SHALLOT 
$7 
SKIRRET. 
Cher vis, ou G-yrole. Sium sisarum. 
This plant is first cultivated by seed, and afterward by off- 
sets taken from the old roots, and planted very early in the 
spring, before they begin to shoot ; but it is best to raise a 
small bed from seed every year, as the roots grow longei 
than those raised from slips, and are less liable to be sticky. 
The seed may be sown in drills the latter part of March, 
or early in April, and managed the same as Salsify, Parsnip, 
&c. In autumn, when the leaves begin to decay, the roots are 
fit to use, and continue so till they begin to shoot in the spring. 
Skirrets should be planted in a light, moist soil, for in dry 
land the roots are generally small, unless the season proves wet. 
The root of the Skirret is composed of several fleshy 
tubers as large as a man’s finger, and joined together at the 
top. They are eaten boiled, and stewed with butter, pepper, 
and salt, or rolled in flour and fried, or else cold, with oil 
and vinegar, being first boiled. They have much of the taste 
and flavour of a Parsnip, and are by some considered a great 
deal more palatable. 
SHALLOT. 
Echalote. Jilliiim ascalonicam. 
The true Shallot is a native of Palestine, and is considered 
to possess the most agreeable flavour of any of the Jllliwn 
genus ; it is consequently highly deserving of cultivation. 
It is propagated by planting bulbs, or offsets, in the fall of 
the year, which may be set out with a dibble, in rows twelve 
inches apart, and from four to six inches distant in the rows ; 
or they may be placed in drills, two or three inches deep, 
and covered up with a trowel or hoe. 
The gardeners about New- York plant large quantities of 
the bulbs toward the end of August, and early in Septem 
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