SAGASTA 



5140 



SAGINAW 



SAGASTA, sahgahs'tah, PRAXEDES M\TK> 

 (1827-1903), a Spanish statesman and political 

 leader who served his country during a critical 

 period of its history. He began his career as a 

 civil engineer. From the time he was elect nl 

 to the Cortes of 1854 he held at various times 

 the offices of Minister of the Interior, President 

 of the Corn >. Minister of Foreign Affairs and 

 Premier. Twice he was forced to flee to 

 France, because of his prominence in the insur- 

 rections of 1856 and 1866. When events in 

 Cuba were rapidly approaching a crisis, he was 

 called to the head of affairs, and the unfavor- 

 able result of his earnest efforts to prevent war 

 with the United States led to his resignation in 

 1899. He again assumed office in 1901 and re- 

 signed a year later when Alfonso XIII attained 

 his majority. 



SAGE, sayj, an herb of the mint family, 

 cultivated for its aromatic stems and leaves, 

 the flavor of which is due to an essential oil. 

 Sage leaves are brewed to make a tea which 

 has long been regarded as a standard household 

 tonic and as an aid to digestion, and the plant 

 is widely used to flavor sauces, dressings and 

 cheese. There are numerous species of sage, 

 both wild and cultivated. The common garden 

 sage is a shrubby plant with rough, gray-green 

 leaves and square stems. The flowers, which 

 are blue with white and purple variations, grow 

 in clusters. This plant can be propagated 

 easily by slips or cuttings if grown in dry soil. 

 Meadow sage, a blue-flowered species native to 

 most parts of Europe, is cultivated as an orna- 

 mental plant in various parts of the United 

 States. See MINT. 



SAGE, RUSSELL (1816-1906), an American 

 financier who acquired a fortune of $50,000,000 

 in railroad operations and stock speculation. 

 He was born in Shenandoah, N. Y. His first 

 great success was in company with Jay Gould, 

 the greatest railroad manipulator of his time. 

 Sage served his community in minor political 

 offices and in 1853 was elected as a Whig to 

 Congress, where he served two terms. The 

 remainder of his long life was spent as a finan- 

 cier. He was a self-centered, austere man who 

 made few friends and cared nothing for the 

 criticism of his enemies. At his death his en- 

 tire fortune was left to his wife, to dispose of 

 as she pleased. See RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION. 



Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage (1828-1918), 

 wife of Russell Sage, was born at Syracuse, 

 N. Y., and educated at the Troy Female Semi- 

 nary. After the death of her husband she be- 

 came known as one of America's greatest 



philanthropists. The Russell Sage Foundation, 

 established by her in 1907, "for the improve- 

 ment of social and living conditions in tlu> 

 United States," has an endowment fund of 

 $10,000,000. Out of this fund model apartments 

 have been built in New York City and its sub- 

 . urbs, and other work has been done along chari- 

 table, social and educational lines. Forest Hill 

 Gardens, on Long Island, has been established 

 as a model suburban community, and Marsh 

 Island, in the Gulf of Mexico, has been pur- 

 chased as a home for birds. 



SAGEBRUSH, sayj 'brush, a group of dry, 

 shrubby plants belonging to the Composite 

 family, several species of which are found on 

 the alkaline plains of Western United States. 

 The profuse growth of sagebrush in Nevada has 

 given rise to the popular name 

 Sagebrush State for that com- 

 monwealth, and Nevada's flower 

 emblem is the sagebrush. The 

 typical species grows from six to 

 twelve feet in height and has a 

 straight, stiff stem, on which grow 

 in close profusion small, wedge- 

 shaped leaves with from three to 

 seven notches. The flowers, which 

 consist of many tiny florets, grow 

 at the top of the branches. 

 Though the two plants are not 

 related, some species of sage- 

 brush look like sage, and are 

 known by such names as silvery 

 sage, black sage and white sage. 

 Some varieties of sagebrush form 

 the winter forage of sheep on 

 the Western ranges, and in some 

 sections the settlers use the 

 plants for fuel. 



In the arid summer season on 

 the plains the sagebrush dries un- 

 til it shows no sign of green; 

 when the high winds blow it fre- 

 quently pulls loose and drifts 

 over the plains in masses not un- 

 like tumbleweed. Over thou- 

 sands and thousands of square 

 miles it is the characteristic, al- BRUSH 

 most the only, form of vegetation. STALK 



SAGE GROUSE, grous. See GROUSE. 



SAGHALIEN, sahgahlyen', ISLAND, the 

 Japanese possession now known as Sakhalin 

 (which see). 



SAG'INAW, MICH., the third largest city 

 in the state, next in size to Detroit and Grand 

 Rapids, and the county seat of Saginaw 



