424 OLERACEOUS PLANTS. 



of July, or first of August, they will have taken root, and 

 may be removed to the place where they are to remain. 



It may also be propagated by dividing the roots in spring 

 or autumn,, in the manner of other hardy shrubs. 



Gathering and Use. Sage should be gathered for drying 

 before the development of the flowering-shoots ; and, when 

 cultivated for its leaves, these shoots should be cut out as 

 they make their appearance. When thus treated, the product 

 is largely increased, as the leaves are put forth in much 

 greater numbers, and attain a larger size. 



It is sometimes treated as an annual, the seeds being 

 sown in April, in drills fourteen inches apart, and the plants 

 cut to the ground when they have made sufficient growth 

 for use. 



The leaves are employed, both in a green and dried state, 

 for seasoning stuffings, meats, stews, and soups. Sage is 

 also used for flavoring cheese, and, in the form of a decoction, 

 is sometimes employed for medical purposes. 



Species and Varieties. 



Broad- Stems shrubby, less erect and more downy 



leaved Green 



Sage. than those of the succeeding species ; the leaves 



BALSAMIC SAOE. . 



are comparatively large, broad, heart-shaped, 

 woolly, toothed on the margin, and produced on long foot- 

 stalks, those of the flower-stalks are oblong, sessile, and 

 nearly entire on the borders ; the flowers are small, pale blue, 

 and much less abundant than those of the Common Sage. 



It is rarely employed in cookery, but for medical pur- 

 poses is considered more efficacious than any other species 

 or variety. 



Common or This is the Common Sage of the garden, and 

 Bed-leaved. 

 PURPLE-TOP. with the Green-leaved, which is but a sub- 



RKD-TOP. SALVIA 



. variety, the most esteemed for culinary pur- 



