100 FAKM-GAKDENIXG AND SEED-GEOWING. 



bronzed; very ornamental; fruit of medium size, rarely 

 over six inches in diameter, nearly round ; color black- 

 purple, which it retains until maturity. Its fitness for seed 

 is determined by shrinking of the skin when ripe. 



HERBS. 



The cultivation of the leading herbs is a business of 

 some magnitude with market-gardeners, and worthy the 

 attention of those who are remote from market, for in the 

 dry state they may be packed without risk, and shipped any 

 distance, and they will not be damaged if lightly packed 

 when green, provided they are not kept so long enough 

 to heat. Such as are generally grown are here described. 

 All herbs require a light rich soil, which should be made 

 fine on the surface, and generally well prepared. They 

 may be grown as second crops when intended for market, 

 by sowing in April and transplanting to th first cleared 

 ground. What is generally termed a bunch is about one 

 half as much as can be spanned by the thumb and forefin- 

 ger. This must be firmly bound at the bottom, and 

 usually two bunches are connected for convenience in 

 hanging up to dry. 



Sage, Mark rows one inch deep and fifteen inches 

 apart, in which deposit the seed moderately thin, covering 

 with a rake, gently pressing the earth. The young 

 plants may be set out fifteen inches apart, or they may be 

 thinned and left to grow where sown. The plants usual- 

 ly survive the winter, and may be parted and reset every 

 spring, which is the better plan in growing for seed. The 

 stems should be gathered just before blossoming, and the 

 crop may be cut twice in one season if grown early. 



It will generally give a fair yield of marketable leaves 

 after the seed has been cut. The seed is produced in open 

 cups on slender branches, growing above the leaves, and 

 when ripe, which may be known by its changing to black, 



