Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
Oct.,  1885.  J 
Commercial  Spanish  Saffron. 
491 
judgment  is  also  alluded  to  by  Andrew  Duncan  (Edinb.  New  Disp. 
1805,  p.  209)  and  by  W.  T.  Brande  (Manual  of  Pharmacy,  1825,  p. 
72),  and  is  expressed  by  German  and  Austrian  writers,  who,  however,, 
place  before  the  Gatinais  saffron  that  of  Austrian  origin,  which  con- 
sists of  good  sized  stigmas,  is  free  from  styles  and  other  impurities,, 
but  is  produced  in  insufficient  quantity  to  exert  any  important  influence 
on  the  general  market,  conditions  which  apply  equally  well  to  the 
excellent  saffron  of  Pennsylvania  origin.  Bentley  and  Trimen  (Medic. 
Plants,  p.  274)  and  Fliickiger  and  Hanbury  (Pharmacographia,  p.  668) 
likewise  state  that  French  saffron  is  usually  purer  and  enjoys  a  better 
reputation  than  that  of  Spain  or  Italy.  How  then,  it  may  be  asked,  doe& 
it  happen  that  in  the  United  States,  Spanish  saffron  is  regarded  as  the 
best  kind,  and  that  most  American  writers  praise  it  as  such  ?  In 
searching  the  literature  on  this  subject,  it  was  found  that  in  1834  (see 
Buchner's  Pepert.,  vol.  49,  p.  458)  F.  Jobst  pronounced  the  best  and 
dryest  kind  to  be  the  Spanish  saffron,  which  formerly  had  been  usually 
oiled,  a  fact  mentioned  by  J.  A.  Paris  (Pharmacologia),  A.  T.  Thom- 
son (London  Dispensatory,  3d  edit.,  1822,  p.  267),  F.  P.  Dulk  (Phar. 
Boruss.  Comment.,  1829,  I.  405)  and  others,  and  subsequently  repeated 
by  Royle  (Mat.  Med.  Amer.  edit.,  1847,  p.  601),  Schleiden  (Pharmacogn. 
1857,  II,  338)  Clamor  Marquart  (Lehrb.  d.  Pharmacie,  1865,  I,  385) 
and  others.  But  Jobst's  statement  was  corroborated  by  Pereira  (Elem. 
of  Mat.  Med.,  3d  Amer.  edit.,  1854,  II,  219)  with  this  qualification, 
that  Spanish  saffron  constitutes  the  best  saffron  of  the  shops,  and  that 
French  saffron  is  usually  considered  in  commerce  to  be  of  second 
quality.  This,  very  likely,  is  the  origin  of  the  high  esteem  in  which 
Spanish  saflron  has  been  generally  held  in  American  commerce  and  by 
most  American  writers. 
The  adulterations  of  commercial  saffron  may  be  divided  into  two 
classes,  namely,  such  which  are  derived  from  the  same  plant,  and  such 
coming  from  other  sources.  The  most  common  of  the  first  class  con- 
sists of  styles,  the  presence  of  which  has  been  observed  in  all  commer- 
cial samples  of  Spanish  saffron  which  have  been  examined  by  me  on 
the  present  occasion,  as  well  as  formerly ;  the  variations  consisting 
merely  in  the  relative  proportion  of  these  yellow  threads.  Next  in 
order  of  importance  are  crocus  stamens,  which  more  than  fifty  years 
ago  were  remarked  by  Martins  (^'  Pharmacognosie,''  p.  220),  dyed  so 
as  to  resemble  the  stigmas  in  color.  The  same  adulteration  was  sub- 
sequently noticed  by  Bentley  ('^  Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans.,"  March. 
