18 THE GARDEN 



CHIVES AND SHALLOTS 



On an average of one person in every thousand will recognize these 

 herbs, so common to our grandmother's old-fashioned herb gardens, and so 

 indispensable to many of the old-fashioned sauces and soups. It is well for 

 many of our modern housekeepers to become acauainted with both herbs, 

 for the pair will form a splendid addition to the list of every-day "savories." 



Chives belong to the allium, or onion, tribe, and are perennials, ir one 

 can imagine tiny spring onions, whose tender white bulb is no larger than 

 a thickened straw, and whose stiff, rich green stems are scarcely half the 

 thickness of the same straw, the whole plant some six inches high, and 

 perhaps producing a pretty, pale purple flower from the central stalk, one 

 can readily see that such an herb is not only a necessity to the cook, but 

 also an ornament to the herb border. The plant will multiply readily, so 

 that often a young bunch of chives will yield from twenty to thirty roots. 



For soups, salads, stews and sauces, chives are splendid seasoning 

 agents, giving a faint, very delicate onion taste. 



Old-fashioned folk used to divide the roots year after year, and plant 

 these to form stiff, little borders to the flower beds. The low, violet- 

 crowned clumps were well-fitted for perennial borders, both on account of 

 the flowers which appear early in spring, and from the fact that the hollow 

 green stems retain a vivid and unchanging green through the hottest spells 

 of drought. 



While the chive rarely seeds, in this country, yet it thrives in any good 

 soil, multiplying with incredible rapidity. Any nurseryman will be able to 

 supply roots at small cost. 



Shallots also belong to the allium tribe. Like the former herb, chives, 

 the shallot is a most useful member of the family, and no kitchen garden 

 should be without a goodly patch of healthy shallots. The cook can use 

 shallots in endless ways — in soups, sauces, stews and pickles, as well as in 

 plain cooking — there is no end to the use they may be put, where a slight 

 oniony flavoring is desired. 



Buy bulbs from the nurseryman, as seedlings are not useful until the 

 second, and, indeed, often the third year. 



These young shallot bulbs must be planted early in spring, in rich 

 earth, and should be planted some five or six inches deep, and in rows at 

 least ten inches apart. By the end of the summer, the plants will have 

 become quite bushy, forming thick clumps. About the beginning of Sep- 

 tember these may be pulled up and dried for winter use in the sun. Be 

 sure to leave enough healthy plants under cover in the bed for new stock 

 next spring. 



CLIVIA: IMANTOPHYLLUM 



The clivia, known also as imantophyllum, belongs to the well-known 

 amaryllis family. 



Almost everyone who loves flowers and tries to have at least one 

 especially beautiful flowering variety, owns a pot of some one or other of 

 the amaryllidacae. This family is, above all others, remarkable for the 

 never-failing beauty of its flowets, both as regards color and shape and 

 fragrance. The family is a vast one. comprising, as everybody will remem- 

 ber, such well-known favorites as the narcissus, daffodils, jonquils, snow- 

 drop and tuberose. 



The clivia, however, is not too well known among amateurs. It should 

 be a great favorite for the house and greenhouse, as it lends itself readily 

 to indoor care. 



Spring is a good time to plant the bulbs, as soon as fresh growth makes 



