NAT. ORDER. — IRIDACE^. ^ 17 



from all we can learn it is a native of Asia. It has long- been culti- 

 vated in many countries; but the English Saffron is generally preferred 

 here to that which is imported from other countries, and may be dis- 

 tinguished by its being larger and broader. All the different plants 

 f this genus are by Linnaeus considered only as varieties of the Cro- 

 cus sativus. Jacquin, however, makes a distinct species of the Spring 

 Crocus: in that he has been followed by Curtis; and Miller, who de- 

 scribes fom- species of this family, thinks all of them must be allowed 

 to be specifically different, since they do not vaiy fi"om each other. 

 The stigmata of the Crocus which we have given, and which consti- 

 tutes the officinal Saffnin, are easily to be distinguished from those of 

 the other varieties, and are in the places where it is chiefly cultivated 

 prepared for use in the following manner. In autmnn, when the flow- 

 ers appear, they are gathered every morning, and are spread upon a 

 table ; the stigmata, along with a portion of the style, are then picked 

 from the other parts of the flow^ers, which are thrown away as useless. 

 The stigmata being thus collected in sufficient quantity, are then dried, 

 which is effected by means of portable kilns, of a peculiar constiiic- 

 tion, over which a hair cloth is stretched ; and upon this are placed a 

 few sheets of w^hite paper, on which the stigmata are strewed, about 

 two or three inches thick, and then covered with several sheets of 

 paper, over which is laid a coarse blanket, five or six times folded, or 

 a canvas bag filled with straw ; and when the fire has heated the 

 kiln, a board, on which a weight is put, is placed upon the blanket, in 

 order to press the Saffi-on into a cake. For the first hour a pretty 

 strong fire is employed ; the Saffi-on is then found to be formed into a 

 cake, which, after being turned, is subjected for another hour to the 

 same degree of heat: it is then turned a second time, and a more gen- 

 tle heat is applied for about twenty-four hours, or till the cake becomes 

 diy, during wliich time it is turned every half hour. 



According to the Grecian mythology, the name of this flower is 

 derived from Crocas, a youth who was consumed by the ardor of his 

 love for the nymph, Sinilax, and afterwards changed into the flower 



