Leek

Leek (Allium Porrum of some; see ALLIUM), a biennial plant, believed now by many of the best authorities to be a cultivated variety of the British species Allium Ampeloprasum, a well-known biennial species of the Onion family, much esteemed for culinary purposes. In gardens much attention is given to its cultivation. The more liberal the culture the more delicate and tender is the produce; therefore it is generally grown in trenches, which have a liberal supply of manure dug into them in the same way as celery. The stems are blanched by earthing up, which increases their delicacy. Scotland is famous for the splendid quality of its leeks, and Musselburgh is the centre in which the most approved kinds are grown for seed-saving. Seeds grown there have a special commercial value, which is due entirely to care, year after year, in selecting only the best types for the purpose of seed-saving. St David, patron saint of Wales, is credited with having advised the Britons, on the eve of a battle with the Saxons, to wear leeks in their caps, so as easily to distinguish friends from foes, and thus to have helped to secure a great victory. Hence the Welsh custom of wearing leeks in their hats on St David's Day. See Shakespeare's Henry V.