s clear that even in
Hakluyt's time Saffron had been so long introduced that the history of
its introduction was lost; and I think it very probable that, as was
suggested by Coles in his "Adam in Eden" (1657), we are indebted to the
Romans for this, as for so many of our useful plants. But it is not a
Roman or Italian plant. Spenser wrote of it as--

"Saffron sought for in Cilician soyle--"[270:1]

and Browne--

"Saffron confected in Cilicia"--_Brit. Past._, i, 2;

which information they derived from Pliny. It is supposed to be a native
of Asia Minor, but so altered by long cultivation that it never produces
seed either in England or in other parts of Europe.[270:2] This fact led
M. Chappellier, of Paris, who has for many years studied the history of
the plant, to the belief that it was a hybrid; but finding that when
fertilized with the pollen of a Crocus found wild in Greece, and known
as C. sativus var. Graecus (_Orphanidis_), it produces seed abundantly,
he concludes that it is a variety of that species, which it very much
resembles, but altered and rendered sterile by cultivation. It is not
now much cultivated in England, but we have abundant authority from
Tusser, Gerard, Parkinson, Camden, and many other writers, that it was
largely cultivated before and after Shakespeare's time, and that the
quality of the English Saffron was very superior.[271:1] The importance
of the crop is shown by its giving its name to Saffron Walden in
Essex,[271:2] and to Saffron Hill in London, which "was formerly a part
of Ely Gardens" (of which we shall hear again when we come to speak of
Strawberries), "and derives its name from the crops of Saffron which it
bore."--CUNNINGHAM. The plant has in the same way given its name to
Zaffarano, a village in Sicily, near Mount Etna, and to Zafaranboly,
"ville situee pres Inobole en Anatolie, au sud-est de l'ancienne
Heraclee."--CHAPPELLIER. The plant is largely cultivated in many parts
of Europe, but the chief centres of cultivation are in the
arrondissement of Pithiviers in France, and the province of Arragon in
Spain; and the chief consumers are the Germans. It has also been largely
cultivated in China for a great many years, and the bulbs now imported
from China are found to be, in many points, superior to the
European--"l'invasion Tartare aurait porte le Safran en Chine, et de
leur cote les croises l'auraient importe en Europe."--CHAPPELLIER.

I need scarcely say that the pa