SWEET HERBS 



. . . The leaves of Saint John's Wort seem to be pricked or 

 pinked very thick with little holes like the pores of a man's 

 skin. It is a sovereign remedy for any cut in the skin." 



Considering the basis upon which many of these medicinal 

 plants were selected, it is surprising, not that so few but that 

 so many have retained their ancient reputation. Dandelion, 

 Horehound, Liquorice, Mandrake, and Marsh Mallow are still 

 to be had among modern remedies. 



SAGE 



Salvia officinalis. 



A perennial sub-shrub, about two feet high, cultivated in gardens, but 

 not naturalized in this country. Southern Europe. 



Stem. — ^Woody, one to two feet high. 



Leaves. — Grayish-green, thick, oblong, entire, corrugated. 



Flowers. — Small, gaping, two -lipped, 

 blue variegated with white and purple, 

 borne on long terminal spikes, in distinct 

 whorls each composed of a few flowers. 



Calyx. — Tubular, striated, two-lipped. 



Corolla. — Hairy within, upper lip con- 

 cave; the lower three-lobed. 



Stamens. — Two; filament short, at the 

 summit an elongated thread-like body, one 

 end of which bears a one-celled anther. 



Ovary. — Deeply four-parted, ripening 

 into four seed-like akenes. 



A pleasant odor and certain medici- 

 nal qualities have given the Sage a high 

 rank among Sweet Herbs. Although 

 its domestic uses are not so many as 



formerly, it is still used to impart a peculiar flavor to sausage, 

 to the dressing of roast poultry, and to a certain kind of cheese. 



That domestic materia medica in which boneset and catnip hold 

 an honored place also includes the Sage. An infusion of the 



Sip 



Sage. Sdlvia officinalis 



