374 
AMBROSINE. 
July,  at  distances  cf  three-quarters  of  an  inch,  in  rows,  which  are 
separated  from  each  other  about  one  foot.  These  bulbs  remain  in 
the  earth  for  three  years.  The  flowers  appear  in  October,  and  are 
especially  plentiful  in  the  second  year.  They  are  gathered  by 
hand  and  put  in  baskets  to  wither,  without  allowing  them  to  be 
pressed.  The  harvest  lasts  from  a  fortnight  to  three  or  four 
weeks,  and  yields,  on  an  average,  three  flowers  from  each  bulb. 
Seven  to  eight  thousand  flowers  are  counted  for  one  pound  of 
fresh  saffron,  which  will  lose  four  fifths  of  its  weight  by  drying. 
One  pound  of  the  dried  safl"ron  of  commerce  will  therefore  repre- 
sent 35,000  to  40,000  flowers.  Immediately  after  gathering,  the 
stigmas  are  removed  from  the  flowers,  and,  without  mixing  the 
stamina,  are  put  in  small  heaps.  This  part  of  the  work  is  per- 
formed by  women,  children,  and  old  men,  and  on  account  of  the 
powerfully  stupefying  odor,  as  much  as  possible  in  the  open  air.  • 
The  drying  of  the  safiron  is  eff'ected  by  hanging  it,  distributed 
on  a  hair  sieve,  over  a  low  coal  fire.  After  fifteen  minutes  the 
stigmas  are  stirred  up  and  heated  again.  When  dry  the  contents 
of  the  sieve  are  put  on  a  large  plate,  not  exposed  to  moisture,  and 
allowed  to  get  cold,  when  they  are  filled  in  well-dried  linen  bags, 
which  are  kept  at  a  dry  place. — Drug.  Oir.  ^  Chem.  Gaz.,  May, 
1870,  from  Jour.  Pharm.  Chem. 
AMBROSINE. 
A  NEW  fossil  resin,  found  in  the  phosphate  beds  of  South 
Carolina,  is  thus  described  by  Prof.  Chas.  U.  Sheppard,  in  the 
Rural  Carolinian  : — "  An  irregular  oval-shaped  mass  of  a  mineral 
closely  resembling  amber,  has  been  brought  to  my  notice.  The 
mass  was  originally  of  the  size  of  a  man's  fist.  It  is  of  a  yellow- 
ish-brown color  externally,  but  within  is  clove-brown.  It  breaks 
with  about  the  same  facility  as  amber  ;  has  a  conchoidal  fracture, 
and  a  resinous  lustre.  It  is  feebly  translucent.  Its  specific  grav- 
ity is  but  slightly  above  that  of  water.  Indeed,  small  fragments  of 
it,  when  thrown  into  Avater,  float  for  a  short  time,  until  they  part 
with  adhering  air,  when  they  slowly  descend  through  the  liquid. 
It  is  strongly  electric  by  friction.  It  melts  into  a  clear  yellowish 
liquid  at  about  460°  Fah.  It  gives  off*  succinic  acid  before  it 
melts.    On  fusion  a  dense  yellow  oil  is  volatilized,  attended  with 
