CULINARY HERBS 127 



drained soil of moderate fertility. For cultivation 

 on a large scale the soil should be plowed deeply and 

 allowed to remain in the rough furrows during the 

 winter, to be broken up as much as possible by the 

 frost. In the spring it should be fined for the crop. 

 Sage is easily propagated by division, layers and 

 cuttings, but these ways are practiced on an exten- 

 sive scale only with the Holt's Mammoth variety, 

 which produces no seed. For other varieties seed 

 is most popular. This is sown in drills at the rate of 

 two seeds to the inch and covered about Y^ inch 

 deep. At this rate and in rows 15 inches apart about 

 8 pounds of seed will be needed to the acre. 



Usually market gardeners prefer to grow sage as 

 a second crop. They therefore raise the plants in 

 nursery beds. The seed is sown in very early 

 spring, not thicker than already mentioned, but in 

 rows closer together, 6 to 9 inches usually. -From 

 the start the seedlings are kept clean cultivated 

 and encouraged to grow stocky. By late May or 

 early June the first sowings of summer vegetables 

 will have been marketed and the ground ready for 

 the sage. The ground is then put in good condi- 

 tion and the sage seedlings transplanted 6 or 8 

 inches apart usually. Clean cultivation is main- 

 tained until the sage has possession. 



When the plants meet, usually during late 

 August, the alternate ones are cut, bunched and sold. 

 At this time one plant should make a good bunch. 

 When the rows meet in mid-September, the alter- 

 nate rows are marketed, a plant then making about 

 two bunches. By the middle of October the final 



