Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/318

 312 LEEDS LEEK ings. Two stone bridges and four of iron cross the river, on the S. side of which are the ex- tensive suburbs of Holbeck and Hunslet. The streets are well paved and the sidewalks flagged and lighted with gas, and an abundant supply of water is conveyed from the Harewood hills, 5 or 6 m. distant. There are many handsome public buildings, especially the town hall, com- pleted in 1858. Improvements are in steady progress. The largest buildings are the cloth halls, in which the cloth markets are held, the commercial buildings, three market houses, the corn exchange, the court house, with a bronze statue of Sir Robert Peel in front of it, the town hall, the stock exchange, the jail, the cavalry barracks, &c., and the places of public amuse- ment. Many of the churches are large and elegant buildings. In 1871 there were 225 places of worship, of which 73 belonged to the church of England. The Leeds free grammar school, founded in 1552, is endowed with an income of about 2,000 per annum. The indus- trial school at Burmantofts, opened In 1848, is a large and very complete establishment, the buildings forming a capacious and ornamental Elizabethan pile, and the grounds covering six acres. Leeds possesses an excellent library founded' by Dr. Priestley in 1768; the library and museum of the literary and philosophical society ; a mechanics' institution, a school of design, a medical school, &c. The charitable institutions are: the Leeds infirmary with 150 beds, the house of recovery for fever patients, a dispensary, an eye and ear infirmary, a lying- in hospital, and several almshouses for the poor and aged. Leeds is particularly distinguished for its musical festivals. In woollen manufac- tures it now surpasses all other English cities, and more leather is tanned here than at any other place in the British empire. For a long time only the coarser kinds of woollens were manufactured, but cloths are now produced which for fineness and colors cannot be sur- passed. About 12,000 persons are employed in the woollen manufacture in more than 100 factories; about an equal number of persons are employed in flax spinning and weaving. Nearly a quarter of the whole population are employed in the various manufactories. Not- withstanding this increased prosperity, there is still much pauperism. No other town in Eng- land is so admirably situated for trade, being placed in the heart of the inland navigation of the country. It communicates with the sea eastward by means of the Aire and Calder navigation to the Humber, and westward by the Leeds and Liverpool canal to the Mersey. The warehouses of the Aire and Calder com- pany are of great dimensions, and there are convenient docks. Leeds is also the centre of a network of railways converging to it from all parts of the country, and placing it in con- n action with every important town of the kingdom. In the surrounding district there are more than 100 collieries. About 2 m. from Leeds are the ruins of Kirkstall abbey. LEEK (allium porrum*), a plant of the same genus with the onion, a native of the shores of the Mediterranean, and naturalized in other parts of Europe. It has been long in cultiva- tion, and was probably known to the ancient Egyptians. Like the onion it is a biennial, but differs from that in having flat leaves, and in not forming a large flattened bulb ; in the leek the lower part of the plant, which may be re- garded as an elongated nearly cylindrical bulb, is the edible portion, the size of which is in- creased in cultivation by drawing the earth up around it. The seeds are sown in spring in very rich ground, and the plant is given the same cultivation as the onion, and is ready for use in the fall. Leeks cannot, like the onion, be kept in the dry state, but if required for use during winter must be preserved in trenches, like celery. In mild climates they may pass the winter in the open ground without protec- tion. The second year the plant throws up a stem 2 to 3 ft. high, which bears an umbel of Leek. white flowers marked with purple. Though the odor and flavor of the leek are decidedly alliaceous, they are very distinct from those of the onion ; and it is much used, especially by Europeans, as an ingredient in soups and stews. The dish "cock-a-leekie," known at least by name to the readers of Scott, is a favorite with the Scotch ; it consists of an old fowl stewed to tenderness with an abundance of leeks. Several native and one introduced species of allium are known to farmers as wild leek and wild garlic. They are objectionable in pas- tures, as they impart to the milk and butter from the cows which feed upon them a most disagreeable odor. One species which occurs in wheat fields, bears small bulblets instead of seeds ; these are not much larger than a grain of wheat, and when mixed with the grain in- jure the flour. Good cultivation and a proper rotation of crops are the only remedy.