ALLIUM. 
of the same letter or letters at certain in- 
tervals, whence the name is derived. 
ALLIUM, garlic, in botany, a genus of 
the Hexandria Monogynia class and order ; 
the calyx is a common sheath, and many- 
flowered, the corolla consists ot six oblong 
petals : the stamina have six filaments, gene- 
rally of the leng'th of the corolla, the anthers 
are oblong and upright ; the pistillum has a 
a germ, superior, short, bluntly three-corner- 
ed : the pericarpium is a capsule, short, broad, 
three-celled and three-valved ; the seeds are 
many and round. There are 53 species dis- 
tributed into several divisions. The com- 
mon garlic has a large round white bulbous 
root, of an irregular form, with numerous 
fibres at the bottom, composed of many 
smaller bulbs denominated cloves, which are 
included in a common membranous cover- 
ing, each of which being planted, grows, 
and in one season attains the size and struc- 
ture of the parent bulb ; the leaves are cau- 
line, or form a kind of stalk, which seldom 
spindles, except when the same roots re- 
main in the ground two or three years, when 
they run up and bear a flower and small 
bulbs at the top. It deserves to be culti- 
vated in the garden for the sake of its root, 
which is in great estimation for culinary and 
other domestic purposes. Indeed, the roots, 
as well as all the other parts of the plant, 
have a very acrid taste, with an highly-of- 
fensive smell, which has rendered its culti- 
vation in gardens less desirable. It is a 
hardy plant, capable of growing in most 
sorts of soils and situations, and readily pro- 
pagated either by roots or seeds. 
Rocambole has very small compound 
bulbs, which grow in clusters ; the stalk ge- 
nerally spindling two or three feet high, with 
many bulbs at its summit, which, as well as 
the loot bulbs, are useful for the same pur- 
poses as garlic, though much inferior. The 
latter, or the flowery kinds, have the flower- 
stems rising immediately from the root, 
growing erect and attaining different heights, 
from twelve to thirty inches ; in some the 
leaves are radical, in others cauline, or ele- 
vated with the stalk, some are broad like 
those of a tulip, others long and narrow like 
a daffodil, and some taper and rush-like ; 
but in all the sorts the stems are terminated 
by a sort of sheath, from which is protruded 
an aggregate of many small flowers, forming 
a kind of umbel. The flowers singly arc 
composed each of six petals, which, though 
separately small, from many being collected 
into large heads, are very conspicuous. Of 
the second division, or the onion kind, the 
characters. &c. of which are the same as 
those of garlic, the species are these : 1. Ce- 
pa, or common onion ; the best garden va- 
rieties of which are the Strasburgh or com- 
mon round onion, the oval or long-keeping 
common onion, the Spanish large flat onion, 
the Spanish silken-skinned onion, the Spa- 
nish red-skinned onion, and the Portugal 
great roundish oval onion. 2. Fistulosum, 
or the ciboule or Welsh onion. 3. Schaeno- 
prasum, cives or chives. 4. Ascalonicum, 
eschalot or schallot. 5. Canadense, or Ca- 
nada-tree onion. All the first species and 
varieties have large bulbous roots, and the 
plants are biennial, or being sown in the 
spring, arrive at perfection in the root the 
same year, and next year shoot up into 
stalk, flower, and ripen seed, when the 
stalks quickly die, and the individuals are - 
annihilated. But the second and third spe- 
cies never form any bulbs at bottom ; they 
are, however, hardy and perennial, and may 
be continued many years. And the fourth 
and fifth species are bulbous-rooted peren- 
nials, multiplying greatly by off-sets, as is 
evident from their culture. • 
Ciboule or Welsh onion. This is a peren- 
nial plant, which never forms any bulb at 
bottom ; therefore deserves to be cultivated 
only to be drawn as young green onions for 
salads, &c. in spring ; but on account of its 
strong taste it is greatly inferior to those of 
the common onion. From the plants being 
so extremely hardy as to survive the severest 
winter, in which, though their blades be cut 
off, the roots remain sound, and shoot forth 
with great vigour early in spring, furnishing 
seasonable supplies till May, when they ge- 
nerally run to seed. From this singular har- 
diness they may be cultivated more or less 
as a winter standing crop, with advantage, 
for spring use. 
Cives or chives. This is the smallest of 
all the onion kind, rising but a few inches 
high ; but its roots are perennial, and in- 
crease considerably into clusters, fromwhich 
large tufts of slender awl-shaped leaves is- 
sue, which are the principal part used, the 
roots never forming any bulb, at least not 
bigger than small peas. This is a hardy 
plant, which merits a place in every garden. 
Its clusters of leaves rise early in spring, and 
are useful both in salads and for culinary 
purposes, in default of onions. The me- 
thod of gathering it is to cut the leaves off 
near the ground, by which a fresh supply is 
soon produced from the bottom j or occa- 
sionally the plants in clusters may be slip- 
ped quite to the root in separate little 
