There are many allusions to the use of garlic contained in classic authors — garlic-sellers, garlic-cake shopkeepers, the garlicking of cocks to heat them for combat, garlic-growers. Garlic in Greek is scorodon or scordon ; the knobs are gelgides ; onion is hromyon, which may have led to kromeshj ; leek is prason. The adjective used by Linne for the rocambole, scorodoprasum, is also an originally Greek word, and signifies a plant of the taste of garlic and leek combined. A fabulous people were called the garlic- fighters, scorodomachoi. The aversion to garlic, therefore, reported as having existed amongst the Greeks was, as in our days, confined to the upper classes, and did not affect the lower. Dumas describes the very air of the South of France, par- ticularly of Proven9e, to be perfumed with the refined essence of the bulb of mystic power of attraction, and the same perfume is throughout many parts of the Continent diagnostic of the proximity of Semitic admirers of the bulb, who might have brought the culte to Egypt, or acquired it there even without the aid of the Captivity and the Exodus. The plants of the Allium tribe have yielded some note- worthy results to comparative botanical research and chemical analysis. The bulbs of garhc are the richest in solids, namely, 35’35 per cent., of which 6’76 per cent, are nitrogenized matter, 26’31 per cent, principles free from nitrogen ; 64'65 per cent, of the bulbs are water. Next to garlic comes the pearl onion, with water, 70T8 per cent. ; nitrogenized substance, 2’68 per cent. ; sugar, 5‘78 per cent. THE ONION, LEEK, AND GARLIC TRIBE 349 (of sugar garlic shows but a trace) ; other carbo-hydrates and matters free from nitrogen, 19'91 per cent. The rose- coloured onion contains 85 ‘99 per cent., and leek 87 '62 per cent., of water. The Alliacese contain from 5 to 10 per cent, of ash, and in this from 3-46 to 17‘72 per cent, silica, a feature in which they resemble the graminaceous plants. Pearl onions in July weighed on an average 6'2 grm. each. Pale red, so-called rosy onions, weighed at the end of November 45 grm., while plants from the same field at the end of August weighed 19‘9 grm. Of leeks, of which the average weight had been 45 grm. (15’09 per cent, roots, 30T8 per cent, bulb, 54 '73 per cent, leaves), the practically usable bulb weighed in the middle of October 13*6 grm. ; therefore, out of 45 grm., only 13 '6 grm. are available for eating, or 30 per cent. Of garlic a compound bulb weighed in the mean at the end of December 19'7 grm. The alliaceous and cruciferous plants are distinguished by active smelling and tasting principles, which are isolated as oils. Oil of garlic is obtained from garlic by distillation with water, and sinks in water ; it is yellow, very volatile, of powerful odour, sharp taste, and reddens the skin. It occurs in the roots and seeds of several other plants, mostly mixed with oil of onions, and can be prepared from oil of mustard. One hundred pounds of garlic bulbs yield 3 oz. to 4 oz. of oil. The oil contains no oxygen, but much sulphur, and when distilled by itself takes up oxygen and decom- poses, but when distilled with water-vapour, or rectified over potassium, which absorbs any oxygen, some pure oil is obtained. When oil of mustard is heated with persulphide of potassium, persiolphide of ally I is formed, and sublimes.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

There are many allusions to the use of garlic contained in classic authors — garlic-sellers, garlic-cake shopkeepers, the garlicking of cocks to heat them for combat, garlic-growers. Garlic in Greek is scorodon or scordon ; the knobs are gelgides ; onion is hromyon, which may have led to kromayon ; leek is prason. The adjective used by Linne for the rocambole, scorodoprasum, is also an originally Greek word, and signifies a plant of the taste of garlic and leek combined. A fabulous people were called the garlic- fighters, scorodomachoi. The aversion to garlic, therefore, reported as having existed amongst the Greeks was, as in our days, confined to the upper classes, and did not affect the lower. Dumas describes the very air of the South of France, particularly of Provence, to be perfumed with the refined essence of the bulb of mystic power of attraction, and the same perfume is throughout many parts of the Continent diagnostic of the proximity of Semitic admirers of the bulb, who might have brought the culte to Egypt, or acquired it there even without the aid of the Captivity and the Exodus. The plants of the Allium tribe have yielded some noteworthy results to comparative botanical research and chemical analysis. The bulbs of garlic are the richest in solids, namely, 35’35 per cent., of which 6’76 per cent, are nitrogenized matter, 26’31 per cent, principles free from nitrogen ; 64'65 per cent, of the bulbs are water. Next to garlic comes the pearl onion, with water, 70'8 per cent. ; nitrogenized substance, 2’68 per cent. ; sugar, 5‘78 per cent. THE ONION, LEEK, AND GARLIC TRIBE (of sugar garlic shows but a trace) ; other carbo-hydrates and matters free from nitrogen, 19'91 per cent. The rosecoloured onion contains 85 ‘99 per cent., and leek 87 '62 per cent., of water. The Alliacese contain from 5 to 10 per cent, of ash, and in this from 3-46 to 17‘72 per cent, silica, a feature in which they resemble the graminaceous plants. Pearl onions in July weighed on an average 6'2 grm. each. Pale red, so-called rosy onions, weighed at the end of November 45 grm., while plants from the same field at the end of August weighed 19‘9 grm. Of leeks, of which the average weight had been 45 grm. (15’09 per cent, roots, 30'8 per cent, bulb, 54 '73 per cent, leaves), the practically usable bulb weighed in the middle of October 13*6 grm. ; therefore, out of 45 grm., only 13 '6 grm. are available for eating, or 30 per cent. Of garlic a compound bulb weighed in the mean at the end of December 19'7 grm. The alliaceous and cruciferous plants are distinguished by active smelling and tasting principles, which are isolated as oils. Oil of garlic is obtained from garlic by distillation with water, and sinks in water ; it is yellow, very volatile, of powerful odour, sharp taste, and reddens the skin. It occurs in the roots and seeds of several other plants, mostly mixed with oil of onions, and can be prepared from oil of mustard. One hundred pounds of garlic bulbs yield 3 oz. to 4 oz. of oil. The oil contains no oxygen, but much sulphur, and when distilled by itself takes up oxygen and decomposes, but when distilled with water-vapour, or rectified over potassium, which absorbs any oxygen, some pure oil is obtained. When oil of mustard is heated with persulphide of potassium, persulfide of allyl is formed, and sublimes.

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