Man's Work on the Farm 351 



of in Italy, as there was a brisk demand for its ' leaves ' ; 

 and the great grove, which is miles long, was planted 

 at Bordighera, simply for the supply of these. 



Among the other plants which the Saracens brought 

 to Europe, were the orange and lemon, the sugar-cane, 

 rice, cotton, saffron, and the locust-tree. The citron- 

 family, which includes the lime, orange, and lemon, 

 seems to be a native of China, where the fruits grow 

 wild, and many varieties have been in cultivation for 

 ages past; but how and when they travelled west- 

 wards, as they must have done before the Arabs could 

 make their acquaintance, we have no means of dis- 

 covering. 



Wherever the Arab went, there fields of saffron 

 were sure to spring up ; for this was a flower he 

 loved and valued very highly for its perfume, 

 flavour, dye, and medicinal properties. Greeks and 

 Romans had known it as the crocus, and prized it 

 too, but the extreme fondness of the Arabs for it 

 caused it to be cultivated far more extensively than 

 it had ever been before ; and their name for it, 

 * saffron,' quite took the place of the classical one. 



Rice had long been known as an expensive foreign 

 article ; but there had been no attempt at cultivating 

 it out of Asia, until the Arabs tried it with much 

 success in the Delta of the Nile, and soon after carried 

 it further west. It flourished in the marshes of 

 Valencia, and elsewhere in Spain ; but the Italians 

 were only too successful with it; for finding that it 

 could be grown without difiiculty, they turned their 

 fields and meadows into swamps, in such a reckless 

 manner that much illness followed, and the law 

 stepped in and set strict limits to its cultivation. 



