16 



CASE and it is also turned into beads and handles for children's 

 10. corals, after being dyed fed. Orris root is exported fi*om Leg- 

 horn, Trieste, and Mogador. )/. ;t-^3imiTM ,Ml .o> 



No. 27. Saffron, the dried stigmas (the tnfid orange- 

 coloured tops of the central organ of the flower) of Crocus 

 sativus, L. A native, probably, of Greece and Asia Minor, 

 and perhaps of Southern Italy and Persia. Its cultivation in 

 the East dates back to remote antiquity. At the present time 

 it is grown for commercial purposes in France, Spain, ?,nd 

 Italy, and on a smaller scale in Austria, Greece, Peiaaa, 

 Cashmere, China, and the United States. After the flowers 

 are gathered, the stigmas are quickly removed and placed in 

 sieves over a gentle fire to dry. It is estimated that from 

 7,000 to 8,000 flowers are required to yield about 17 ounces 

 of fresh or 3 J ounces of ; dried saffron. Saffron was formerly 

 used as a dye, but it has been superseded by cheaper materials ; 

 as a condiment or flavouring agent it is still used in Austria, 

 Germany, and Switzerland, and also to some extent in England. 

 By bird fanciers Saffron is considered useful in assisting the 

 moulting of birds. It was formerly used in medicine as a 

 stimulant and antispasmodic, but is now seldom or never 

 employed. 



Observe on lower shelf a magnified drawing of the Gladiolus 

 disease {Urocystis Gladioli). 



Narcissus Order {AinaryllidecB). A group of bulbous 

 herbs or shrubby plants with fleshy leaves, and large showy 

 flowers, very widely distributed, but chiefly found in warm or 

 temperate parts. Their principal economic value is for the 

 fibres contained in the leaves and stems of several of the 

 species. . . 



Observe on lower shelf a complete series of specimens illus- 

 trating the manufacture of cloth in Borneo, from the leaves of 

 Curculigo latifolia. Dry. The leaves are soaked in water 

 and beaten, which loosens the fibre which is afterwards 

 prepared and woven into a very close cloth, known as 

 Lamba. 



Note also bulb, and fibre prepared from bulb of Buphane 

 toxicaria, Herb., S. Africa. 

 CASE ^^^ ^^® upper shelves of this Case note fruits of species of 



11^ Crinwn, Alstromeria, Bomarea Shuttleworthii, &c. 



Also samples of Manila or Bombay Aloe fibre {Agave 

 vvipara, L.) and Keratto fibre {A. Morrisiif Baker), from 



