Relative Sizes of
Holt's Mammoth and Common
Sage Leaves
For cultivation with hand-wheel hoes the plants in the rows should not stand closer than 2 inches at first. As soon as they touch, each second one should be removed and this process repeated till, when growing in a commercial way, each alternate row has been removed. Finally, the plants should be 12 to 15 inches apart. For cultivation by horse the rows will need to be farther apart than already noted; 18 to 24 inches is the usual range of distances. When grown on a large scale, sage usually follows field-grown lettuce, early peas or early cabbage. If not cut too closely or too late in the season sage plants stand a fair chance to survive moderate winters. The specimens which succeed in doing so may be divided and transplanted to new soil with little trouble. This is the common practice in home gardens, and is usually more satisfactory than growing a new lot of plants from seed each spring.
For drying or for decocting the leaves are cut when the flowers appear. They are dried in the shade. If a second cutting is to be made, and if it is desired that the plants shall live over winter, this second cutting must not be made later than September in the North, because the new stems will not have time to mature before frost, and the plants will probably winterkill.
Sage seed is produced in open cups on slender branches, which grow well above the leaves. It turns black when ripe. The stems which bear it should be cut during a dry afternoon as soon as the seeds are ripe and placed on sheets to cure; and several cuttings are necessary, because the seed ripens unevenly. When any one lot of stems on a sheet is dry a light flail or a rod will serve to beat the seed loose. Then small sieves and a gentle breeze will separate the seed from the trash. After screening the seed should be spread on a sheet in a warm, airy place for a week or so to dry still more before being stored in cloth sacks. A fair yield of leaves may be secured after seed has been gathered.
Uses.—Because of their highly aromatic odor sage leaves have long been used for seasoning dressings, especially to disguise the too great lusciousness of strong meats, such as pork, goose and duck. It is one of the most important flavoring ingredients in certain kinds of sausage and cheese. In France the whole herb is used to distill with water in order to secure essential oil of sage, a greenish-yellow liquid employed in perfumery. About 300 pounds of the stems and leaves yield one pound of oil.
Samphire (Crithmum maritimum, Linn.), a European perennial of the Umbelliferæ, common along rocky sea coasts and cliffs beyond the reach of the tide. From its creeping rootstocks short, sturdy, more or less widely branched stems arise. These bear two or three thick, fleshy segmented leaves and umbels of small whitish flowers, followed by yellow, elliptical, convex, ribbed, very light seeds, which rarely retain their germinating power more than a year. In gardens the seed is therefore generally sown in the autumn as soon as mature in fairly rich, light, well-drained loam. The seedlings should be protected with a mulch of straw, leaves or other material during winter. After the removal of the mulch in the spring no special care is needed in cultivation. The young, tender, aromatic and saline leaves and shoots are pickled in vinegar, either alone or with other vegetables.
Dainty Summer Savory