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You might want to plant sage near your cabbages and carrots, since it is supposed to protect them from the white cabbage butterfly and the carrot fly. Cucumbers, on the other hand, don't like this herb.
That wasn't all it assuaged. This herb treated virtually every disease known to man. An infusion was used as a gargle for sore throat, inflamed tonsils, or canker sores, and to prevent excess saliva. The tea relieved hoarseness and coughs, lung, liver, and kidney problems, head and joint aches. It also soothed the nerves, improved the memory, and cooled fevers. A wash of black tea and sage applied to the scalp is supposed to darken the hair and eliminate dandruff. A sage poultice will stop bleeding, cleanse sores, and relieve inflammation or itching. The herb has also been employed to halt the milk flow in nursing mothers and to end profuse sweating. In the Language of Flowers, sage stood for "domestic virtue," flavoring ales and cheeses as well as meats. In Mill on the Floss, Eliot compares a bonnet to "a sage cheese garnished with withered lettuces." Sage leaves were often eaten in a bread-and-butter sandwich as a spring tonic. On second thought, perhaps it is not a bad thing to associate sage with Thanksgiving. That holiday is, after all, the day when we remember to be grateful for the often over-looked and life-sustaining "domestic virtues" of home and family. "Sage, properly prepared," wrote Sir John Hill, "will retard that rapid progress of decay that treads upon our heels so fast in the latter years of life. . .and make the lamp of life, so long as nature lets it burn, burn brightly." Who could ask more from an herb than that?
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