1596 



SAGE 



SAGE (Salvia officinalis). For at least three cen- 

 turies this shrubby, fibrous-rooted perennial from 

 southern Europe has been widely cultivated in kitchen 

 gardens for its aromatic, whitish green, wrinkled, oval 

 leaves. These are arranged oppositely on ascending or 

 decumbent branching stems which seldom exceed 18 in. 

 in height. In early summer the upper parts of these 

 bear generally blue, though sometimes pink or white 

 flowers, followed by almost black spheroidal seeds borne 

 in the open cups. The name Salvia is derived from 

 salvo, to save, in reference to the plant's use in ancient 

 medicine; the name sage, from its supposed power to 

 make people wise by strengthening the memory. In 

 modern medicine it is but little used. In domestic 

 practice it is, however, credited with tonic, sudorific, 

 carminative, anthelmintic and stomachic properties, 

 and is frequently used as a gargle for aphthous affec- 

 tions of the mouth and pharynx. Its pleasant, though 

 powerful-smelling, bitterish leaves are used for flavor- 

 ing sausages and some kinds of cheese, for seasoning 

 soups and stews, but mainly for dressings with lus- 

 cious, strong meats such as pork, goose and duck. 

 Among culinary herbs it ranks first in America, being 

 more widely cultivated than any other except parsley, 

 which is more largely employed for garnishing than as 

 a flavoring agent. When possible the young leaves 

 should be used fresh, for unless carefully dried they 

 lose much of their aroma, which is due to a volatile 

 oil and which even with careful curing rapidly dissi- 

 pates. For best results the shoots should be gathered 

 before flower-stems develop, because they are then 

 richer and because later cuttings may be made. For 

 drying upon a commercial scale, since this plan is 

 thought to involve too much labor, the plants are cut in 

 August if seed has been sown early, and the stumps, if 

 not too short, produce again in late autumn ; or if grown 

 as a secondary crop, which is the common way, they are 

 cut only once namely, in autumn. Plants grown from 

 cuttings (see below) will often produce three crops in a 

 season. Upon a small scale a warm, airy room is best 

 for drying, the plants being either laid loosely upon 

 racks or the floor, or hung from the ceiling and walls. 

 Upon a larger scale a fruit evaporator with a steady 

 current of warm air at about 100 F. may be used. 

 After drying, the leaves are rubbed to a powder and 

 stored in air-tight vessels. 



Sage does best in an open, sunny aspect and a well- 

 drained, mellow loam of medium texture, rich in humus 

 and nitrogenous matter. Stable manure or a fertilizer 

 containing potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen should 

 be applied before the plowing, if done in the spring. 

 Fall plowing is generally preferred where Sage alone is 

 to occupy the land. In each case plowing should be as 

 deep as the surface soil will profitably permit. Thorough 

 fining of the soil must precede, and clean cultivation 

 follow planting, the plants being set in drills about 

 15 in. apart and 10 in. asunder for manual cultivation or 

 18-21 in. apart and 10 in. asunder for power cultivation. 

 The former method is, as a rule, more profitable though 

 more laborious. After harvesting (see above) if the 

 bed is to be permanent, northern plantations should be 

 mulched with marsh hay or other material free from 

 weed seeds. For gard'en practice it is common to divide 

 the clumps biennially, since the plants become straggling 

 if left longer. Upon a commercial scale, however, it is 

 better to rely upon cuttings or seedlings. Propagation 

 may be effected by seed, cuttings, layers or division. 

 Seed, the vitality of which lasts three years, may be 

 drilled thinly in flats in greenhouse, hotbed or cold- 

 frame in early spring; or out of doors, as soon as the 

 ground becomes dry enough, in specially prepared beds 

 of fine soil, covering them about % in. deep. In the 

 former case the plants must be pricked out and hard- 

 ened off to render them stocky and hardy before trans- 

 planting; in the latter, they are taken directly to the 

 field. This operation may be performed from mid -June 

 until late July, the plants being not less than 2-3 in. 

