SHALLOT 97 



SKIRRET. 

 Chervis, ou Gyrole. Sium sisarum. 



This plant is first cultivated by seed, and afterward by off- 

 sets taken from the old roots, and planted very early in the 

 spring, before they begin to shoot ; but it is best to raise a 

 small bed from seed every year, as the roots grovv^ longei 

 than those raised from slips, and are less liable to be sticky. 

 The seed may be sov\^n in drills the latter part of March, 

 or early in April, and managed the same as Salsify, Parsnip, 

 &c. In autumn, when the leaves begin to decay, the roots are 

 fit to use, and continue so till they begin to shoot in the spiing. 



Skirrets should be planted in a light, moist soil, for in dry 

 land the roots are generally small, unless the season proves wet. 



The root of the Skirret is composed of several fleshy 

 tubers as large as a man's finger, and joined together at the 

 top. They are eaten boiled, and stewed with butter, pepper, 

 and salt, or rolled in flour and fried, or else cold, with oil 

 and vinegar, being first boiled. They have much of the taste 

 and flavour of a Parsnip, and are by some considered a great 

 deal more palatable. 



SHALLOT. 

 EcHALOTE. Allium ascalonicum. 



The true Shallot is a native of Palestine, and is considered 

 to possess the most agreeable flavour of any of the Allium 

 genus ; it is consequently highly deserving of cultivation. 



It is propagated by planting bulbs, or offsets, in the fall of 

 the year, which may be set out with a dibble, in rows twelve 

 inches apart, and from four to six inches distant in the rows ; 

 or they may be placed in drills, two or three inches deep, 

 and covered up with a trowel or hoe. 



The gardeners about New- York plant krge quantities of 

 the bulbs toward the end of August, and early in Septem- 



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