1870 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
303 
early in the morning, they are easily captured, 
but if left until the sun is warm, they take to 
flight as soon as one approaches. We have 
found clusters of yellow eggs upon the under 
surface of the leaves, which we suppose to be¬ 
long to this insect, at any rate, we thought it 
would be safe to crush them on suspicion. 
The Field Culture of Sage. 
ET PETER HENDERSON. 
I regret to have to differ with Mr. Gregory, of 
Marblehead, Mass., on the Culture of Sage, as 
described in his article in May last; but believ¬ 
ing that in' our system of culture there is a 
greater saving of labor, besides being produc¬ 
tive of larger crops than the system he recom¬ 
mends, I lay it before your readers. Instead of 
sowing the seed where the crop is to grow, as 
Mr. Gregory advises, we sow thickly in beds 
just as we sow seeds of celery, cabbage, or any 
other plant that requires transplanting. The 
space required for the seed is small, compared 
with the area the crop occupies in the field; and 
we are careful to prepare the bed for its recep¬ 
tion in the best manner, by thorough plowing, 
harrowing, and raking, until we get a level and 
even surface on which to sow. After sowing, 
the beds are deeply but evenly raked, so that 
the seed is covered an inch or so; we then either 
roll the beds, or pat down with the back of a 
spade. The time of sowing the seed with us is 
about the last week of April or first week of 
May. I am thus particular in detailing the way 
of starting the seed, as, unless plump and fresh, 
it does not germinate freely. The seed is sown 
about as thickly as we sow cabbage seeds, hav¬ 
ing them about half an inch apart; of course 
it is not practicable to do this exactly, but we 
try to come as near to it as we can. After the 
plants are half an inch high, the beds are gone 
over every ten or twelve days, and thoroughly 
cleared of weeds. By July the Sage will be 3 
or 4 inches high, and we then transplant it as a 
second crop on ground that has been previously 
manured at the rate of 50 tons to the acre, and 
from which has already been sold our spring 
crops of Beets, Radishes, Onions, Cabbages, etc. 
No further manuring is necessary for the Sage 
crop; all that is necessary is to again break up 
the ground well by plowing and harrowing.— 
The Sage is then set 'out, in rows one foot apart, 
and 8 or 9 inches between the plants. Now it is 
in thus transplanting, that I claim that our sys¬ 
tem saves labor, saves land, and saves manure; 
for if the seed is sown where it is to grow, as 
Mr. Gregory does it, every man who has ever 
grown the crop, knows that it must entail an 
immense amount of labor to keep the seedlings 
from getting choked by weeds ; for Sage seed is 
not only slow to germinate, but far slower in 
growth than most weeds, and must fight a very 
unequal battle with these sturdy enemies of the 
gaidener forat least two monthsof the summer* 
or, until such time as it can cover up the ground 
and crowd the weeds down, which would not 
usually be the case before August. But when, 
as in our case, it is transplanted, we have newly 
turned up soil to plant in, and the plants are set 
wide enough apart to allow our small steel rakes 
to pass between, so that comparatively little la¬ 
bor is needed to keep the crop clean ; nothing 
compared to- what it would be were the seeds 
sown so that the crop would be made without 
transplanting. 
Mi*. Gregory may claim that our labor in 
transplanting is equal to what it would be to 
clean the seed rows. An acre contains about 
50,000 plants, and costs us now about $10 to 
plant,—say $1.50 a day for men and 50 ct.s. for 
boys. An experienced planter, with a boy to 
drop the plants on the line, will plant 10,000 
per day, or about 1,000 plants per hour; this is 
the average, though I have hands who would 
plant 1,500 plants per hour. Now unless Mr. 
Gregory has some way of keeping weeds from 
growing that we have yet to learn, I can hardly 
think that it would take less than $50 to keep 
an acre of his Sage crop (when sown in seed 
rows,) clean for the six weeks that must inter¬ 
vene before ours is planted out at all, to say 
nothing of his ground practically lying idle, 
while ours has been bearing a spring crop. We 
claim also that this transplanting is better fitted 
to give a leafy growth and less of stem, than if 
the plants had not been disturbed ; as the tempo¬ 
rary check the plant receives tends to make it 
bush out. Another “kink” in our practice, and 
a very important one, which Mr. Gregory does 
not seem to be aware of, and one with which 
we not only improve our crop in quality, but 
add double to its weight, is cutting out every al¬ 
ternate row as soon as the ground is covered by 
the crop. Sown in May, transplanted in July, 
and set out one foot apart, by the middle of 
September the ground will be covered entirely, 
looking like a clover field; allow this mass to 
grow for another month as it is, and you would 
not increase the weight of leaves; the plants 
would grow taller, keeping the green and mar¬ 
ketable leaves on the top, but only yellow and 
withered ones and plenty of woody stems be- 
below. But by cutting out every alternate row, 
the remaining rows are allowed light and air, 
and in three or four weeks will have spread so as 
again to cover up the entire surface, from which 
half the crop has already been yathered. We 
treat Thyme in all respects the same as Sage; 
and I have seen both these herbs on rich soil 
not only meet when left 2 feet apart, but when 
again every other row at 2 feet apart was cut 
out, almost meet at 4 feet apart. 
