224 OLERACEOUS PLANTS. 



These may be sown on a gentle hot-bed in March, and the 

 plants set in the open ground in June, in rows eighteen inches 

 apart, and a foot asunder in the rows ; or the seeds may be 

 sown in April, where the plants are to remain, thinly, in 

 drills eighteen inches apart, and three-fourths of an inch 

 deep. When the plants are two inches high, thin them to a 

 foot apart in the rows, and, if needed, form fresh rows by 

 resetting the plants taken up in thinning. 



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 decoc- 

 tion, is sometimes employed for medical purposes. 



Varieties : 



Common or This is the Common Sage of the garden, 



and with the Green-leaved, which is but a 

 sub-variety, the most esteemed for culinary 

 purposes. The young stalks, the leaf-stems, 

 and the ribs and nerves of the leaves, are purple ; the young 

 leaves are also sometimes tinged with the same color, but 

 generally change by age to clear green. 



The Red-leaved is generally regarded as possessing a 

 higher flavor than the Green-leaved, and is preferred for 

 cultivation ; though the difference, if any really exists, is 

 quite unimportant. The productiveness of the varieties is 

 nearly the same. The leaves of the Green Sage are larger 



