SHALLOT (Allium ascalonicum). A hardy perennial, native of Palestine. It has been cultivated, from a very remote period, for the use of its bulbs for seasoning culinary preparations, and for pickling; the leaves are also sometimes eaten when they are young and green. Shallots may be readily propagated each year by dividing the bulbs or cloves, and planting them separately. Rich soil is desirable, but it should not be purposely manured for this crop if a piece of land is available which has been enriched during the previous year for something else. Single cloves should be planted, not deeply, in autumn or at the end of February, about 4in. or 6in. apart. The plants need but little attention through the summer beyond keeping the ground free from weeds. When the leaves turn yellow, about July, the bulbs may be pulled up, dried in the sun for a few days, and then stored for use, in a similar way to Onions, in any rather dry shed from which frost is merely excluded. There are two or three varieties of Shallot in cultivation. The true one has elongated bulbs, narrowed to a long point; it keeps well, and seldom runs to seed. A form or variety known as the Russian, or Large Red, has very large bulbs of a reddish-brown colour. The Jersey Shallot has larger and much rounder bulbs than the true variety; it does not keep so long, and the plants flower and produce seeds more frequently.