3S 
CULTIVATION OP SAFFRON IN FRANCE. 
Saffron is adulterated by mixing it with safflower, mari- 
goIds_reddened by salt, and shreds of beef {la rouelle de 
bcBuf.J 
Saffron is employed in dyeing, in cookery, in pharmacy, 
and in medicine. 
In France and Spain, a balsam or saffron ointment is pre- 
pared from it, under the name of Croco-magna or Crocium. 
It is also used as a prophylactic against sea-sickness. 
2. The saffron of Lower Austria is the best and most 
costly in Europe, but the produce is scarcely sufficient for 
the home consumption, 5 and therefore saffron is imported. 
It is chiefly produced at Ravelsbach, Meissau, Eggendorf, 
Kirchbeg, and Wagram. Most of the saffron gardens have 
a substratum of loam, covered about a foot high with mould. 
Wheat fields are best adapted to the cultivation of saffron, 
the produce being three-fold that of the wheat. The gar- 
dens should be placed dry, exposed to the sun, and towards 
the south, and protected against northerly winds. They 
should not be shaded by forest trees, nor be too much 
elevated and exposed to the wind. Districts favourable for 
the cultivation of the vine suit best. 
The flowering season begins during the last week of Sep- 
tember, and ends in the first week of October; but it some- 
times lasts till the beginning of November. 
The soil is prepared after three methods; the first is simi - 
lar to that of preparing a garden-bed. 
By the second method, the field is ploughed in autumn 
after the harvest, the same as for wheat, only somewhat 
deeper and narrower. 
According to the third method, the field is ploughed im- 
mediately after the harvest (whether of wheat, rye, or oats) 
and then rolled and harrowed. Three days before plant- 
ing the field is trimmed. The manure is only added during 
planting, but so that it is well covered with earth and does 
not come in contact with the bulbs. This method requires 
