TANS AND DYES 237 



a height of 7 to 10 feet and bears cordate leaves, blue flowers 

 in terminal clusters, and ovoid, spiny, two-valved pods, con- 

 taining 30 to 50 seeds. The seeds are surrounded with a scar- 

 let tissue from which the dye is obtained. Annatto seeds 

 are shipped with their scarlet covering or the scarlet paste 

 is removed and shipped as such. England uses about 75 tons 

 of annatto annually and corresponding quantities are imported 

 into the United States. The tree is propagated from seed 

 and begins bearing at the age of 3 years. Annatto dye has 

 been used in coloring lacquer, calico, and wool, but chiefly 

 as a coloring matter for butter and cheese. The active prin- 

 ciple of annatto is annatoin. 



SAFFLOWER 



Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) belongs to the Composite 

 family, resembling the thistle somewhat in general habit of 

 growth. It attains a height of 2 to 4 feet and bears beautiful 

 yellow or orange yellow heads of flowers. The safflower is 

 native of India, whence it was introduced in ancient times 

 to Egypt, the Levant, and various other tropical and sub- 

 tropical countries. At the present time the chief source of 

 safflower is in Bengal and southern France. The flowers are 

 picked in dry weather and are immediately desiccated in an 

 oven. During the period of drying the flowers are slowly 

 pressed together into cakes in which form the product comes 

 upon the market. In Bengal farmers prefer lands which are 

 subject to overflow in growing safflower. The seed is sown 

 broadcast in December and plants are later thinned out so 

 as to stand 4 or 5 inches apart. The flowers are ready for 

 picking about 100 days after the crop is sown. In India 

 the safflower is grown both for the dye obtained from the 

 flowers and for an oil obtained from the seed, but chiefly for 

 the red dye. Safflower has been found to be an exhausting 

 crop and has to be grown, therefore, in a system of rotation. 



