654 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



The Feltham White, with large leaves, rumpled at the edge and 

 large white ribs. 



Lately a variety of Crambe Tatarica(?) has been advertised 

 under the name of Ovidius, but it does not appear to be equal to 

 the above varieties. 



Uses. — The blanched stalks are eaten boiled, almost in the 

 same way as Asparagus. When properly cooked, they preserve 

 all their firmness, and have a very fine and agreeable flavour, like 

 that of hazel-nuts, with a very slight amount of bitterness. 



SHALLOT 



Allium ascalonicum, L. Liliacece. 



French, Echalote. Germaft, Schalotte. Flemish and Dutch, Sjalot. Danish^ 

 Skalottelog. Italian, Scalogno. Spanish, Chalote. Portuguese, Echalota. 



Native of Palestine. — Perennial. — Athough botanically very 

 closely allied to the cultivated Onion, the Shallot, in its manner of 

 growth, differs from it completely from a horticultural point of 

 view. It is a plant which seldom produces seed, but has a pro- 

 fusion of leaves, and its bulbs, when planted in spring, speedily 

 divide into a great number of cloves, which remain attached to a 

 common disc, and in a few months become as strong as the parent 

 bulb. It has been in cultivation from a very remote period, and 

 there are now several rather distinct forms of it in existence. [It 

 may be well to note that the plant commonly sent in quantities to 

 the London market is not the True Shallot, but a small roundish 

 Onion with a rich brown skin. The true Shallot has a pale gray 

 skin, and is elongated in shape. — R.] 



Culture. — The cloves are planted immediately after winter in 

 good, rich, well-manured soil. Well-rotted farmyard manure suits 

 the Shallot better than that which is fresh and strawy. It is still 

 better, when possible, to plant the cloves in ground that was 

 plentifully manured in the previous year. They should not be 

 deeply buried, and the cloves of the Common Shallot should be 

 placed about 4 in. apart. They may be grown either in beds by 

 themselves, or on the edges of beds containing other vegetables. 

 When the leaves commence to wither, about July, the tufts of 

 plants are pulled up and left to dry for a few days, after which 

 they are divided and the bulbs stored in a dry place. Those bulbs 

 which are intended for planting may be left in the ground some 

 time longer. 



Uses. — The bulbs, which keep for the whole year, are used as 

 seasoning, and give a more delicate flavour than most Onions. 

 The leaves are also eaten, cut when they are green. 



True Shallot. — Bulb the size of a small Walnut, sometimes 

 larger, pear-shaped, narrowed in the upper part into a rather long 



