162 Commercial Gardening 



paper, and straw packing. An acre of well-grown, well-forced Seakale 

 will produce about 80 dozen punnets, of which 70 dozen should be best. 



Natural Seakale. For "natural", Seakale is planted two rows 12 in. 

 apart, with 12-in. spaces in the rows, and then alleys 3 ft. 6 in. in width. 

 Down these alleys a crop of Lettuce can be planted in the summer, or a row 

 of Seakale can be grown to take up for forcing. The mould in the alley 

 is put up on the rows of Seakale in January to the depth of 9 in.; the 

 sides are kept nearly upright by "facing" them with the spade, and the 

 top of the bed thus formed is levelled with the back of the spade. This 

 operation will cost from 6 to 8 per acre. If the sides of the beds are 

 not kept upright, and at least 6 in. of shoulder preserved outside each 

 row of Seakale, the crowns will force their way through the sides of 

 the beds, as the shortest way to get light and air, becoming blue and 

 useless. If the beds are properly " landed " the Seakale will come up 

 through the top, announcing its presence by first producing a crack in 

 the surface and then showing the little pink tips of its leaves. It should 

 then be cut by removing the mould from the side with a spade until 

 the top of the root is visible. 



The crown should then be cut by a sharp stroke of the spade in 

 such a manner that about half an inch of the root conies with it. After 

 all the Seakale has been cut the beds can be levelled down, the alleys 

 cropped with Lettuce or other crop, and the Seakale left in for another 

 year. The roots will each send up a prodigious number of crowns, which 

 must be suckered to two or three, according to size. 



One serious drawback to Natural Seakale is that it is almost impossible 

 to keep it back. Nearly the whole crop will come on to the market in 

 a few days, so that there is a glut and it is unsaleable. This is particularly 

 so in a late spring, when it clashes with the commencement of Asparagus. 

 It is not an uncommon thing for Natural Seakale to drop from 5s. per 

 half-sieve or half-bushel to Is. Qd. or even Is. in one day. 



Natural Seakale is sometimes put up in punnets in the same manner 

 as forced, but more frequently in half-sieves containing 14 Ib. The price 

 fluctuates so violently that no average can be arrived at. An acre of good 

 crop will produce about 200 half-sieves. [w. G. L.] 



29. SHALLOT 



The Shallot (Allium ascalonicum) is a native of Ascalon in Palestine. 

 It is closely related to the Onion, but is milder in flavour. The true Shallot, 

 which has rather long grey-skinned bulbs, is rarely seen. Its place has 

 been usurped by the Jersey or Russian variety, which has coppery-red- 

 skinned bulbs, somewhat irregular in shape. Shallots are usually raised 

 from the cloves or offsets of the parent bulbs, but they may be raised from 

 seed in the same way as Onions. The cloves are planted about February, 

 in rows 9 in. to 1 ft. apart, and from 6 to 9 in. in the rows, and are left 



