310 ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



North America. The volatile-oil amounts to about three per 

 cent., and is contained very largely in the glands of the 

 calyx. About one and a half per cent, is yielded on distil- 

 lation. It is of a pale yellow color and of a pleasant 

 odor ; it is soluble in alcohol. The best oil is obtained by 

 distUling the flowers alone, without the stems. A larger 

 amount is obtained when the flowers grow in dry, bright 

 weather. The oil of Lavender is used in perfumery. 



304. Carthamnus tinctoria, Safflower, has been culti- 

 vated from time immemorial for the flowers, which are used 

 for dyeing. It belongs to the Composite family, found 

 native in the East Indies, and cultivated in Persia, Egypt, 

 East Indies, Australia, Mexico, etc. It is an annual, but 

 becomes biennial under cultivation ; many " varieties" have 

 arisen. It grows two or three feet high, is prickly, has 

 stiff leaves, and produces a head of red flowers. Fila- 

 mentous chaff, or pales, are found among the florets. It is 

 harvested two or three times a year by collecting the 

 flowers, or florets, as far as possible free from the other 

 parts. These are simply dried, or first washed and then 

 dried, but not in the sun, for then they lose a part of the 

 coloring matter. The important constituent is called Car- 

 thamnin (.3-6 per cent.), a deep reddish-brown, amorphous 

 powder, which is insoluble in water, but soluble in alcohol. 

 Safflower is used in dyeing, especially silk ; the shades of 

 color vary between red and yellow. From the seeds an oil 

 is obtained (eighteen per cent.), which is used in illumina- 

 tion and for food. It is a cathartic, and saponifiable. 



305. The stigmas of Croaus sativus, Iris family (L-ida- 

 cece), constitute the dye Saffron. The plant is cultivated 

 in Europe, Africa, America, etc. It has blue or pvirple 

 flowers, and linear, radical leaves. The long flower-tube is 



