Chap. 34.] GAKLIC. 17.5 



ternal coat consists of membranes of remarkable fineness, which 

 are universally discarded when the vegetable is used ; the inner 

 part being formed by the union of several cloves, each of which 

 has also a separate coat of its own. The flavour of it is pun- 

 gent, and the more numerous the cloves the more pungent it 

 is. Like the onion, it imparts an offensive smell to the breath ; 

 but this is not the case when it is cooked. The various species 

 of garlic are distinguished by the periods at which they ripen : 

 the early kind becomes fit for use in sixty days. Another dis- 

 tinction, too, is formed by the relative size of the heads. Ulpi- 

 cum,"*^ also, generally known to the Greeks as '^ Cyprian garlic," 

 belongs to this class ; by some persons it is called " antisco- 

 rodon," and in Africa more particularly it holds a high rank 

 among the dishes of the rural population ; it is of a larger size 

 than ordinary garlic. When beaten up with oil and vinegar, 

 it is quite surprising what a quantity of creaming foam is pro- 

 duced. 



There are some persons who recommend that neither ulpicum 

 nor garlic should be sown on level ground, but say that they 

 should be planted in little mounds trenched up, at a distance of 

 three feet apart. Between each clove, they say, there should 

 be a distance of four fingers left, and as soon as ever three 

 leaves are visible, the heads should be hoed ; the oftener they 

 are hoed, the larger the size they will attain. When thej' 

 begin to ripen, the stalks are bent downwards, and covered 

 over with earth, a precaution which effectuallj' prevents them 

 from running to leaf. In cold soils, it is considered better to 

 plant them in spring than in autumn. 



For the purpose of depriving all these plants of their strong 

 smell, it is recommended to set them when the moon is below 

 the horizon, and to take them up when she is in conjunction. 

 Independently of these precautions, we find Menander, one 

 of the Greek writers, recommending those who have been 

 eating garlic to eat immediately afterwards a root of beet 



serpents ; and thougli persons who had just eaten of it were not allowed to 

 enter the Temple ot' the Mother of the Gods, it was prescribed to those 

 who wished to be purified and absolved from crimes. It is still lield iu 

 considerable esteem in the south of Europe, where, by the lower classes, 

 great medicinal virtues are ascribed to it. 



'" Theophrustus says. Hist. Plant. B. vii. c. 4, that this is the largest 

 of all the varieties of garlic. 



