A 



v.e 



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fcarce khoWn^ eSccept to thofe v/ho dell in it :^ the 



quantity of thiij which is annually confumed in Eng- 



knd is fo great, as to make a very confiderable article 



in trade, lb that it might be very well worthy pf the 



public attention •, for although the feeds feldom come 



to perfection in England, yet thefe might be annually 



procured from' abroad, and the plants would con- 



ftantly produce the flower, which is the only part 



ufeful. A few years paft I fent a fmall parcel of the 



feeds of this plant to South Carolina, where I \yas 



afterward informed it grew amazingly, for in fix 



weeks after the feeds were fown, the crop of Safflower 



was fit to cut, and the gentleman to" whom the feeds 



were given, fentfome of the commodity to his brother 



in London, who was fo kind as to fend me a fpe- 



cimen of it, with an account that the dyers complained 



of its want of colour i and upon examining it, I found 



the florets were drawn out of their empalements the 



whole length, fo that their tails which had been in- 

 cluded in their covers were white, and being mixed 



together gave the whole a pale appearance ; upon this 



I wrote to the gentleman to defire he would cut off 



the upper part of the florets with fcifiars, which would 



be eafier performed, but have heard nothing from 



him fince j however, a year or two after I received a 



letter from his excellency Governor Lyttleton, in 



which he wrote that the Safflower bid fair to prove 



one of their great branches of commerce, but how it 



has turned out I have not fmce heard. 



This plant is cultivated in great plenty, in fome parts 



of Germany, where the feeds conllantly come to 



perfedion ; and as I have obtained a fhort account 



of their method of cultivation, from a curious gen- 

 tleman of that country, fo I Ihall infert it for the be- 

 nefit of thofe who may be induced to engage in this 



undertaking. 

 - The ground in which they propofe to fow the Car- 

 = thamus, has always a double fallow given to it, firfl: 



to defl:roy the weeds, and afterward to make it fine. 

 ■ They make choice of their lightefl land, and fuch as 



is clear from Couch Grafs, and other troublefome 

 ' weeds. After the land has been fallowed a fummer 



and winter, in which time they give it four plough- 



ings, and harrow it between each, to break the clods, 



and pulverize it : in the latter end of March they give I thefe have a regular upright growth. . \ r- 



it the lafl: ploughing, when they lay it in narrow I When they are cultivated for this purpofe, the feeds 



time gathered, It is dried in a kiln for ufe. The: 

 is ufually a fucccflion of flowers for fix or fevcn 

 weeks. After the crop is gathered, the ftalks arc 

 pulled, and tied in bundles for fuel j and when thev 

 have been fet up a few days to dr)', they are carried 

 off, and the ground is ploughed for Wheats which 

 they fay, always fucceeds well after this plant. 

 The good quality of this commodity is chiefly in the 

 colour, which fhould be of a bright Saffron colour, 

 and herein that which is cultivated in England often 

 fails ; for if there happens much rain during the 

 time the plants are in flower, it will caufe the florets 

 to change to a dark or dirty yellow, which will alfo 

 befal that which is gathered when there is any moifture 

 remaining upon it; therefore great care muft be 

 taken not to gather it till the dew is quite dried off, 

 ,nor Ihould it be preffed together till it has been dried 

 on the kiln. The manner of doing this being the fame 

 as for the true Saffron, I fliall not mention it here, 



. but defire the reader to turn to the article Crocus, 



^where that is fully treated. 



In Spain this plant is cultivated in their gardens, as 

 Marigolds are in England, to put into their foups, 

 olios, and other dilhes, to give them a colour. The 

 Jews alfo are very fond of this, and mix it in molt 

 of their viands ■, and it is very probable they were the 



perfons who firfl: carried the feeds of this plant to 

 America, and taught the inhabitants the ufe of it, for 

 it is now as commonly vifed by the Englilh there, as 

 in any part of Europe. 



