GEEEN VEGETABLES. 



49 



CHIVE (Allium Schoenoprasum, L.). De Candolle observes, " This 

 species occupies an extensive area in the northern hemisphere. It is 

 found all over Europe from Corsica to Greece, to the south of Sweden, 

 in Siberia, as far as Kamschatka, and also in North America. The 

 variety found in the Alps is the nearest to the cultivated form." It is 

 also wild in the north and west counties of England and Wales. It was 

 probably known to the ancients, as it is wild in Greece and Italy. It is 

 figured by Dodosns, 1559, who gives the French name Petit poureau, as 

 the leaves somewhat resemble those of a rush. The specific name 

 means " rush-leek." 



The LEEK (A. Ampeloprasum, L. var. Porrum) is a cultivated 



Fin. 21. WILD AND BULBOUS LEEKS OF MALTA, WITH CULTIVATED FORM FOR 



COMPARISON. 



form of the Linnean species, common in the Mediterranean region 

 (fig. 21) and Algeria. It was well known to the ancients. Pliny 

 observes that the Emperor Nero used to eat leeks and oil to im- 

 prove his voice, and that the best came from Egypt. It is mentioned 

 in Numbers (xi. 5) under a word, chatsir, meaning "to be green," 

 but as it stands in the text with onions and garlic the leek was 

 probably meant, as with the others it was commonly grown in Egypt. 

 With regard to the cultivation, Pliny tells us " the seed is sown 

 thicker than otherwise. They are cut repeatedly till the bed is quite 

 exhausted. If they are wanted to bulb before being cut, when 

 they have grown to some size they are transplanted to another bed." 



