SAFFRON. 



379 



portant diversity, however, in tlie mode of manufacturing tLe dye. 

 lu France the flowers are picked by hand in dry weather, and then 

 carefully dried in a kiln under pressure. In Europe the flower 

 yields two sorts of colouring matter, one soluble in water, producing a 

 yellow dye, of no great beauty, the other resinous, and best dissolved 

 by the fixed alkalies. It is the last that is esteemed so highly, pro- 

 ducing a carmine colour, exceeding in beauty and delicacy any that 

 can be obtained even from cochineal. The colour does not stand, 

 however, and is principally employed for imitating upon silk the 

 colours produced by cochineal upon woollen textures. 



The beautiful rouge, known as rouge vegetal, is extracted from saf- 

 flower dye by a peculiar chemical process. There is not a very large 

 demand for safflower in England. The great centre of its use ap- 

 pears to be Lyons, where it is employed for the colouring of silks 

 and satins. The Bengal ryot subjects the flowers to repeated wash- 

 ings, to get rid of what are described as — (1), a glutinous substance 

 therefrom, and (2) the yellow colouring matter which they yield. 

 By the French process the flowers are simply very carefully dried in 

 a kiln under pressure, and it would be interesting to know which 

 process yields the finest dye. 



Safflower appears to be grown to some extent in China, for 6766 piculs 

 (7207 cwt.), valued at 91,834/., were shipped from Hankow in 1875. 



Poultry fatten on the seeds, which somewhat resemble those of the 

 sunflower. An oil, of a light yellow colour, is also pressed from them, 

 which is used for lamps and ordinary purposes. The seeds, which 

 are called in India curdee seeds, contain about 28 per cent, of oil. 

 They are imported into this country among other oil seeds. The 

 marc, or oilcake, is given to cattle. 



Saffron (Crocus sativus). — This is a pretty bulbous plant of the 

 natural order Iridaceee. It is alike useful in food, industry, and 

 medicine. Although used to a small extent in pharmacy, and as a 

 dye-stufi*, its chief employment is as a condiment. 



The number of species is very great, but they may be divided into 

 those which blow in autumn and those which flower in spring. The 

 bulbs grow wild in large quantities on the sides of mountains, and in 

 the valleys of Sicily, Greece, Turkey, Persia, Spain, Portugal, and 

 other countries. 



Mr. Hanbury well remarks that saffron, either as a medicine, con- 

 diment, perfume, or dye, has been highly prized by mankind from a 

 remote period, and has played an important part in the history of 

 commerce. 



A peculiar preference for saffron as a condiment exists in some 

 countries, especially Austria, Germany, and certain districts of 

 Switzerland. This predilection prevails even in England — at least 

 in Cornwall, where the use of saffron for colouring cakes is still 

 common. Saffron is largely used by the natives of India in religious 

 rites, in medicine, and for the colouring and flavouring of food. As 

 a dye-stuff saffron is no longer employed in this country, having been 

 superseded by less costly substances.* 



Saffron contains a yellow matter, which, if extracted and dried, is 



* Pharmacographia. 



