LEAVEN. 



LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 



is a low shrub, and native of the United States, j 

 growing in moist, shady places, seldom rising j 

 more than four feet high, spreading into a head, j 

 with many small and very flexible branches. ' 

 The flowers are produced at the extreme ends 

 of the former years' shoots ; they are of an 

 herbaceous colour, and make a tolerable ap- 

 pearance. The flowers, which appear the lat- 

 ter end of March, before any perfect leaves, are 

 of a yellow colour. The bark is uncommonly 

 tough, yet the enclosed wood is very brittle. 

 It was highly valued by the native Indians, and 

 used in the place of cords. This plant, accord- 

 ing to the information of Mr. W. Bartram, 

 occupies an extensive range of territory, from 

 Canada to Georgia. (Willich's Dom. Ency.) 



LEAVEN (Lat. levare, to raise). A piece of 

 sour dough, used to ferment and render light 

 dough or paste. It is a very imperfect substi- 

 tute for yeast ; and as it communicates to the 

 bread an astringent taste, which few persons 

 relish, it ought to be used only where yeast 

 cannot be procured. As, however, the latter 

 ferment cannot always be obtained, especially 

 during winter, I shall state the most simple 

 methods of preparing, as well as of preserving 

 it, under the article YEAST. 



By the law of Moses, leaven was strictly 

 forbidden during the passover ; and the Jews, 

 who were taught to regard it from the vigil of 

 the feast as unclean, with religious scrupulo- 

 sity purified their houses from the contaminat- 

 ing influence. See BREAD. 



LEEK (Alllwn porrum). The leek is a hardy 

 biennial ; for, although it attains perfection in 

 size and for culinary purposes the first year, it 

 does not run to seed until tke second, the per- 

 fecting of which it also often survives. The 

 whole plant is eaten, being employed in soups, 

 &c., and is by some persons boiled and eaten 

 with meat. There are four varieties : the Mus- 

 selburgh, and the large London leek, which are 

 by far the best ; the Scotch or flag, which is 

 larger and hardier; and the Flanders. It is 

 raised solely from seed, which must be sown 

 first in the end of February, a small crop for 

 transplanting in June and July, as well as in 

 part to remain where sown ; again for the main 

 crop in the course of March or early in April ; 

 and, lastly, towards the close of April or begin- 

 ning of May, for late transplanting. These 

 sowings are in general performed broadcast, 

 and raked in ; though some gardeners employ 

 drills, the plants to remain after thinning: the 

 leek, however, is so much benefited by trans- 

 planting as obviously to point out the error of 

 this practice. When the plants are three or 

 four inches in height, in eight or ten weeks 

 after sowing, they must be weeded, hoed, and 

 thinned, where growing too close, to two or 

 three inches apart; water also being given, in 

 dry weather, will, with the above treatment, 

 strengthen and forward them for transplanting 

 in another month, or when six or eight inches 

 high. They must be taken away regularly 

 from the seed-bed, the ground being well wa- 

 tered previously, if not soft and easily yielding. 

 When thinned out, they may be left to remain 

 in the seed-bed six inches asunder, as they do 

 not grow so large as the transplanted ones, 

 which must be set by the dibble in rows ten 

 706 



inches apart, and eight in the lines, being in- 

 serted nearly down to the leaves, that the neck, 

 by being covered with the earth, may be 

 blanched. Water in abundance must be given 

 at the time of planting, and the long weak 

 leaves shortened, but the roots left as unin- 

 jured as possible. The bed should be hoed 

 over occasionally, as well to kill the weeds as 

 to loosen the soil. By this treatment, and by 

 cutting off the tops of the leaves about once a 

 month, as new ones are produced, the neck 

 swells to a much larger size. The several 

 sowings above directed will yield a supply 

 from August until the following May, when 

 they advance to seed. A portion should be 

 always taken up and laid in sand previous to 

 the ground being locked up by continued frost, 

 but they will not keep many days in this situa- 

 tion. To obtain seed, some of the finest roots 

 of the previous year's growth, which have been 

 left where raised, may be transplanted thence 

 in February or the early part of March, eight 

 inches asunder, in a row beneath a warm fence ; 

 and when seed-stems arise, they must be at- 

 tached to stakes for support, or to the fencing: 

 the closer and sooner they are drawn to this 

 latter, the better will it enable the seed to ripen ; 

 for in cold summers, particularly in open ex- 

 posures, it never comes to maturity, and by the 

 first sharp autumnal frost it is entirely destroyed. 

 Good varieties never flower before May or 

 June, and ripen their seed in September. The 

 heads should be cut when changed to a brown- 

 ish colour, with a foot in length of the stalk 

 left attached, for the convenience of tying in 

 bundles, three or four together, to dry: when 

 they are perfectly dry, they may be hung up 

 and kept in the head until wanted, or imme- 

 diately thrashed out and stored. As the husk 

 is very tough, it is usual, when small quantities 

 have to be operated upon, to rub them against 

 a tile, which breaks it more easily than any 

 other mode that can be adopted. (G. W. John- 

 son's Kitchen Garden.) 



LEES. The dregs or feculencies of liquors, 

 which, after being separated by fermentation, 

 fall to the bottom of the vessels. All the vari- 

 ous kinds of lees, such as those of wine, beer, 

 ale, oil, &c., may be made use of as manures 

 when they can be had in sufficient quantities. 

 LEGS. The extremities that form the sup- 

 port of animals. Of the four legs of a horse, 

 the two before have several parts, each of which 

 has a peculiar name : thus, by the name of 

 fore-leg, we commonly understand that part of 

 the fore-quarters that extends from the hough 

 to the pastern-joint, and which is frequently 

 called the shank. The part that corresponds 

 with it in the hinder quarters is called the 

 instep. In the language of the manege, a horse 

 is said to want the fifth leg when he is tired, 

 and, bearing upon the bridle, lies heavy upon 

 the rider's hand. 



LEGUMINOUS PLANTS (from legwnen, 

 pulse) are those which bear legumes or pods, 

 such as beans, peas, tares, &c. The Lcgumi- 

 noste are a very extensive natural order of 

 plants, found in all parts of the world, forming 

 large trees and huge twiners in the tropics ; 

 herbaceous plants or small bushes, rarely trees, 

 in colder countries. The order contains a very 



