ADULTERATION  OF  SAFFRON  WITH  STAMENS  OF  CROCUS.  227 
Upon  a  superficial  examination  this  specimen  of  saffron  pre- 
sented a  considerable  resemblance  to  genuine  saffron  in  general 
appearance,  color  and  odor.  Upon  a  closer  inspection,  the  odor 
was  found  to  be  much  less  penetrating  and  aromatic  than  that  of 
true  saffron,  and  to  have  added  to  it  something  of  a  different  and 
peculiar  nature ;  and  the  mass  was  seen  to  be  principally  com- 
posed of  somewhat  cylindrical  twisted  compressible  bodies,  with 
a  few  firmer  thread-like  ones  intermixed,  instead  of  being  wholly 
composed  of  firm  thread-like  bodies,  as  would  have  been  the  case 
with  a  specimen  of  genuine  saffron.  In  other  words,  the  present 
specimen  of  saffron  was  found  to  be  less  fibrous  or  filamentous  in 
appearance  than  that  of  genuine  saffron. 
Upon  infusing  a  portion  of  the  specimen  in  warm  water,  and 
comparing  the  appearances  which  it  then  presented  with  some 
true  saffron  exposed  to  similar  conditions,  the  difference  between 
the  two  was  most  striking,  and  could  not  but  have  been  evident 
to  any  ordinary  observer.    Thus,  in  the  case  of  the  genuine 
saffron,  the  color  was  seen  to  be  but  slowly  communicated  to 
the  water,  which  gradually  assumed  a  deep  orange-yellow  color, 
and  remained  perfectly  clear  and  transparent ;  and  when  the 
infused  mass  was  stirred  up  and  diffused  through  the  liquid, 
the  peculiar  appearance  and  structure  of  the  styles  and  stigmas 
constituting  genuine  saffron,  as  already  noticed,  (Fig.  4,)  was 
clearly  exhibited.    With  the  other  specimen,  however,  the  color 
was  almost  immediately  taken  up  by  the  water,  which  almost 
immediately  assumed  a  deep  orange-yellow  color,  and  also  pre- 
sented a  turbid  appearance  from  the  diffusion  through  it  of 
small  granules.    These  granules  were  also  seen  on  the  side  of 
the  glass  vessel  in  which  the  infusion  had  been  made  ;  and  al- 
though many  of  them  ultimately  subsided  to  the  bottom  of  the 
vessel,  many  remained  in  suspension,  so  that  the  infusion,  how- 
ever long  kept,  never  became  clear.    Upon  examining  the  in- 
fused substance  it  was  seen  to  be  principally  composed  of  a 
closely- adhering  mass  of  very  pale-yellow  flabby,  more  or  less 
flattened,  and  somewhat  cylindrical  twisted  bodies,  with  a  few 
thread-like  deep  orange-yellow  ones  intermixed.    The  appear- 
ance of  this  mass  was  most  striking,  and  would  in  itself  have 
led  to  the  detection  of  the  adulteration.    It  was  seen  at  once, 
