21 
I. 
SAFFROX. 
]>V 0. (jOKDER. 
Rend 2 Sth October, 1884 . 
John Geraude, a Jlaster of Surgery, writing in 1579 says: “Saffron 
doth rise of tho ground nakedly in September, and its long small 
gnvssy leaves shortly after the ilowers ; the root is small, round, 
and bulbous; tho llower consisteth of six small bleu leaves, 
tending to purple, having in tho middle several small yellow 
strings or threads [tho stamens] ; among which are three fat 
chines of a fiery colour, somewhat reddish, of a strong smell when 
they bo dried, which doth stuff and trouble tho head.” lie goes 
on to say : “ Saffron grow'cth plentifully in Cambridgeshire, Saffron 
A\'’alden, and other places thereabouts.” He ascribes great and 
very powerful virtues to it, such as making tho senses i^uick and 
lively, “shaketh off drowsiness and maketh a man merry, so much 
.so, that if a man be at death’s door, and almost past breathing, it 
bringeth breath again, and prolongeth life for certain days ; it 
maketh also a man well coloured, and is most valuable to illuminate 
pictures and imagery, as also to colour divers meats and confections.” 
Thus far says Gerarde. Xow for a fe\v minutes respecting its 
history and cultivation as set forth by modern pharmacologists ; 
amongst whom, none stand higher than the late Daniel Hanbury of 
Plough Court, from whose voluminous papers I have taken these 
few notes. 
Crocus saticus, or Saffron Crocus, is- a small plant with a fleshy 
bulb-like conn and grassy leaves ; it much resembles the common 
spring Purple Crocus of our gardens, but blossoming in the autumn. 
It ha.s an elegant purple flower, with a large orange-red stigma ; 
tho three pendulous divisions of which are protruded beyond the 
l)erianth. The Saffron Crocus is supposed to be indigenous to 