 tall. The former method, which is considered the 

 better, is the common commercial practice. Cuttings 

 may be of mature or of immature wood. With each, 

 shade and moisture are essential to success. Mature 

 wood cuttings, made in early spring, should be ready 



:the neld in less than six weeks; immature, taken 



SAGITTARIA 



from outside shoots just before they would form 

 blossom heads, are left in the cutting bed until the fol- 

 lowing year. Such plants are usually more prolific 

 than those grown from mature wood or from spring 

 seedlings, and are, therefore, best when Sage alone is 

 to occupy the land. But when it is to follow some early 

 vegetable, mature wood cuttings or seedling plants will 

 probably be found best, though little or nothing can be 

 cut before September. As practiced by market-garden- 

 ers in the vicinity of New York each of the above 

 methods has its advocates, but practically all agree upon 

 the plowing and harrowing of the ground in June or 

 July after harvesting an early crop, such as beets, cab- 

 bage or peas. About twice in the three weeks after 

 setting the plants the field is raked to destroy sprouting 

 weeds and to keep the surface loose, after which, if 

 well done, but slight hoeing is necessary. In Septem- 

 ber, when the plants crowd each other, each alternate- 

 plant or low of plants is cut for sale and the remainder 

 allowed to fill the space. At the first cutting each plant 

 should make about two marketable bunches; at the 

 second at least three. This practice not only insures 

 plants full of leaves at each cutting but at least double 

 the quantity in the end. 



In America the green, broad-leaved varieties are in 

 far greater demand than the colored and the narrow- 

 leaved kinds. The best variety known to the writer is 

 Holt Mammoth, which is exceptionally prolific of largo- 

 leaves. It is said to produce no seed. ^ Q KAINS 



SAGE BRUSH. Species of Artemisia. 

 SAGE, JERUSALEM. See Phlomis. 



SAGENIA (derivation unknown). Polypodidcece. A 

 genus of ferns, mostly of large and coarse habit, with 

 superior reniform or heart-shaped indusia fixed by the 

 sinus, as in Dryopteris, but with veins uniting freely to 

 form areoles with free included veinlets. About 25 

 species are known, largely from the East Indies, a few 

 from tropical America. 



decurrens, Presl. Leaf-stalks narrowly winged from 

 a creeping rootstock: Ivs. 2-4 ft. long, 1 ft. or more 

 wide, cut down to a winged rachis and with 4-8 pairs of 

 pinnse 6-12 in. long, 1-2 in. wide: sori large, in two 

 regular rows between the principal veins. India to 

 Polynia- L. M. UNDERWOOD. 



SAGlNA (Latin, fatness; perhaps alluding to the 

 forage value. Caryophyllaceie. PEAKLWOKT. About 

 8 species of annual or perennial tufted herbs, mostly 

 from the temperate regions of the world. Lvs, 

 awl - shaped : fls. small, usually comparatively long- 

 stemmed; sepals 4-5; petals 4-5, entire or slightly 

 emarginate, minute or none; stamens equal in number 

 to the sepals or twice as many: ovary 1-loculed, many- 

 seeded: styles of the same number as the sepals and 

 alternate with them. 



subulata, Wimm. (S. pilifera, Hort. Sptrcjula pil- 

 tfera, Hort. Spirgula subulata, Sw. ). PEARLWORT. 

 An evergreen, hardy, densely tufted little plant, cov- 

 ering the ground like a sheet of moss: Ivs. very small, 

 stiff, aristate on the margin, linear: stems branching- 

 and creeping: fls. white, studded all over the plant on 

 long,very slender peduncles. July-Sept. Corsica. R.H 

 1896, p. 435. R.B. 20:153.-Var. aurea has Ivs. marked 

 with yellow. A good rock-plant in shady places. Cult, 

 similar to Arenaria. Prop, by division. 



F. W. BARCLAY. 



SAGITTARIA (Sagitta is Latin for arrow). Alis- 

 maceai. ARROWHEAD. A small genus of very variable 

 aquatic plants, the number of species depending on the 

 point of view of eacl* author. Nearly or quite 100 spe- 

 cific names occur in the genus, but Micheli, the latest 

 monographer (DC. Monogr. Phaner. 3) reduces the 

 species to 13, four of which are doubtful. In his mono- 

 graph of the American forms (6th Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard.) 

 Jared G. Smith admits 21 species. The present ten- 

 dency amongst American writers is to recognize several 

 rather than few species. In common with most aquatic 

 plants, they are widely distributed. They occur in 

 many parts of the world, in both temperate and tropical 



