120 GARDENING FOR THE SOUTH. 



thicken with a spoonful of browned flour and one of 

 butter ; add spices and wine, if to your taste. 



To broil. — Prepare as above, and lay on a small gridiron 

 over bright coals, stalk upmost; broil quickly and serve 

 with butter, salt and pepper. 



Mushroom Catsup. — Take the flaps of two gallons of 

 fresh mushrooms and put in an earthen dish ; sprinkle upon 

 them three-fourths of a pound of salt ; crush them fine ; boil 

 sometime and strain ; put them upon the fire again, and 

 add a few cloves of garlic, one-half ounce of black pepper, 

 and one-half ounce of ground cloves ; boil until reduced 

 to one-half the original quantity ; bottle, cork tight, and 

 keep in a cool place. 



Allium — The Onion Tribe. 



This genus contains several of the most useful plants 

 which demand the gardener's care. They all require a 

 rich, friable soil and a situation enjoying the full influence 

 of the sun, and free from the shade and drip of trees. If 

 the soil be poor or exhausted, abundance of manure 

 should be applied some time before planting and thoroughly 

 incorporated with it; for rank, unreduced dung is injurious, 

 engendering decay. If applied at the time of planting, 

 the manure must be thoroughly putrescent, and turned in 

 only to a moderate depth. If the ground be tenacious, 

 sand, or better still, charcoal dust is advantageous ; ashes 

 and soot are particularly beneficial. Common salt, at the 

 rate of six to eight bushels per acre, is an excellent appli- 

 cation to this family of plants. In digging the ground, 

 small spadefuls should be turned over at a time, that the 

 texture may be well broken and pulverized. 



Light, sandy soils, if rich, are very well suited to the 

 growth of these vegetables. 



