378 



SAFFLOWEE. 



are placed on a mat so arranged as to allow the water to run freely 

 away, while one man kneads the mass with his feet and another pours 

 clean water on it. Filtered water is best for the purpose ; but, if 

 this is not obtainable, the water must be allowed to stand in vessels 

 for twenty-four hours before it is used. Muddy water often spoils 

 the colour. After being worked up in this way for about two hours, 

 the pulp is again placed in baskets and sprinkled with water, so as to 

 keep it moist until the afternoon, when it is again kneaded in the 

 manner above described for two hours, and quantities of clean water 

 poured on it. To make good cakes this kneading process must be 

 repeated morning and evening for three days, and the pulp, which 

 is thus kneaded six times, kept thoroughly damp day and night 

 in the interval, and never allowed to dry. The chief components, 

 combined with the woody fibre of safflower, are — (1) a glutinous sub- 

 stance, (2) a yellow colouring matter, and (3) a red colouring matter. 

 The first two are readily soluble in water, but not so the third, 

 which, however, is small in proportion to the two others. This 

 repeated washing and kneading of the pulp gets rid of the valueless 

 and easily soluble compounds, and the importance of this object 

 readily explains how the great art of making good safflower lies 

 chiefly in the manufacture. To prove whether the pulp is ready to 

 be made into cakes, it must be placed in clean water, so that any dis- 

 coloration can at once be detected, and when it will no longer yield 

 colour to the water it is fit for use. The cakes of safflower are 

 made round by squeezing the pulp well between the palms of the 

 hands, they should be about 1 J inch in diameter, and about ^ inch to 

 inch thick in the centre, and tapering to the edges. Large cakes 

 are very brittle, and hence small cakes are preferred by the pur- 

 chasers. The cakes are placed on mats in the sun to dry for three 

 or four days, and are then ready for sale. While the cakes are being 

 dried, rain or damp cloudy weather is very injurious to the colouring 

 matter, and the drying process takes a longer time. As moisture 

 discolours the cakes, they should be kept in jars or other dry covered 

 receptacles. After the petals are plucked, as above described, the 

 plants are allowed to stand for about three weeks to allow the seed to 

 mature, and are then uprooted or cut down and spread out in the sun 

 to dry. After being sufficiently dried, the plants are beaten with 

 sticks ; and the seed, which is easily separated by this process, is 

 winnowed and made into oil, which is used for lighting and cooking, 

 as well as medicinally in rheumatic and paralytic complaints. 



The following have been the receipts of safflower from British 

 India in the United Kingdom : 





Cwts. 





Cwts. 



1862 ,. . 



, 17,186 



1869 , . 



8,870 

 12,126 



1863 , . 



7,130 



1870 



1864 



10,304 



1871 



13,951 



1865 



6,187 



1872 



7,830 



1866 



8,946 



1873 ,. 



. .. 9,495 



1867 , . . 



9,091 



1874 



.. 13,625 



1868 , . 



32,170 



1875 , , 



. 3,029 



The imports in 1876 were 1334 bales. 



Safflower is extensively cultivated in France and the more southern 

 parts of Europe, both broadcast and in drills. There is a very im- 



