FOOD AND FLAVOR 191 



presence on the table have come to be regarded 

 everywhere as admirable accessories to the diet- 

 ary, supplying flavors that pique the appetite 

 and facilitate digestion. These stimulators of 

 jaded appetites are perhaps of somewhat doubt- 

 ful benefit, if we are able to accept the findings 

 of the physiologist, but they have a recognized 

 place in the modern kitchen, and various and 

 sundry of them are among the most important of 

 garden vegetables. 



At the head of the list, doubtless, if we con- 

 sider universality of vogue, are the members of 

 the onion family, including onions proper of 

 many varieties, and such allied species as the 

 garlic, the leek, and the chive. 



Work with the Chive 



I have worked a good deal with most of these, 

 but have found perhaps greatest interest in de- 

 veloping the one of them that is least generally 

 known — the chive (Allium schwnoprasum) . 

 The particular work of recent years with this 

 plant has had to do with a variety which bore 

 a flower that was originally dull crimson 

 in color, and which, notwithstanding its dis- 

 agreeable odor, appeared to combine the quali- 

 ties of a border plant with those of a food 

 plant. 



