OF SUNDRY HERBS 119 



on a handful of sage leaves, and when moderately cool add 

 a little vinegar and honey. Take a teaspoonful at a time ; 

 use also as a gargle. 



SAGE WINE. Take thirty pounds of Malaga raisins 

 picked clean and shred small, and one bushel of green sage 

 shred small ; then boil five gallons of water and let it stand 

 till it is lukewarm. Put into a tub the water, sage and 

 raisins, let it stand five or six days, stirring it two or three 

 times a day. Then strain and press the liquor from the 

 ingredients, put it in a cask and let it stand six months, 

 then draw it clean off into another vessel. Bottle it in 

 two days, and in a month or six weeks it will be fit to drink ; 

 but it is best when a year old. 



SAMPIRE 



" You cannot provide too much of this excellent in- 

 gredient in all crude sallads." John Evelyn, Acetaria, 1699. 



What would John Evelyn have said of our modern herb 

 gardens where no sampire is ever to be seen? It used to 

 be called St. Peter's herb, perhaps because it grows on 

 rocks. Sampire no longer grows on the cliffs which 

 Shakespeare describes in King Lear, but it is found in Corn- 

 wall, growing, as it is traditionally supposed to grow, just 

 out of the reach of the waves, but where the spray falls on 

 it. In Tudor days it was a favourite salad herb and was 

 grown in every garden. Gerard says of it : " Sampire is the 

 pleasant est sauce most familiar and best agreeing with man's 

 body." The young shoots may be eaten either fresh or 

 pickled. 



To PICKLE SAMPIRE. Take sampire that is green and 

 has a sweet smell, gathered in the month of May, pick it 

 well, lay it to soak in water and salt for two days, after- 

 wards put it into an earthen pot, and pour to it as much 

 white-wine vinegar as will cover it. Put it into a saucepan, 

 sit it over a gentle fire, cover it close, and let it stand till 

 it is green and crisp, but do not let it stand till it is soft 



