Book I. ASPARAGINOUS PLANTS. 643 



from the circumstance of its seldom sending up a flower-stalk. The roots separate into 

 cloves, like those of garlic ; and the leaves rise in tufts like those of the chive, but larger. 

 The flavor of the bruised plant is milder than any of the cultivated alliaceous tribe. 



3846. Use. The cloves are used for culinary purposes, in the manner of garlic and 

 onions. In a raw state, cut small, it is often used as sauce to steaks and chops ; and 

 sometimes a clove or two is put in winter salads. The roots become mature in July and 

 August, and, dried and laid in store, are in season till the following spring. 



3847. Culture. The shallot is propagated by dividing the clustered root into separate offsets. These 

 are to be planted in February, or earlv in March, or in October and November. Planting in autumn is 

 generally preferred as producing the best bulbs ; but great care must be taken that much wet do not reach 

 the roots in winter. Abercrombie directs to " lay out some light rich ground, in beds four feet wide, 

 and in rows extending along these, to plant the offsets six inches apart, either in drills two inches deep, 

 or inserted to that depth by the dibber, or with the finger and thumb." Nicol advises not to dung land 

 intended for shallots, as rendering them liable to the attacks of maggots and insects : a very common 

 complaint of gardeners. 



3848. Machray, at Errol, {Cat. Hort. Mem. i. 275.) finds soot mixed with the manure given to shallot- 

 beds effectual in preventing the appearance of maggots ; while the roots were improved in size. 



3849. Henderson, of Delvine, (Caled. Mem. vol. i. 199.) to prevent the maggot, picks out the very 

 smallest shallot-roots for planting ; manures the ground with well rotted dung or house-ashes. He plants 

 about the middle of October, as recommended by Marshal, and never has had the roots injured by the 

 maggot in the smallest degree. " Autumn planting," he says, " is the whole secret." To prove this, he 

 planted some roots in spring, only seven feet distance from those planted in autumn j and while the latter 

 were untouched, the former were destroyed by these insects. The smallness of the roots planted, prevents 

 them from growing mouldy. The most intense frost does not hurt them. From 204 cloves planted in 

 October, 1810, he lifted, in August, 1811, above 5000 good clean roots, measuring in general about three 

 and a half inches in circumference. 



3850. Knight, to guard against the maggots in shallots, tried planting the bulb on the surface, instead 

 of burying it two or three inches in the soil ; and the experiment was attended with such perfect success, 

 that he confidently recommends this mode of culture. He places a rich soil beneath the roots, and raises 

 the mould on each side to support them till they become firmly rooted. This mould is then removed by 

 the hoe and water from the rose of a watering-pot, and the bulbs, in consequence, are placed wholly out 

 of the ground. " The growth of those plants," he adds, " now so closely resembled that of the common 

 onion, as not to be readily distinguished from it ; till the irregularity of form, resulting from the nume- 

 rous germs within each bulb, became conspicuous. The forms of the bulbs, however, remained perma- 

 nently different from all I had ever seen of the same species, being much more broad and less long; and 

 the crop was so much better in quality, as well as much more abundant, that I can confidently recommend 

 the mode of culture adopted to every gardener." {Hort. Trans, vol. ii. p. 98.) 



3851. Taking and preserving the crop. When the. leaves begin to decay, the bulbs are fit to be taken 

 up, when they should be dried and housed, either on the floor of the root-loft, in nets hung from the 

 roof, or in strings, as recommended for onions. Should any roots be wanted during the growth of the 

 crop, a few may be taken up young in June and July for immediate consumption. 



Subsect. 6. Rocambole. Allium Scorodoprasum, L. (Plenck. Ic. t. 256.) Hexan. 

 Monog. L. and Asphodelece, B. P. Ail d'JEspagne, Fr. ; Rockenbollun, Ger. ; and 

 Scorodopraso, Ital. 



3852. The rocambole is a perennial plant, a native of Denmark, and mentioned by 

 Gerrard as cultivated in 1596. It has compound bulbs, like garlic, but the cloves 

 are smaller. These are produced at the roots, and also, though of a smaller size, on the 

 stem, which rises two feet high, and produces the bulbs in the axillae of the leaves in 

 July and August. 



3853. Use. The cloves, both of the stalk and root, are used in the manner of garlic 

 or shallot, and nearly for the same purposes. It is considered milder than garlic. 



3854. Culture. It is propagated by planting the separated cloves of the root-bulb, or occasionally the 

 cloves of the head, in February, March, or April. A small bed, or a few rows, will be sufficient for a 

 family garden. Plant it either by dibble, or in drills, in rows six inches apart, and two inches deep. The 

 plants shoot up, each in a slender stalk, contorted at top, and terminated by a small head of cloves, which, 

 as well as the root, will acquire full growth in July or August, for immediate use ; or to be taken up, and 

 spread to dry, tied in bunches, and housed for future consumption. 



Sect. VI. Asparaginous Plants. 



3855. The asparaginous class of esculents may be considered as comparatively one of 

 luxury. It occupies a large proportion of the gentleman's garden, often an eighth part; 

 but does not enter into that of the cottager. A moist atmosphere is congenial to the chief 

 of them, especially to asparagus and sea-kale, which are sea-shore plants, and are brought 

 to greater perfection in our islands than any where else, excepting perhaps in Holland. 



Subsect. 1. Asparagus. Asparagus officinalis, L. (Eng. Bot. t. 339.) Hex. Monog. L. 

 and AsphodelecB, B. P. Asperge, Fr. ; Spargel, Ger. ; and Asjmrago, Ital. 



3856. The asparagus is a perennial plant, found in stony or gravelly situations near 

 the sea, but not very common. It grows near Bristol, in the Isle of Portland, and 

 sparingly in Seaton Links, near Edinburgh. The roots consist of many succulent 

 round knobs, forming together a kind of tuber, from which numerous erect round 

 stems arise with alternate branches, subdivided into alternate twigs, not unlike a 

 larch fir-tree in miniature. The leaves are very small, linear, and bristle-shaped ; the 

 flowers nodding, of a yellowish-green, and odorous, are produced from June to August ; 

 and the berries of a yellowish-red : the whole plant has a very elegant appearance. 

 Many of the steppes in the south of Russia and Poland are covered with this plant, which 



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