520 
THE SHALLOT. 
crop should afterwards be watered should such 
weather continue. Keep the crop clear of 
weeds, and when the plants begin to crowd 
one another, thin them to about four inches 
apart in the rows, and stir the earth deeply 
about them. By this treatment the roots will 
attain a great size by November, when they 
;-hould be carefully forked up on a dry day, 
and the tops removed, being particular not to 
damage the crown of the root. They should 
then be carefully packed away in sand in a 
proper root-cellar, or other cold dry dark 
place, until wanted for forcing. 
When required for forcing, they should be 
planted in pots, boxes, or any other convenient 
receptacles, and gently excited. If wanted 
for use by or before January, they would be 
better placed in an early vinery, taking care 
to thoroughly exclude the light, by covering 
the pots or boxes with larger pots or similar 
boxes. After this, a regular succession 
should be kept up, by potting more roots 
every ten days or fortnight ; and as the season 
advances, a mushroom-house, or warm cellar, 
will be found sufficient to grow and blanch 
the leaves. Chicory will bear a heat of 60° ; 
but except when wanted very quickly, a lower 
temperature will be found preferable, and the 
crop will be greater. If not forced too 
hard, each crop will afford two or three 
cuttings ; but after that, the produce is small, 
and the leaves become too bitter for use. 
After forcing, the roots may be thrown away, 
being useless. If it is desirable to save seed, 
a few of the best roots should be kept until 
the spring, or left in the ground all winter, 
where they will generally stand very well if 
the soil is not very wet. They require no 
further management than keeping them clear 
of weeds, and staking the stems, to prevent 
the wind from breaking them. 
If the roots are grown for the purpose, of 
making them into powder as a substitute for 
coffee, the same routine should be followed, 
except that they might be sown thicker, and 
need hardly be thinned quite so much. When 
taken up, the roots may be stored away, until 
a convenient time occurs for preparing the 
powder, when they should be carefully cleaned, 
and cut up into small pieces not more than 
half an inch square. They are then to be 
roasted in any way most convenient, until 
they are of a light uniform brown colour all 
through, when they are fit for grinding for 
use. Mixed with coffee, this powder is highly 
esteemed by some ; and, used alone, it is no 
doubt the best and most palatable substitute 
lor that berry that has yet been discovered. 
The common Dandelion (Lcontodon Ta- 
raxacum) has also been grown and used in 
similar ways to the chicory, and its leaves 
afford a veryjrood salad when they are blanched, 
that operation almost entirely depriving them 
of the bitter flavour which they possess when 
grown under ordinary circumstances. If it 
were to be grown for its roots, to make 
powder with, there is no doubt but, by careful 
selection of seed, a greatly enlarged root 
might be obtained in a few generations. But 
this is hardly worth trying, unless this root 
should prove very superior to that of chicory, 
as a substitute for coffee. 
THE SHALLOT. 
The Shallot (Allium Ascahnicum) is a 
native of Palestine, and is supposed to have 
been introduced to this country in theyear 1.548. 
There appears to be about three varieties of 
this root in cultivation, either of which will 
be found sufficient for one place. 
The Small Shallot is of dwarfer habit, and 
produces smaller bulbs than the next variety : 
it is also deeper coloured in the flesh, and hotter 
in flavour. 
The Large Shallot generally grows double 
the size of the last, and is preferred by many 
on that account. It does not keep hardly so 
long as that variety. 
The Long-keeping Shallot is said to keep 
for nearly two years, and not to be so subject 
to the maggot as the other varieties. It was 
introduced a few years ago from Hamburgh. 
The cultivation of the shallot is very simple, 
and as it occupies but very little space, yield- 
ing a great return, it is singular that it is not 
more cultivated than it is. Its native habitat, 
growing in the sandy plains of Palestine, points 
out the description of soil it prefers. The 
space allotted to it should be moderately rich, 
but not recently manured, and if the ground 
be naturally heavy, a layer of sand should be 
spread over it, and on this the bulbs should be 
planted, pressing them gently into the sand, 
and just covering them either with more sand, 
or with leaf mould. They should be planted 
about the middle of February, or later, accord- 
ing to the weather. The rows should be one 
foot apart, and the bulbs six inches asunder. 
As soon as the tops begin to flag and turn 
brown after Midsummer, take them up and lay 
them out on a walk or similar place to ripen and 
allow the tops to die off. When this is accom- 
plished, let them be thoroughly cleaned from 
dead tops, dirt, and loose skins, and put them 
away for use in a dry airy room. The last 
variety is evidently the best for kite use. 
The shallot is very liable to rot in some soils, 
especially in wet seasons. This might per- 
haps be partially avoided by planting a month 
later than above • recommended, and also by 
growing them in very poor ground. They art 
also very subject to the attack of maggot-, 
very often, if not always, at the same time 
