SAFFRON. 193 



potatoe. Thus, the disease of the saffron, 

 wherever it begins, spreads itself every way 

 in a circular direction, and there is nothing 

 to be seen on the surface of the earth, which 

 can give any idea of the cause. This mis- 

 chievous plant is found to injure the roots of 

 the lily, tulip, and other bulbs ; but it is 

 thought that it may be of service in corn- 

 fields, by destroying many of the pernicious 

 herbs which hurt the corn, as it preys only 

 on those which send their roots deep into the 

 earth, never hurting those that are super- 

 ficially fixed, as corn and most grasses are. 

 The florist, however, is probably as often 

 injured by it as the saffron cultivator ; and the 

 misfortune attending this destructive plant 

 is, that the common culture of land, which 

 destroys other weeds, serves rather to pro- 

 mote its increase, since it delights in light 

 dry earth, not in wet or untilled lands.* 



Mr. Bradley was of opinion, that good 

 saffron may be gathered from the blue spring 

 crocus: there being little or no difference in 

 the flowers of the one and the other. We 

 know not whether this experiment has ever 

 been made. Should it succeed, the crop 

 would be much more certain, as the pist ilium 



*Mem. Acad. Par. 1728. 



VOL. II. O 



