260 



CAR 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL 



CAR 



brace the florets, which stand out nearly an inch above the 

 calix ; these are of a fine saffron colour : when the florets 

 decay, the germina become oblong angular seeds, of a white 

 colour, and having a pretty strong shell or cover to them. 

 It flowers in July and August, and the seeds ripen in autumn; 

 but, if the season prove cold and moist when the plant is in 

 tlower, it will produce no good seed, so that there are few 

 seasons wherein the seeds of this plant come to perfection in 

 England. It grows naturally in Egypt, and in some of the 

 warm parts of Asia. Mr. Miller informs us, that he has fre- 

 quently received the seeds from the British islands in Ame- 

 rica, but, whether they naturally grew there or not, he was 

 never positively informed. This plant was formerly culti- 

 vated in the fields in several parts of England for the dyer's 

 use, and particularly in Gloucestershire, where the common 

 people frequently gathered the florets and dried them, to 

 give a colour to their puddings and cheesecakes ; but by 

 employing too great a quantity, they acquired a cathartic 

 quality. If this plant were ever cultivated among us in large 

 quantities, it is surprising how it came to be so totally neg- 

 lected, that at present there are not the least traces of its 

 cultivation to be met with in any part of England, insomuch 

 that the commodity is scarcely known, except to those who 

 deal in it. The quantity annually consumed in England is 

 so great as to make it a considerable article of trade, so that 

 it might be well worthy of public attention ; for although the 

 seeds seldom come to perfection in England, yet these might 

 be procured from abroad, and the plants would constantly 

 produce the flower, which is the only part used in dyeing. 

 This plant is cultivated in great plenty in some parts of Ger- 

 many, where the seeds constantly come to perfection ; and a 

 short account of their method of cultivation, by a curious 

 gentleman of that country, is here inserted, for the benefit 

 of those who may be induced to engage in cultivating it. The 

 ground in which they purpose to sow, has always a double 

 fallow given to it, first to destroy the weeds, and afterwards to 

 make it fine : they make choiceof their lightestland, and such 

 as is clear from Couch-grass and other troublesome weeds. 

 After the land has been fallowed a summer and winter,in which 

 time they give it four ploughings, and harrow it between 

 each, to break the clods and pulverize it : in the latter end of 

 March, they give it the last ploughing, when they lay it in 

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

 space of two feet between each ; then they harrow these 

 lands to make them level, and after it is finished they sow 

 the seeds in the following manner: With a small plough, they 

 draw four shallow furrows in each land, at near a foot and 

 half distance, into which they scatter the seed thinly, then 

 with a harrow, the teeth of which are little more than one 

 inch long, they draw the earth into the drills to cover the 

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

 smooth and settle it : when the plants are come up so as to be 

 distinguished, they hoe the ground, to destroy the weeds; and 

 at this operation, where the plants happen to be close, they 

 cut up the least promising, leaving them all single, at the 

 distance of three or four inches, which they always suppose 

 will be sufficient room for their growth, till the second time 

 of hoeing, which must be performed in about five weeks after 

 the first, in which they are guided by the growth of the 

 weeds ; for as this work is performed with a Dutch hoe, so 

 they never suffer the weeds to grow to any size before they 

 cut them ; in which they judge right, for when the weeds are 

 small, one man will hoe as much ground in a day, as can be 

 performed by three when they are permitted to grow large, 

 and the weeds will also be more effectually destroyed : they 

 ij'ive a third hoeing to the plants about five or six weeks after 



the second, which generally makes the ground so clean, as to 

 require no further clearing until the Carthamus is pulled up. 

 When the plants begin to flower, and have thrust 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 time 

 gathered, it is dried in a kiln for use ; there is usually a suc- 

 cession of flowers for six or seven weeks. After the crop is 

 gathered, the stalks are pulled, and tied in bundles for fuel ; 

 and after they have been set up a few days to dry, they are 

 carried off, and the ground is ploughed for wheat, which 

 they say always succeeds well after this plant. The follow- 

 ing is the method pursued in cultivating the Carthamus in 

 British gardens : The seeds are sown in April, upon a bed of 

 light earth, in drills drawn at two feet and a half distance 

 from each other ; the seeds are thinly scattered, as the 

 plants must not stand nearer to each other than a foot in the 

 rows ; but, as some of the seeds will fail, a sufficient quantity 

 to admit of thinning when the ground is hoed, should be 

 sown. If the seed be good, the plants will appear in less 

 than a month ; and in a fortnight or three weeks after they 

 appear, it will be proper to hoe the ground to destroy the 

 weeds, and at the same time thin the plants wherever they 

 may be too close ; but at this time they should not be sepa- 

 rated to their full distance, lest some of them should after- 

 wards fail ; if removed six inches asunder, there will be room 

 enough for the plants to grow till the next time of hoeing, 

 when they must be thinned to the distance they are finally 

 to remain : after this they should have a third hoeing, which, 

 if carefully performed in dry weather, will destroy the weeds 

 and make the ground clean, so that the plants will require 

 no further care till they come to flower; when, if the Saf- 

 flower is intended for use, the florets should be cut off from 

 the flowers as they come to perfection ; but this must be per- 

 formed when they are perfectly dry, and afterwards they 

 should be dried in a kiln, with a moderate fire, in the same 

 manner as the true Saffron, which will prepare them for use. 

 If the plants be intended to seed, the plants should not be 

 gathered ; for if the florets be cut off, it will render the 

 seeds abortive, though they may swell and grow to their 

 usual size, for when they are broken they will prove to be 

 a shell without a kernel ; this is frequently the case in wet 

 cold seasons ; and in very wet ones the germen will rot, and 

 never come so forward as to form a shell. The good quality 

 of the Carthamus consists chiefly in the colour, which should 

 be a bright saffron, in which that cultivated in Englaud often 

 fails. Great care must be taken not to gather it till the dew 

 is dried off, nor should it be pressed together till it has 

 been dried on the kiln ; for which, see the genus Crocut. 

 Great quantities of this plant are annually imported from 

 England for dyeing and painting, from the Levant, where, 

 as well as in many parts of Europe, it is at present culti- 

 vated. The Spaniards retain this plant in their gardens, 

 to colour their soups, olios, and other dishes, in the same 

 manner as the Marigold in England. The Jews also are 

 very partial to it, and mix it in most of their viands, and pro- 

 bably were the first importers of the seed into America, and 

 tmiir'ht the inhabitants the use of it, for it is now as commonly 

 used by the English there as in any part of Europe. The 

 plant itself 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. 



2. Carthamus Lanatus ; Yellow D'utnff Thistle, or Woolly 

 Carlhannis. Stem hairy, woolly towards the top ; lower 

 leaves pinnatifid, upper stem-clasping, toothed. The floret* 

 are first golden, then saffron-coloured, with the edges of the 



