SAFFRON.
Dr. Nash, in his "Worcestershire," says that great quantities of wild saffron (Crocus sativus) grow in the parish of Kyre Wyard, south of Tenbury. If so, the naturalized plant must point out that saffron was formerly extensively cultivated at Kyre Wyard. Can any inhabitant of that vicinity say if the crocus, from which saffron was made, now grows to any extent in the parish, and if there is any tradition about the cultivation of saffron. Shakspeare alludes to "villanous saffron," which in his time so coloured silks, bread, and everything, that people became sick of it, and so it got out of fashion, and there was less demand for the drug. The Easter simnels, however, used to be made yellow with it to a late period, and perhaps some may be yet manufactured. In Cornwall there is still a taste for saffron cakes, as I observed this very year (1855) at Helstone, where I unexpectedly bought one. The crocus that produces saffron must not be confounded with the purple-flowered meadow saffron (Colchicum autumnale), which is a very different plant. This last bears the name of "Naked Ladies," from the flowers springing from the ground without any investiture of leaves.—L.
