102 
AMERICAN KITCHEN GARDENER. 
SKIRRET. 
Siwr sisarum .— Cher vis, Fr.— Zuckerwurzel , Ger. 
• The skirrd: is a perennial tap-rooted plant, a native of China. The 
lower leaves are pinnated, and the stem rises about a foot high, terminated 
by an umbel of white flowers, in July and August. The root is composed 
of fleshy tubers, about the size of the little finger, and joined together at the 
crown or head: they vv^ere formerly much esteemed in cookery. In the 
north of Scotland, the plant is cultivated under the name of crummock. 
“ Culture. —This plant grows freely in a lightish soil, moderately good. It 
.s propagated both from seed, and by offsets of established roots. The bet¬ 
ter metnod is, to raise seedlings, to have the root in perfection, young and 
tender. 
“ By seed. —‘Sow between the 21st of March and the 15th of April; a 
fortnight later, rather than any earlier, for a full crop, as plants raised for¬ 
ward in spring are apt to start for seed in summer. Sow on an open com¬ 
partment of light ground, in small drills eight inches apart. When the 
plants are one two inches high, thin them to five or six inches asunder. 
They will enlarge in growth till the end of autumn ; but before the roots 
are full grown, in August, September, or October, some maybe taken up for 
consumption as wanted : those left to reach maturity will continue good for 
use throughout winter, and in spring, till the stems run. 7 
u By slips —Having some plants of last year’s raising, furnished with 
root-offsets, slip them off; taking only the young outward slips, and not 
leaving any of the larger old roots adhering to the detached offsets ; which 
plant by dibble, in rows from six to nine inches asunder. They will soon 
strike, and enlarge, and divide into offsets; which, as well as the main roots, 
are eatable, and come in for use in proper season. 7 
“ To save seed. —Leave some old plants in the spring; they will shoot up 
stalks, and ripen seed in autumn. 77 — Loudon. 
“ Use. —The tubers are boiled, served up with butter, and are declared by 
Worlidge, in 1682, to be ‘the sweetest, whitest, and most pleasant of 
roots. 7 77 — Loudon. The common skirret has an agreeable aromatic flavor, 
and abounds wfith saccharine particles: hence it has been conjectured that 
sugar might be advantageously extracted from the root; and M. Margraff 
states, that he obtained one ounce and a half of pure sugar from half a pound 
of this vegetable. In a medicinal view, it possesses diuretic properties, and 
is in a slight degrn? stimulant.— Bom. Encyc. 
