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fcarce known, except to thofe who deal in it : the 
quantity of this which is annually confumed in Eng- 
land is fo great, as to make a very confid'erable article 
in trade, fo that it might be very well worthy of the 
public attention ; for although the feeds feldom come 
to perfection in England, yet thefe might be annually 
procured from abroad, and the plants would con- 
ftantly produce the flower, which is the only part 
tifeful. A few years paft I fent a fmall parcel of the 
feeds of this plant to South Carolina, where I was 
afterward informed it grew amazingly, for in fix 
weeks after the feeds were fown, the crop of Safflower 
was fit to cut, and the gentleman to whom the feeds 
were given, fent fome of the commodity to his brother 
in London, who was fo kind as to fend me a fpe- 
cimen of it, with an account that the dyers complained 
of its want of colour-, and upon examining it, I found 
the florets were drawn out of their empalements the 
whole length, fo that their tails which had been in- 
cluded in their covers were white, and being mixed 
together gave the whole a pale appearance ; upon this 
I wrote to the gentleman to define he would cut off 
the upper part of the florets with fcifiars, which would 
be eafier performed, but have heard nothing from 
him fince however, a year or two after I received a 
letter from his excellency Governor Lyttleton, in 
which he wrote that the Safflower bid fair to prove 
one of their great branches of commerce, but how it 
has turned out I have not fince heard. 
This plant is cultivated in great plenty, in fome parts 
of Germany, where the feeds conftantly come to 
perfection ; and as I have obtained a fhort account 
of their method of cultivation, from a curious gen- 
tleman of that country, fo I fhall infert it for the be- 
nefit of thofe who may be induced to engage in this 
undertaking. 
The ground in which they propofe to fow the Car- 
thamus, has always a double fallow given to it, firft 
to deftroy the weeds, and afterward to make it fine. 
They make choice of their lighted: land, and fuch as 
is clear from Couch Grafs, and other troublefome 
weeds. After the land has been fallowed a fummer 
•and winter, in which time they give it four plough- 
ings, and harrow it between each, to break the clods, 
and pulverize it : in the latter end of March they give 
it the laft ploughing, when they lay it in narrow 
furrows of about five feet or a little more, leaving a 
fpace of two feet between each : then they harrow 
thefe lands to make them level, and after it is finifhed, 
they fow the feeds in the following manner. With a 
fmall plough, they draw four fhallow furrows in 
each land, at near a foot and a half diftance, into 
which they fcatter the feeds thinly ; then with a har- 
row, whole teeth are little more than one inch long, 
they draw the earth into the drills to cover the feeds ; 
after this, they draw a roller over the ground, to 
fmooth and fettle it. When the plants are come up, 
fo as to be diftinguifhed, they hoe the ground to de- 
ftroy the weeds ; and at this firft operation, where 
the plants happen to be clofe, they cut up the leaft 
promifing, leaving them all fingle, at the diftance of 
three or four inches ; which they always fuppofe will 
be fufficient room for their growth, till the fecond 
time of hoeing, which muft be performed in about 
five weeks after their firft ; in which they are guided 
by the growth of the weeds, for as this work is per- 
formed with a Dutch hoe, fo they never fuffer the 
weeds to grow to any fize before they cut them •, 
in which they judge right, for when the weeds are 
fmall, one man will hoe as much ground in a day, 
as can be performed by three, when they are per- 
mitted to grow large ; and the weeds will be more 
efiectually deftroyed. 
They give a third hoeing to the plants, about five 
or fix weeks after the fecond which generally makes 
the ground fo clean, as to require no more cleaning, 
till the Carthamus is pulled up. When the plants 
begin to flower, and have thruft out their florets (or 
thrum) to a proper length, they go over the ground 
once a week to gather it ; and as it is from time to j 
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time gathered, it is dried in a kiln for ufe. There 
is ufuajly a fucceffion of flowers for fix or feven 
weeks. After the crop is gathered, the ftalks are 
pulled, and tied in bundles for fuel ; and when they 
have been fet up a few days to dry, they are carried 
off, and the ground is ploughed for Wheat; which 
they fay, always fucceeds well after this plant. 
The good quality of this commodity is chiefly J n the 
colour, which fhould be of a bright Saffron colour, 
and herein that which is cultivated in England often 
fails; for if there happens much rain during the 
time the plants are in flower, it will caufe the florets 
to change to a dark or dirty yellow, which will alfo 
befal that which is gathered v/hen there is any moifture 
remaining upon it; therefore great care muft be 
taken not to gather it till the dew is quite dried off, 
nor fhould it be preffed together till it has been dried 
on the kiln. The manner of doing this being the fame 
as for the true Saffron, I fhall not mention it here, 
but defire the reader to turn to the article Crocus, 
where that is fully treated. 
In Spain this plant is cultivated in their gardens, as 
Marigolds are in England, to put into their foups, 
olios, and other difhes, to give them a colour. The 
Jews alfo are very fond of this, and mix it in moft 
of their viands ; and it is very probable they were the 
perfons who firft carried the feeds of this plant to 
America, and taught the inhabitants the ufe of it, for 
it is now as commonly ufed by the Englifh there, as 
in any part of Europe. 
This plant may be admitted to have a place in the 
borders of large gardens, where it will add to the 
variety, during the time of its continuance in flower, 
which is commonly two months, or ten weeks ; for 
if the feeds are fown in the beginning of April, the 
firft flowers will appear in the middle of July at far- 
theft ; and there will be a fucceffion of flowers on the 
fide branches, till the end of September, or in mild 
warm feafons till the middle of Oflober, during which 
time the plants will not be deftitute of flowers ; which 
being of a bright Saffron colour, make a pretty ap- 
pearance ; and if the plants are fupported to prevent 
their being broken, or blown down by the wind, 
they will not interfere with the other flowers, becaufe 
thefe have a regular upright growth. 
When they are cultivated for this purpofe, the feeds 
fhould be fown in the places where the plants are de- 
figned to remain, becaufe they do not bear tranf- 
planting well ; therefore three or four feeds fhould 
be fown in each patch, left any of them fhould fail ; 
and when the plants are grown fo ftrong as to be out 
of danger, the moft promifing in each patch fhould 
be left, and the others pulled up, that they may not 
draw or injure thofe which are to ftand. 
The fecond fort grows naturally in the fouth of 
France, Spain, and Italy, where the women ufe the 
ftalks of this plant for diftaffs, from whence it had 
the title of Diftaff Thiftle. It is by fome called 
Baftard wild Saffron. The leaves of this plant are 
fometimes ordered for medicine, and are fuppofed to 
have the fame virtues as Carduus Benedi&us. 
This planLis annual, perifhing foon after the feeds 
are ripe ; the lower leaves fpread flat upon the ground ; 
thefe are five or fix inches long, narrow, and deeply 
indented on both fides ; they are hairy, and have a 
few foft fpines on their edges ; the ftalk rifes about 
two feet high, covered with hairs, and garnifhed with 
oblong hairy leaves, which embrace the ftalk with 
their bafe, and are deeply finuated, with fharp thorns 
growing on their edges. The upper part of the ftalk 
divides into many branches, which are garnifhed with 
leaves of the fame form, but fmaller. The flowers 
are produced at the end of the branches, having a 
duller of ftiff, hard, prickly leaves below the fcaly 
empalement, which contains many yellow herrna- 
phrodite flowers, fucceeded by oblong angular feeds. 
It flowers in June and July, and the feeds ripen in 
autumn. If the feeds of this fort are fown in au- 
tumn, the plants will flower early the following fum- 
mer, fp there will be a certainty of good feeds. They 
‘ ' may 
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