CULINARY HERBS 8l 



Stand in the garden, cuttings may be made at in- 

 tervals of two or three weeks all through the season. 



Clary {Salvia sclarea, Linn,), a perennial herb of 

 the natural order Labiatse. The popular name is a 

 corruption of the specific. In the discussion on 

 sage will be found the significance of the generic 

 name. Syria is said to be the original home of 

 clary, but Italy is also mentioned. The presump- 

 tion is in favor of the former country, as it is the 

 older, and the plant was probably carried westward 

 from it by soldiers or merchants. In England clary 

 was known prior to 1538, when Turner published 

 his garden lore, but in America, except in foreigners' 

 gardens, it is rarely seen. It has been listed in 

 seedsmen's catalogs since 1806. 



Description. — The large, very broad, oblong, ob- 

 tuse, toothed, woolly haired, radical leaves are gray- 

 ish green and somewhat rumpled like those of Savoy 

 cabbage. From among them rise the 2-foot tall, 

 square, branching, sparsely leaved stems, which dur- 

 ing the second year bear small clusters of lilac or 

 white showy flowers in long spikes. The smooth 

 brown or marbled shining seeds retain their ger- 

 minating power for three years. 



Cultivation. — The plants thrive in any well- 

 drained soil. Seed may be sown during March in 

 drills 18 inches apart where the plants are to remain 

 or in a seedbed for transplanting 18 inches asunder 

 in May. Clean cultivation is needed throughout the 

 summer until the plants have full possession of the 

 ground. In August the leaves may be gathered, 

 and if this harvest be judiciously done the produc- 



