uld 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.

[Illustration: Relative Sizes of Holt's Mammoth and Common Sage Leaves]

_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
Umbelliferae, common along rocky sea coasts and cliffs beyond the reach
of the tide. From its creeping rootstocks short,