342 GARDENING FOR THE SOUTH. 



disagrees with the stomach, but suits every constitution. 

 The French use it in a variety of forms — raw, stewed, 

 boiled, etc. — but it is chiefly employed as a salad. 



GARLIC. — (Allium sativum.) 



This is a hardy perennial from Sicily and the south of 

 France; it has been cultivated at least three hundred 

 years. There are two sorts — one with large and the other 

 with small bulbs — each bulb consisting of a half dozen or 

 more small bulbs or cloves. 



Culture. — Garlic likes a dry, light, rich soil, but not 

 freshly manured; the manure should be put on the pre- 

 ceding crop. Prepare the ground as directed for the rest 

 of the onion tribe, and mark it off into drills eight inches 

 apart. Plant the cloves four inches distant in the drills, 

 and two inches deep, and see that they are put in right 

 side up. Keep the ground free from weeds, and light by 

 frequent hoeing. Plant from October to March. 



A few T roots may be taken up the latter part of May 

 for use as required, but do not lift the crop until the 

 leaves are withered. Break down the seed stalk if it rises, 

 to prevent it from running to seed, which would lessen 

 the size of the bulbs. 



When the leaves turn yellow, take up the bulbs and 

 dry them thoroughly in the. shade, tie them together by 

 the tops, and lay them up for winter in a dry loft as you 

 would onions. If the ground is not needed for another 

 crop, they may remain to be drawn as wanted. 



Use. — This plant has a well-known, strong penetrating 

 odor, which is most powerful at midday. In medicine it 

 is an excellent diaphoretic and expectorant; a diuretic 

 when taken internally, and has a reputation as an anthel- 

 mintic or worm destroyer. Some nations use it very 

 extensively for seasoning soups and stews, and indeed it 

 enters into almost everv dish; but in this countrv it is not 



