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Board, Blanket, and upper Papers, 

 and take the Saffron off from that 

 which lies next it, railing at the 

 iame time the Edges of the Cake, 

 "with a Knife : Then laying on the 

 Paper again, they Aide in another 

 Board between the Haii-cloth and 

 under Papers, and turn both Papers 

 and Saffron up-lide-down ; afccr- 

 v/ards covering them (as above.) 



This fame Heat is continu'd for 

 an Hour longer i then they look on 

 the Cake again, free it from the 

 Papers, and turn it : then they co- 

 ver it, and lay on the Weight, as 

 before. If nothing happens amifs 

 <3uring theie tirft two Hours, they 

 reckon the Danger to be overj 

 for they have nothing more to do 

 but to keep a gentle Fire, and to 

 turn their Cakes every half Hour, 

 till thoroughly dry: for the doing 

 of which as it ought, there are 

 requir'd full twenty-four Hours. 



In Drying the larger plump 

 Chives they ufe nothing more, but 

 towards the latter End of the Crop, 

 when thefe come to be fmailer, 

 they fprinkle the Cake with a lit- 

 tle Small-beer, to make it fweat as 

 it ought; and they begin now to 

 think, that ulingtwo Linen-cloths 

 next the Cake, inftead of the two 

 innermoft Papers, may be of forae 

 Advantage in drying : But this 

 Pradiice is follow'd as yet but by 

 few. 



Their Fire may be made of any 

 Kind of Fuel : but that which 

 fmoaks the leaft is beft, and Char- 

 coal, for that Reafon, is preferr'd 

 to any other. 



What Quantity of Saffron a firft 

 Crop will produce, is very uncer- 

 tain : fometimes five or fix Pounds 

 of wet Chives are got from one 

 Rood i fometimes not above one 

 or two; and fometimes not enough 

 to make it worth while to gather 



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and dry it. But this 15 always to 

 be obferv'd, that about five Pounds 

 of wet saffron go to make oac 

 Pound ot dry, for the firft three 

 W^ceks of the Crop, and fix Pounds 

 during the laft Week : And now 

 the Heads are planted very thick* 

 two Pounds of dried Safron may, 

 at a Medium, be allow'd to aa 

 Acre for a firft Crop, and twenty- 

 four Pounds for the two remain- 

 ing,- the third being confiderably 

 larger than the lecond. 



In order to obtain thefe, there 

 is only a Repetition to be made 

 every Year of the Labour of Hoe- 

 ing, Gathering, Picking, and Dry- 

 ing, in the fame manner as before 

 fet down, without the Addition of 

 any thing new; except that they 

 let Cattle into the Fields, after the 

 Leaves are decay'd, to feed upon 

 the Weeds ; or perhaps mow them 

 for the fame Ufe. 



About the Midfummer after the 

 third Crop is gathered, the Roots 

 muft be all taken up and tranf^ 

 planted: The Management requi- 

 lite for which, is the fourth Thing 

 to be treated of To take up the 

 Saffron Heads, or 6reak up the 

 Ground (as their Term is) they 

 fometimes plow it, fometimes ufe 

 a forked kind of Hoe, called a Pat- 

 toek, and then the Ground is har- 

 rowed once or twice over ; during 

 all which Time of Ploughing or 

 Digging, and Harrowing, fifteen 

 or more People will find work 

 enough to follow and gather the 

 Heads as they are turn'd up. 



They are next to be carried to 

 the Houfe in Sacks, and there to 

 be clcan'd and raifed : This Labour 

 confifts in cleaning the Roots 

 thoroughly from Earth, and from 

 the Remains of old Roots, old In- 

 volucra and Excrefcencies ; and 

 thus they become fit to be planted 



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