warm and sheltered position. Success is by no means certain with plants grown in the open air, and it is a waste of time to try it in a cold district. In a season such as last summer, however, aubergines will ripen well in mild localities in the south. When grown entirely under glass, they will need attentive watering, and frequent syringings to ward off attacks of red spider. Six large fruits are all that a plant can reasonably carry, but smaller kinds may be allowed 10 or a dozen,, A well-known variety is Black Beauty, and a smaller-fruited kind of excellent quality is Black Bountiful. This is a recent introduction from Japan.—V. W., in Amateur Gardening.