412 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [12:9-Dec, 1916 



Program of the Annual Meeting of the American 

 Nature-Study Society 



MORNING SESSION AT 10:30 



A Survey of Normal School Instruction in Nature-Study and Science, 



Elliot R. Downing 



President's Address — The Great Lover L. H. Bailey 



Nature-Study Propaganda Miss L. Connelly, Newark, N. J. 



Some Advice from a Parent ■ 



Secretary's report and election of officers. 



AFTERNOON SESSION, 2 :00 P. M. 



A Symposium on Testing Methods and Results in Nature-Study, 

 Some Recent Tests Tried at Gary, Indiana, 



Otis W. Caldwell, Univ. of Chicago, School of Education. 

 ( F. H. Holtz, Brooklyn Training School for 

 Standardizing Nature-Study < Teachers. 



f S. C. Schmucker, Westchester Normal School 

 ( Miss Anna B. Comstock, Cornell Univ. 

 Methods of Procedure < Miss Anna M. Clark, New York Training School for 



( Teachers. 

 What May We Hope to Accomplish by Nature Tests in the Grades? 



t. A. Drushel, Harris Teachers College, St. Louis, Mo. 

 C. H. Robinson, Mt. Clair State Normal School, New Jersey 



Saffron— in History 



One of the plants mentioned by Shakespeare is saffron, a plant 

 of great importance in the past and almost forgotten now. The 

 drug known as saffron consists of the dried stigmas of a beautiful 

 pale purple, exceedingly fragrant crocus {Crocus sativus). It was 

 cultivated so early that its original home is not known. It is now 

 grown in Spain, southern France, on the south slopes of the 

 Apennines and in Persia and Kashmir. It was used in ancient 

 times as a drug, a perfume and a dye. It is mentioned in the 

 Bible and Homer refers to it. Because of its fragrance, it was 

 strewn in Greek halls, courts and theaters and the Romans used 

 it in their baths. In ancient Ireland the king's mantle was dyed 

 saffron; it was used in illustrating medieval manuscripts; and 

 the sacred spot on the forehead of a Hindu Pundit was marked 

 partially with this dye. 



It requires 4,320 flowers to produce enough stigmas, when dried, 

 to make one ounce of the drug. Naturally this makes it very 

 expensive and in former times stringent laws were made against 

 its adulteration. In Germany in 1444 A.D. a man was burned, 

 together with the saffron he had adulterated; and twelve years 

 later a man and woman were buried alive for the same offense. 

 Saffron is deep orange red in color and one grain of it will make 

 yellow ten gallons of water\ 



