SHALLOT. 291 



any light soil, will produce good sprouts, which will 

 be found, on clearing the ground round them, to be 

 finely blanched of a clear white colour, and when 

 dressed, nearly equal to those blanched under pots 

 in the course of the spring 



57. SHALLOT. ALLIUM. 



It will be observed, from the botanic name of the 

 shallot, that it is classed with the onion tribe. The 

 specific name, Ascalonicum, has been assigned to 

 it from its being found near Ascalon, a town in 

 Syria ; hence the popular English term scallion. 



Shallots have a strong but not unpleasant smell, 

 and are therefore generally preferred to the onion 

 for various purposes of cookery, and for making 

 high-flavoured soups and gravies. They are also 

 much used in pickles, particularly in the East Indies; 

 and are considered by many epicures to be the best 

 seasoning for the old English dish of beef-steaks. 



The shallot was first brought to England in the 

 year 1548; and we may safely conjecture that it 

 soon found its way to the breakfast- table of Queen 

 Elizabeth. 



Culture. The roots of the shallot which are 

 bulbous, increase greatly by offsets, the largest of 

 which are the parts of the plant proper for use. 



The bulbs are oblong and irregular, and seldom 

 grow large : as they generally increase into clusters, 

 they do not swell like roots that grow singly. 



The soil best adapted for growing the shallot is 

 a light rich sandy loam; but as such soils perhaps are 

 scarce, any light dry soil that has been manured a 

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