This plant may be admitted to have a place in the 

 borders of large gardens, where it will add to the 

 variety, during the time of its continuance in flower, 

 which is commonly two months, or ten weeks ; for 

 if the feeds are fown in the beginning of April, the 

 firfl; flowers will appear in the middle of July atfar- 

 thefl: ; and there will be a fucceffion of flowers on the 

 fide branches, till the end of September, or in mild 

 warm feafons till the middle of Oftober, durino- which 

 ■ time the plants will not be deftitute of flowers; which 

 being of a bright Saffron colour, make a pretty ap- 

 pearance; ^nd if the plants are fupported to prevent 

 their being broken, or blown down by the wind, 

 they will not interfere with the other flowers, Becaufe 



* furrows of about five feet or a little more, leaving a 

 fpace of two feet between each t then they harrow 

 thefe lands to make them level, and after it is finilhed, 

 they fow rhe feeds in the following manner. With a 

 fmall plough, they draw four fliallow furrows in 

 each land, at near a foot and a half difl:ance, into 

 which they fcatter the feeds thinly ; then with a har- 

 row, whole teeth are little more than one inch long, 

 they draw the earth into the drills to cover the feeds; 

 after this, they draw a roller over the ground, to 

 fmootli and fettle it. When the plants are come up, 

 fo as to be difl:inguiflied, they hoe the ground to de- 

 ftroy the weeds ; and at this firfl operation, where 

 the plants happen to be-clofe, they cut up the leafl: 

 promifing, leaving them all fingle, at the difl:ance of 

 three or four inches ; which they always fuppofe will 

 be fufficient room for their growth, till the fecond 

 time of hoeing, which muft be performed in about 

 five wrecks after their firft ; in which they are guided 

 by the growth of the weeds, for as this work is per- 



fhould be fown in the places where the plants are de- 

 figned to remain, becaufe they do not bear' tranf- 

 planting w;elli therefore three or four feeds Ihould 

 be fown in each patch, left any of them fliould fail ; 

 and when the plants are grown fo ftrong as to be out 

 oi danger, the moft promifing in each patch Ihould 

 trc left, and the others pulled up, that they may not 

 draw or injure thofe which are to ftand. 

 The fecond fort grows naturally in the fouth of 

 France, Spain, and Italy, where the women ufe the 

 ftalks of this plant for diftaffs, from whence it had 

 the title of Dittaff Thiftle, It is by fome called 

 Baftard wild Saffron. The leaves of this plant are 

 fometimes ordered for medicine, and are fuppofcd to 

 have the fame virtues as Carduus Benediftus. 

 This plant is annual, periftiing foon after the feeds 

 are ripe ; the lower leaves fpread flat upon the ground ; 

 thefe are five or fix inches long, narrow, and deeply 

 indented on both fides ; they are hairy, and have a 

 few foft fpines on their edges ; the ftalk rifes about 



formed with a Dutch hoe, fo they never fuffer the | two feet'high, covered with hairs, and garniflied with 

 • weeds to grow "to "any fize before they cut them ; | oblong hairy leaves, which embrace the ftalk with 



their bafe, and are deeply finuated, with fliai-p thorns 

 growing on their edges. The upper part of the ftalk 

 divides into many branches, which are garniflied with 

 leaves of the fame form, but fmaller. The flowers 

 are produced at the end of the branches, having a 

 clufter of ftiff, hard, prickly leaves below the fcaly 

 empalcment, which contains many yellow herma- 

 phrodite flowers, fucceeded by oblong angular feeds. 

 It flowers in June and July, and the feeds ripen in 

 autumn. If the feeds of thisTort are fown in au- 

 . tumn, the plants will flower early the following fum- 

 mer, fo there will be. a certainty of good feeds. '^They 



• may 



. in w^hich they judge right, for when the weeds are 

 fmall, one man will hoe as much ground in a day, 

 -as can be performed by three, when they are per- 

 mitted to grow large ; and the weeds will be more 



* effeftualiy deftroyed. 



They give a third hoeing to the plants, about five 

 or fix weeks after the fecond ; which generally makes 

 the ground fo clean, as to require no more cleaning, 

 till the Carthamus is pulled np. When the plants 

 begin to flower, and have thruft out their florets (or 

 thrum) to a proper length, they go over the ground 

 once a week to gather it; and as it is from time to 



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