ADULTERATION  OF  SAFFRON  WITH  STAMENS  OF  CROCUS.  225 
ON  THE  ADULTERATION  OF  SAFFRON  WITH  THE  STA- 
MENS OF  CROCUS. 
By  Robert  Bentley,  F.L.S.,  M.R.C.S.  Eng., 
(Professor  of  Materia  Medica  and  Botany  to  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  of  Great  Britain,  etc.) 
Saffron  must  necessarily  be  dear,  in  consequence  of  so  small  a 
portion  of  the  flower  of  the  plant  (Crocus  sativus)  from  which  it 
is  derived,  entering  into  its  composition.  It  has  been  computed 
that  upwards  of  60,000  flowers  are  required  to  form  a  pound  of 
saffron.  For  this  cause,  also,  saffron  has  always  been  liable  to 
frequent  and  great  adulteration.  The  substances  that  have  been 
most  frequently  employed  for  its  adulteration  are  the  florets  of 
the  safflower  plant  (Carthamus  tinctorius,)  and  those  of  the  com 
mon  garden  marigold  (Calendula  officinalis.)  The  former  plant, 
indeed,  has  received  the  name  of  bastard  saffron  ;  and  according 
Fig.  1.  Stamen  of  Crocus,  somewhat  enlarged  in  order  to  exhibit  more 
distinctly  its  characteristics. 
Fig.  2.  A  part  of  the  tubular  portion  of  the  perianth  of  Crocus,  bearing 
two  stamens. 
Fig.  3.  The  same  as  Fig.  2,  except  that  three  stamens  are  inserted  on 
the  inside  of  the  tubular  portion. 
Fig.  4.  The  upper  end  of  the  style,  with  the  three  stigmas,  of  Crocus 
sativus,  which  together  form  genuine  saffron. 
to  Pereira,  and  his  observations  have  recently  been  confirmed  by 
myself,  the  so-called  Cake  Saffron  of  the  shops,  which  was  form- 
erly obtained  by  submitting  the  ordinary  hay  or  officinal  saffron 
to  pressure,  is  now  commonly  prepared  from  saffiower  florets, 
made  with  mucilage  into  a  kind  of  paste,  which  is  afterwards 
rolled  out  into  cakes.    Other  adulterations  of  saffron  that  have- 
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