bz THE GENUS CROCUS. 



The culture has been carried on for many generations on the lower spurs of 

 the Appenines, at a height of from two to three thousand feet, on stony, calcareous 

 ground below the horizon of the Beech. Here the stones are picked off, the ground 

 well trenched to the depth of half a metre, and prepared in August with animal 

 manure, preferably that of the sheep. The corms are planted on ridges, with 

 intervening furrows, which for economy of ground are sown with corn. As the 

 corn crop is gathered before the Saffron flowers appear, the furrows remain free 

 as pathways for the gatherers, and are so disposed as to drain the plot. The 

 crop of Saffron is gathered in the latter part of October, and through November. 

 Women pluck the flowers in the early morning, and remove the stigmata at their 

 leisure. Several flowers are usually produced by each corm,— in some instances 

 as many as twelve. Once planted, the Saffron plots remain undisturbed for two 

 years, when they are dug up and planted with corn in the third year, after which 

 they may be again used for Saffron, although the cultivators seek to keep the plots 



shifting as much as possible. 



Many of the wealthier landowners owe their prosperity to Saffron dealing, which 

 is speculative, as the price per kilo ranges from one to three hundred lire. The 

 poorer cultivators sell at the price of the year; but the richer dealers set aside 

 their Saffron in tins if the price does not suit them. Some seasons have yielded 

 such profits, that one year's harvest has surpassed the value of the land under 

 cultivation. At other seasons the cultivation would have ceased, were not the beds 

 of two years duration, and consequently no expense was entailed in waiting for 

 the result of a second season. 



The adulteration of Saffron is carried out in various ways, the chief mode being 

 by mixing with it boiled and shredded beef; the shreds being stained with Saffron 

 water, and afterwards dried. The filaments of the stamens are also dyed in the 

 same 'manner, and intermixed. Another adulterant is an almost impalpable yellow 

 earth, found occasionally in the mountains. Finally, before taking the product to 

 market, it is damped with wine or water. 



The Aquilan or Abruzzi Saffron commands a higher price than any other 

 kind, not excepting that of Spain. 



English Saffron*— That Saffron as a drug has been well known in England 

 for many centuries, is proved by the frequent references to it by early writers; 

 but the date of its earliest appearance as a cultivated plant in England is not quite 



Saffron is mentioned several times in Anglo-Saxon leech-books, e.g. "when he 



*For much of the information on English Saffron, I am indebted to the Rev. Canon Ellacombe; 

 some of my paragraphs being copied with little alteration from the chapter on Saffron in his Plant-lore 

 of Shakespeare: Mr. Ellacombe has also hunted up for me many references to Saffron in old books. 



