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Show CR CR Flowers appear. They are commouly planted near the Edg of Borders on the Sides of Walks: In doing of which you fhould be carefu! to plant fuch Sorts in the fame Line as do flower at the fame Time, and are of an equal Growth, otherwife the Lines will feem imperfec&. Thefe Roots lofing their Fibres with their Leaves, may then be taken up and kept dry until the Beginning of September, obferv- ing to keep them from Vermin, for the Mice are very fond of them. When you plant thefe Roots, (after having drawna Line upon the Border) make Holes with a Dibble about two Inches deep or mo according to the Lightnefs of the Soil, and two Inches Diftance from each other, in which you muft place the Roots with the Bud uppermotft ; then with a Rake fill up the Holes in fach a manner as that the upper Part of the Root maybe cover’d an Inch or more, being careful not to leave any of the Holes open, for this will intice the Mice to them, who when ice they have found them out, will deftroy all your Roots, if they are not prevented. In Fanuary, if the Weather is mild, the CU. appear above Ground ; ‘y and in their Flowers will appear before the green Leaves are grown to any Length, fo that the Flower feems at firft to be naked; but foon after the Flowers decay, the green SE 110 th oth tee Leaves growto be fix or eight Inches long, which fhould not be cut off until they decay, notwith{tanding they appear a little unfightly; for by cutting off the Leaves the Roots be fo weaken’d asnot to arrive at half their ufual Bignefs, nor will their Flowers the fucceeding Year be half fo big : Their Seeds are commonly ripe about the latter End of April or the Beginning of May,‘ when the green Leaves begin to decay. The fecond Clafs, or autumna . Crocus ; fativus. C. B. nron 2. Crocus; Alpinus, autun Autumnal Crocus of the Alps 3. Crocus; juncifol oduce Seeds.in our Climate, fo that they are ‘common in the Gardens, except the true von, which is propagated for Ufe in great nty in manyParts of England : Thefe may t As Safi om grows at prefent moft plentiful! fire, and has grown formerly J feveral other Counties of Eng/and, the Method of Culture does not, I believe, vary mur i anyof them, and therefore I judge it fuk ficient to fet downherethe Obfervations which I employ dproper Perfons, in different Seafons to make in the Years 1723, 1724, 1725, and 1728, up and downall that large Tra@ of Ground that lies between Szffron-walden and Caml ‘idge, in a Circle about ten Miles diameter, In that Country Saffron has been cultivated, and therefore it may reafonably be expected that the Inhabitants thereof are more tho- roughly acquainted with it than theyare any where elfe. I fhall begin with the Choice and Preparation of the Ground: The greateft Part ofthe Tract already mentioned, is an open level Country, with few Inclofures ; and theCuftom there is, as in moft other Places, to crop two Years, and let the Land be fallowthe third. on is always planted upon fallow Ground, and all other Things being alike, theyprefer that which has born Barley the Year before. The Saffron Grounds are feldom abovethree Acres, or lefs than one; and in chufing, the principal Thing they have Regard to, is, that theybe well expos’d, the Soil not poor, nora very {tiff Clay, but a temperate dry Mould, fuch as commonlylies upon Chalk, and is of a hazel Colour ; tho’, if every thing clfe anfwers, the Colour of the Mould is pretty much neglected, : The Groundbeing made Choice of, about Lady-day or the Beginning of April, it mult becarefully plough’d, the Furrows being drawn much clofer together, and deeper, if the Soil will allowit, than is done for any kind ofCorn, and accordingly the Charge is greater. About five Weeks after, during anytime in the Month of May, they lay between twenty and thirty Loads of Dung upon each Acre and having fpread it with great Care, they plough it in as before: CR CR ‘Fhe fhorteft. rotten Dungis the beft; and the Farmers, who have the Conveniency of making it, {pare no Pains to make it good, being fure of a proportionable Price for it. About Mid/ummer they plough a third time, and between everyfixteen Feet and a half, or Pole in Breadth, they leave 4 broad Furrow or Trench, whichferves both as a Boundary to the feveral Parcels, when there are feveral Proprietors to one Enclofure, and to throw the Weeds in at the prope a@ tien mpievery third Year, as was direéted for the Spring Crocus’s, but fhould not be kept Seafon. To this Head likewife belongs the Fencing out of the Ground longer than the Beginni ng of the Grounds, becaufe moft commonly, the A gift, for they commonly produce their not always, that is done before they plant ie ‘lowers in Septembe e . r or thhe Beginni inni ng of O¢foi The Fences confift of what they call dea¢ rik i they remain too long out of the Hedges or Hurdles, to keep out not only penal tity will not produce their Flowers Cattle of all Sorts, but efpecially Hares, which 9 itrong,25 norin fuch uch Plenty Plenty as whe e would otherwife feed on the Saffron Leave planted early, aetliee a during the Winter. FacSigaaane of cultivating ; Szffron being About the Weather we need only obferv% eet Curious, I thought it not impro ¢ i er that the hotteft Summers are c tainly the betts to