By this method of cutting out every other 
row, fully a double crop is taken, and of a qual¬ 
ity superior to what it -would be were it allowed 
to grow without being thus thinned out. About 
18 years ago I was lucky enough to discover the 
importance of this plan of doubling our crops 
of herbs; and as I had not, in those days, began 
to tell “what I know about gardening,” I kept 
my own counsel for some years before my 
neighbors discovered the plan. 
Nearly all our herbs here are sold in the green 
state, tied two bunches together, so that they can 
be hung up in the stores of the butchers and 
grocers who retail them. One plant usually 
makes a bunch and a half; the average price is 
$1 per 100 bunches, and assuming 75,000 bunch¬ 
es to an acre, we thus have $750 gross receipts, 
which is a low average for highly cultivated 
grounds. I am often asked, by correspondents 
at a distance, in relation to the best way of sell¬ 
ing herbs in New York City. I will here say, 
that there is no certain sale that I know of, un¬ 
less they are in the green state. The season for 
selling is October, November, and December; 
and if shipped in open crates, so arranged by 
divisions of slats, that not more than 8 or 9 inch¬ 
es of a layer would be together, they could be 
shipped at that cool season to distances requir¬ 
ing fifty or sixty hours in the transit. 
Acii v KANTUiiS Lindenii.— In April last we 
figured a new bedding plant, Achyranthes Lin¬ 
denii. A trial of it in the open ground proves 
it to be a most valuable novelty. Its very dark, 
blackish-purple foliage is unlike that of any 
other with which we are acquainted. It stands 
the sun perfectly, and grows well. The figure 
referred to was taken from a weak green-house 
specimen, and gives no idea of the ereC and 
robust habit of the plant when grown out doers. 
--— a m —--- 
Sulphur for Mildew. 
The efficacy of sulphur in destroying and 
preventing mildew, is now well known, and it 
is the chief reliance of the vine-grower, whether 
lie cultivates under glass or in the open air. 
Where sulphuring is systematically followed, it 
is applied at least three times : just before the 
blossoming of the vines, after the fruit has set, 
and when it begins to color; and besides these 
stated periods it is applied whenever the appear¬ 
ance of mildew indicates that it is necessary. 
The mode of application, by La Yergne’s bel¬ 
lows, we have given in a former volume. The 
bellows may now be obtained at the implement 
and seed-stores. The character of the sulphur 
is of importance, as much of that found in com¬ 
merce is liable to contain acid, and be injurious 
to the foliage. An old sulphur refiner writes us, 
that in refining, much of the sulphur becomes 
so contaminated- with acid, that the India-rub¬ 
ber manufacturers, who use sulphur largely, re¬ 
ject it, aud that this acid sulphur finds its way 
into the market through the wholesale drug¬ 
gists. Sulphur is refined by converting it into 
vapor by heating, and then condensing the 
vapors. When the cooling of the sulphur vapor 
is properly managed, it condenses in the form of 
the fine powder known as the flowers of sul¬ 
phur. This process is called subliming. The 
melting point of sulphur is 258°, and the point 
at which it, lakes fire is 302°. If in the process 
of refining, the sulphur takes fire, sulphurous 
acid is produced—the fumes which are so disa¬ 
greeable when sulphur is burned. Sulphur con¬ 
taminated by acid may be detected by the taste, 
but a more delicate test is litmus paper. This 
is paper stained with a blue dye, which turns 
red when it is touched by acids; it is kept by 
the druggists. The sulphur to be tested is mix¬ 
ed with a little water and the paper wetted with 
the liquid. If the least trace of acid be present, 
it will be indicated by the change in color of 
the paper. Sometimes sulphur is not sublimed 
as above described, but the crude lumps are 
ground to powder in a mill. Sulphur thus pre¬ 
pared is free from acid. The acid sulphur is 
no doubt injurious to vegetation, and when that 
free from contamination cannot be procured, it 
may be purified by washing. The sulphur is 
placed in a convenient vessel, water poured on, 
and thoroughly stirred ; when the sulphur has 
settled, the water is poured off. This process is 
to be repeated with fresh portions of water un¬ 
til the washings, tested with litmus paper, no 
longer show the presence of acid. The sulphur, 
being drained, is dried, and, if lumpy, sifted. 
-- ■ —o—-- - 
A Native Crinum.—( Crinum Americanum.) 
The exotic species of Crinum are well-known, 
showy ornaments of hot-houses, and we have 
one, a native of Florida, which, if not so brill¬ 
iantly colored as the others, is a very pretty 
and interesting plant. This spring we received 
from Mr. C. L. Allen, of Brooklyn, a few nulbs 
of this Crinum, which allowed us to see it in 
flower. The flowers are from G to 8 inches long, 
and borne from tw r o to four together at the end 
of a stalk, which is a foot or more high; they 
are white, delicate in texture, and fragrant. The 
