Book I. 



LEEK. 



641 



S825. Lifting and preserving the general crop of onions. This, according to Nicol, should not be delayed 

 after the beginning or middle of September. When taken up, they are to be spread thin on the ground ; 

 *' but if the weather be wet, they had better be removed to a gravel walk, or a space purposely covered 

 with sand or gravel, in the full sun. Turn them over once or twice a-day, until they are thoroughly dried, 

 and then store them in a well aired loft, &c. ; here still turn them occasionally, if they lie any^vise thick ; or 

 may string them up by the tails, or hang them in nets. If they are not intended to be strung, the tails 

 and outer husks should be displaced before housing them, and the latter at all events ; that is, just as 

 much as comes easily off in rubbing. The manner of stringing them is this : take in your hand three or 

 four by the tails ; tie them hard with a new strand of matting, or a bit of packthread ; place on two or 

 three more onions ; lap the thread once or twice round their tails ; place more onions, which also lap 

 hard, and so on. In this manner may be made a string (as it is called), or bunch, of a yard in length, or 

 more; which by being hung up in a dry well aired place, free from frost, is an excellent way of keeping 

 onions." In Portugal, " when the onions are ripe," Warre observes, " they are drawn up out of the 

 ground, and a twist is given to the top, so as to bend it down. They are left on the ground to season, 

 before they are housed ; then, immediately platted with dry straw into ropes or strings, of twenty-five 

 each, and hung up to dry ; they are not permitted to sweat in a heap. Their keeping well depends 

 greatly upon the weather being dry and favorable, when they are brought into the house, and also upon 

 their being carefully handled, and not bruised. In this country, I have practised, with much success, 

 searing the roots with a hot iron, for the purpose of preserving the onions, which checks their sprouting, 

 and they should be kept in a dry airy place." 



3826. To save seed. " Select some of the largest, well housed, sound, firm bulbs, 

 either in October, the beginning of November, or in February. Draw drills three or 

 four inches deep, either a single row, or two or three rows together, a foot asunder ; in 

 which plant the onions, six, ten, or twelve inches apart, and earth in about three inches. 

 In planting double or treble rows, allow an interval of two feet between each bed of two 

 or three rows, to admit of going in, both to place stakes and horizontal lines for the sup- 

 port of the seed -stems, and to cut down weeds. The plants will shoot up in stalks two 

 or three feet liigh, producing each a large head of seed, which will ripen in August or 

 September." 



3827. Culture of the 2'>otaloe-onion. This variety, erroneously supposed to have been 

 brought from Egypt by the British array about 1805, was grown in Driver's nursery in 

 1796, and has been known in Devonshire for upwards of twenty years. It is thus cul- 

 tivated at Arundel Castle, by Maher. Having thoroughly prepared the ground, and 

 formed it into beds four feet wide, " I draw lines the whole length, three to each bed, and 

 with the end of the rake handle, make a mark (not a drill) on the surface ; on this mark 

 I place the onions, ten inches apart; I then cover them vnth leaf-mould, rotten dung, or 

 any other light compost, just so that the crowns appear exposed. Nothing more is neces- 

 sary to be done until they shoot up their tops ; then, on a dry day, they are earthed up, 

 like potatoes, and kept free from weeds until they are taken up. In the west of England, 

 where this kind of onion is much cultivated, I understand that it is the practice to plant 

 on the shortest day, and take up on the longest. The smallest onions used for planting 

 swell, and become very fine and large, as well as yield offsets ; the middle-sized and 

 larger bulbs produce greater clusters." {Hort. Trans. Mi. 305.) 



3828. Z)2/moni^ states [Hart. Trans, iii. 306.), that in Devonshire it is planted in 

 rows twelve inches apart, and six inches' distance in the row ; that the plants are earthed 

 up as they grow, and that the smaller bulbs yield a greater increase than the larger. A 

 similar practice is adopted by some Scotch cultivators. {Caled. Hort. Mem. i. 343. and 

 iv. 216.) 



3829. Wedgewood does not earth up, and finds his bulbs acquire a much larger size 

 than when that practice is adopted. {Hort. Trans, iii. 403.) The fact is, as we have 

 observed in generalising on the subject of earthing up (8233.), surface-bulbs, as the onion, 

 turnip, &c., are always prevented from attaining their full size by that operation, what- 

 ever they may gain in other respects, 



SuBSECT. 2. Leek. — Allium 2'>orrum, L. {Blackw. t. 421.) Hexan. Monog. L. and 

 Asphodelecs, B. P. Poireau, Fr. ; Lauch, Ger. ; and Poro, Ital. 



3830. The leek is a hardy biennial, a native of Switzerland, and introduced in 1562. 

 The stem rises three feet, and is leafy at bottom, the leaves an inch wide. The flowers 

 appear in May, in close, very large balls, or purplish peduncles. The leek is mentioned 

 by Tusser ; but was, no doubt, known in this country long before his time. Worlidge, 

 speaking of Wales, says, " I have seen the greater part of a garden there stored vv-ith leeks, 

 and a part of the remainder with onions and garlic." 



3831. Use. The whole plant is used in soups and stews ; but the blanched stem is 

 most esteemed. Leeks formerly constituted an ingredient in the dish called porridge, 

 which some suppose to be derived from the Latin ^jorrww. 



3832. The varieties are — 



The narrow -leaved, or Flanders leek ! The Scotclr, or flag, or Musselburgh I The broad-leaved, or tall London leek. 

 I leek I 



S8S3. Propagation. From seed ; and for a bed, four feet wide by eight in length, one ounce is requisite. 



S834. Soil and site. The soil should be light and rich, lying on a dry sub-soil. A rank soil does not 

 suit it, so that when manure is necessary, well reduced dung, mixed with road-drift, is better than dung 

 alone. The situation should be open. Let the ground be dug in the previous autumn or winter ready for 

 sowing in spring. For the principal crop, allot beds four or five feet wide. A small crop may be sown 