infert in this P] ace a 7 an Abftraét 2 i Co of it, as iti and therewith if there be gentle Showers! was prefented to the Roy i time to time, they can hardly mifs ofa ple iti Jaimes Douglas, fae ful rich Crop, if the extreme Cold, a e not preRain of the foregoing Winter have iwi judic’d the Heads. re of The next general Part of the Cultu the Roots: The Saffron is, planting ot fetting , is a narrow only Inftrument usd for which Spade, commonly term’d a Spit-foovel. the is commonly in “The 'Time ofPlanting ach of Fudy, a little fooner or later, Mont the Weather anfwers. The Method cord raifes js this; One Man with his Spit-fhovel and , between three and four Inches of Earth fix or more Inches ; throws it before him about following two Perfons, generally Women, ft Edge with Heads, place them in the farthe Inches Diof the Trench he makes, at three s: As ftance from each other, or thereabout gone once as the Digger or Spitter has foon at the Breadth of the Ridge, he begins again as before, covers the other Side, and dis Roots et, and makes the fame Room the the fame for the Setters to place a new Row at from one Diftance from the firft that they are Ridge, another: ‘Thus they go ontill a w hole ; is planted containing commonly one Rod, to leave and the only Nicety in digging is, unfome Part of the firft Stratum of Earth tting, touch’d to lic under the Roots ; and infe their Bottom. to place the Roots dire@ly upon fhall fort of Rootsare to be preferr d, What Head ; but it muft be fhewn under the fourth formerly, when be obferv’d in this Place, that them were very dear, they did not plant Roots that ch y have fo thick as they do now; and ot the Roots, always fome Regardto the Size eft ata greater Diftance than x P ' the fmall ones. Acre The Quantity of Roots plantedin an ers, or one is generally about fixteen Quart which, accord= hundred twenty-cight Buthels, as menta Styli or Chives, and together with them a pretty long Portion of the sSty/us it felf or String to which they are join’d ; the reft of the Flower they throw awayas ufelefs : The next Morning they return into the Field again, whether it be wet or dry Weather, and fo on daily, even on Sundays, till the whole Crop be gather'd. The Chives being all pick’d out of the Flowers, the next Labour about them is to dry them on the Kiln. The Kiln is built upon athick Plank (that it may be mov’d from Place to Place) fupported byfour fhort Legs: The Outfide confifts of eight Pieces of Wood about three Inches thick, in Form of a_quadrangular Frame, about twelve Inches fquare at the Bottom on the Infide, and twenty-two Inches at Top ; which is likewife equal to the perpendicular Height of it. On the Fore-fide is left a Hole about eight Inches {quare; and four Inches above the Plank, through which are the Fire is put in. Overall the reft Laths laid pretty thick, clofe to one another, and nail’d to the Frame already mentioned, and thenare plaifter’d over on bothSides, as are alfo the Planks at Bottom verythick, to ferve for a Hearth. Over the Mouth or wideft Part goes a Hair-cloth, fix’d to the Sides of the Kiln, and likewife to two Rollers of moveable Pieces of Wood, which are turn’d by Wedges of Screws, in order to ftretch the Cloth. Inftead of the Hair-cloth, many People nowufe a Net-work, or Iron-wire, with whichit is obferv’d that the Saffron dries fooner, and with a lef Quantity of Fuel: But the Difficulty in preferving the Saffron from burning, makes the Hair-cloth be preferr’d by the niceft Judges in Drying. The Kiln is plac’d in a light Part of the Houfe ; and they begin by laying five or fix them, ing to the Diftances left between an Inch Sheets of white Paper on the Hair-cloth, upon be before affien’d, and fuppofing all to ther, ought to amount which they fpread the wet Saffron between i : two and three Inches thick ; this they cover in Number. Paper, and over thefe lay t the Roots are planted with other Sheets of times doubled, or, & ofSeptember, or fome- a coarfe Blanket five or fix Canvas-pillow fill’d with js no more Labour about inftead thereof, a after the Fire has been lighted they then begin to fpire, and Straw; and is cover’d with a nfelves above-ground, for fome Time, the Whole are ready to fhewi sing a few out of the Board, having a large Weight upon it. ch is knownt At firft they give ita pretty ftrong Hear, suit be carefully par’d make the Chives fweat (as their Expreffion to rak’d 6c. , Weeds the and ha fharp Hoe, andin this, if they do notufe a great is); inder wouldh they other ws, nto the Furro deal of Care, they are in Danger of fcorche Growth ofthe Plants. and fo of ipoiling all that is on the In fome time after appear the Saffron-flowers ; ing, his leads us to the third Branch of our Kiln. When it has been thus dried about an thod. ‘The Flowers are gather’d Hour, theytake off the Board, Blanker, and off from upperPapers, and take the S$ as a that whichlies next it, raifing at the fam the Edges of the Cake, with a Knife: rent Parts ofthe Field, rs, and throw them and fo Flowers are gather’d, ynly about ten or eleven ; have upon pon a lay on the Paper again, theyflide in ano- ther Board between the Hair-cloth and unde ups Papers, and turn both Papers and Saffron Cas fide-down ; afterwards covering them Be abov ame Heat is continu d for an Hour i 1€ ai gai, |