Besides the above method of forcing, sea-kale has also been successfully forced in frames, pits, or pots. If in frames, the same preparation may be made as is advised for asparagus, both as to the bed and earthing; but, if in the latter, three or four inches more than is there mentioned will be necessary.

The bed being ready, a sufficient number of plants, put out for this and other purposes, should be taken up, so as to fill the frame at six inches apart; and, in planting them, the roots can be set to within three or four inches of the dung. When done, the whole is to be covered with light sandy earth to the depth of five or six inches, and two or three inches deeper after they begin to make their appearance; when they should be totally excluded from the light, otherwise the sprouts would be tough, and lose much of their taste and flavour.

How far it will be necessary to line the bed with hot dung, or give more or less covering, will depend on the weather; at any rate, the same degree of heat as mentioned for the pots should be kept up as regular as possible.

Pits built after the excellent invention of M'Phail, should there be any to spare, will be found to grow sea-kale equal, if not superior, to those in frames on dung heat.

Where there is a stove, sea-kale may be very early raised by being planted in large pots, and placed in any dark corner, where, with a little moisture at times, they will bring good sprouts for the table.

Finally, sea-kale planted in the open ground, and covered to the depth of ten or twelve inches with

any light soil, will produce good sprouts, which will be found, on clearing the ground round them, to be finely blanched of a clear white colour, and when dressed, nearly equal to those blanched under pots in the course of the spring

57. SHALLOT. ALLIUM.

It will be observed, from the botanic name of the shallot, that it is classed with the onion tribe. The specific name, Ascalonicum, has been assigned to it from its being found near Ascalon, a town in Syria; hence the popular English term scallion.

Shallots have a strong but not unpleasant smell, and are therefore generally preferred to the onion for various purposes of cookery, and for making high-flavoured soups and gravies. They are also much used in pickles, particularly in the East Indies; and are considered by many epicures to be the best seasoning for the old English dish of beef-steaks.

The shallot was first brought to England in the year 1548; and we may safely conjecture that it soon found its way to the breakfast-table of Queen Elizabeth.

Culture. The roots of the shallot which are bulbous, increase greatly by offsets, the largest of which are the parts of the plant proper for use.

The bulbs are oblong and irregular, and seldom grow large as they generally increase into clusters, they do not swell like roots that grow singly.

The soil best adapted for growing the shallot is a light rich sandy loam; but as such soils perhaps are scarce, any light dry soil that has been manured a

year or two before will do. They are propagated by dividing the clustered roots into separate offsets, and planting them in very shallow drills in February or early in March, or, as is frequently done, in October and November. When planted in autumn in a dry light soil, they often grow larger, and sooner attain full growth the following summer; but one thing must be guarded against, viz., too much wet, which is likely to rot the roots before they vegetate.

The shallots should be planted in the shallow drills about six inches apart, and slightly covered over with earth. Soot, mixed with the surface soil, has been found of much service in preventing the maggot, which often commits extensive depredations upon this plant. The only culture which they require is that of keeping them clear from weeds, by occasional hand-weeding or hoeing.

Towards the end of July, or beginning of August, the bulbs will have attained their full growth, as is seen by the decay of the leaves. They should then be taken up and laid out in some dry loft, when, after being thoroughly dried, picked, &c., they are to be put up in bags, boxes, or tied in bundles by the stalks, where they will remain for some months fit for use.

The author thinks the following method a safe and great improvement in the culture of the shallot; it was communicated a few years ago by A. Knight, Esq., President of the Horticultural Society.

To guard against the maggot in shallots, Mr. Knight had them planted on the surface instead of burying them two or three inches deep in the soil.

The experiment was attended with such perfect success, that he confidently recommended this new mode of culture to be generally adopted by every gardener. He advises the placing of a rich soil beneath the roots, and raising it on each side to support them, till they become firmly rooted.

This mould is then to be removed by the hoe, and water given from the rose of a watering-pot, when the bulbs in consequence remain wholly out of the ground.

The growth of these plants, Mr. Knight adds, now so closely resembles that of the common onion, as not to be readily distinguished from it, until the irregularity of form, resulting from the numerous germs within each bulb, becomes conspicuous. The form of the bulbs, however, remained permanently different from all he had ever seen of the same species, being broader and shorter; the crop was also much better in quality, as well as more abundant.

The few bulbs which were shown to the author, raised after the above method, certainly surpassed, both in quality and size, all that he ever saw before, or since.

Shallots if wanted early in the summer, may be taken up of a good size in June or July.

The author has been the more diffuse on the culture of this vegetable, on account of the frequent occurrence of a deficiency, arising from various unlooked for causes.

Sium, the botanic name of this plant is an old Latin word, the derivation of which is uncertain. It is classed with the water parsnip, but does not partake of any of the poisonous qualities of that herb; on the contrary, it forms a most nutritious vegetable, and would be more generally cultivated, were it not for the large space of ground required to raise a quantity for general use. It is distinguished by the specific sisarum. Skirret is a perennial plant, a native of China, and known in this country since the year 1548. The roots are composed of fleshy, oblong tubers, about the size of the little finger, and joined together in the crown or head. They were formerly much esteemed as an esculent, but are now laid aside to make room for roots of less value; for when cooked similarly to salsafie, or served up with plain butter, they are declared by many to be the whitest, sweetest, and pleasantest of roots, besides containing a considerable portion of nourishment.

Culture. The soil in which the skirret thrives is similar to that advised for salsafie, viz. light and sandy; but if of rather a moist nature so much the better. It may be raised either by seeds or slips from the roots; but the first is much the best method, as in the latter mode the roots are apt to become sticky and fibrous.

The seeds should not be sown before the second week in April, otherwise the plants are liable to run to seed in the early part of summer. Sow either in broad-cast over the surface of a four-feet bed, for