Feoceedings of the Farmers' Club. 513 



Gkowing Sage for Market. 



Mr. A. Ingraliam, Yirgil city, Mo., writes that lie has to pay one 

 dollar and forty cents a 2:>ound for dried sage, and thinks that its cul- 

 ture must be profitable, and he wishes to know how it is grown, how 

 to dry and prepare it for market, and what yield per acre may be 

 hoped for. 



Mr. J. B. Lyman. — 'Sage is a perennial plant, and shonld be grown 

 in rows and cultivated in the same manner as onions, the plants being 

 in small clusters about tvv'elve inches apai't in the rows, .with a distance 

 of two feet between the latter. Sage should be cut before the seed is 

 thoroughly ripe, and must be dried in the shade if the finest quality 

 is desired. In putting it up for market it is best to press it into 

 square cakes covered or wrapped with paper to keep out the air. The 

 price of the seed in JN^ew York city is three dollars a pound. 



Fertilizing for Wheat. 



Mr. Geo. M. Ilagans, Morgantown, W. Va., writes : I would like 

 to be informed of the effects of unleached ashes upon wheat, the 

 quantity per acre, manner of and time for application upon a mellow 

 and somevv^hat sandy loam. 



Mr. J. B. L3nnan. — The action of unleached ashes as a manure for 

 wheat would be the same as with other cereal grains, viz : To stimulate 

 the growth of straw and leaves, but in a minor degree the develop- 

 ment of the kernels. As to the quantity, anything less than a 

 hundred bushels to the acre will do no harm, provided it is sown 

 upon the land in the fall so that it may be intimately combined with 

 the soil by the action of the rain. The best way of applying ashes, 

 especially when a large quantity is used, is to spread them uniformly 

 by means of a broadcast seeding machine. "When guano or similar 

 manures are to be used upon the same land as the ashes, the latter 

 should be applied some time in advance of the manures, otherwise the. 

 ammonia will be liable to be discharged from its combinations by the 

 action of the uncomljined alkali of the unleached ash. 



Gathering Sumac. 



Several corresj^on dents speak concerning the gatheriug and drying 

 of sumac leaves for market, and ask for information as to how the 

 leaves can be disposed of. 



Mr. J. B. Lyman. — There is only one economical use for sumac 

 leaves, that of tanning leather ; and any good tanner, especially of 

 the finer grades of leather, should -be willing to pay a fair price for 



[Inst.] 33 



