ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE SHALLOT. 57 
I have often heard it recommended not to manure ground for 
shallots, as it would be sure to generate the maggot. I am de¬ 
cidedly of a different opinion, for all the cultivated alliaceous 
plants that I am acquainted with are what may be termed gross 
feeders, and delight and thrive most luxuriantly in rich soil; 
and I still maintain, that if a plant can be kept in a robust 
healthy state, it will be less subject to the attacks of insects or 
disease than it otherwise would be. 
To conclude these rambling remarks, I will give a brief out¬ 
line of the practice I have pursued. In the first place, I select a 
piece of ground intended for the future crop of shallots, and give 
it a “ hearty dunging” with well-rotted manure from an old hot¬ 
bed; this is done in autumn, and the ground is laid up in ridges 
to get mellowed by the winter’s frost; about the first week in 
March, I level down the ridges, and break the ground well with 
the spade ; after which, I mark out the intended rows, fifteen 
inches apart, and with a hoe draw the fine pulverised soil up in 
ridges about two and a half inches high, and plant the bulbs, 
about eight inches apart, on the top of the ridges, inserting the 
bulb to about half its depth. As soon as the plants are well 
established, and have got firm hold of the ground, I take the 
garden engine, and wash away all the earth from the bulbs, and 
leave them quite exposed, with only the tips of the roots in the 
ground. It is astonishing to see what progress the plants will 
make under this treatment. I have had several of my neigh¬ 
bours ask what sort of onions they were, and when I told them 
they were shallots, I was scarcely credited; if it were so, they 
said, it must be some new variety, for they certainly had more 
the appearance of onions than of shallots, both in the shape and 
size of the bulbs and of the leaves. I can safely say, that I 
never saw the least signs of maggot or mouldiness about them. 
The best way to keep them is to take the bulbs up in August, 
and lay them in the sun to dry ; when perfectly ripe, tie them in 
handfuls by the stems, and hang them up in a dry cool shed. 
Any one who will take the trouble to try the above method 
of growing shallots may be assured of an abundant, clean, and 
healthy crop ; and I am confident, from my own experience, 
that no one will have cause to regret the extra labour. 
Buckingham Palace Garden, 
Nov. 7. 1844. 
VOL. VI. NO. III. 
G 
