A History of Agriculture in India v2.c76.23

v2.c76.23

‘The *Zafaran* (saffron). In the beginning of the month of Urdibihisht, the saffron seeds are put into the ground which has been carefully prepared and rendered soft. After this, the field is irrigated with rain-water. The seed itself is a bulb resembling garlic. The flower appears in the middle of the month of *Aban*; the plant is about a quarter of a yard (23 cm) long; but, according to the difference of the soil in which it stands, there are sometimes two-thirds of it above and sometimes two-thirds below the ground. The flower stands on the top of the stalk, and consists of six petals and six stamens. Three of the six petals have a fresh lilac colour, and stand round about the remaining three petals. The stamens are similarly placed, three of a yellow colour standing round about the other three, which are red. The latter yield the saffron. Yellow stamens are often cunningly intermixed. In former times saffron was collected by compulsory labour; they pressed men daily, and made them separate the saffron from the petals and the stamens, and gave them salt instead of wages, a man who cleaned two *pals* receiving two *pals* of salt. At the time of Ghazi Khan, the son of Khaji Chak, another custom became general; they gave the workmen eleven *tarks* of saffron flowers, of which one *tark* was given them as wages; and for the remaining ten they had to furnish two Akbarshahi *sers* of clean, dry saffron, i.e. for two Akbarshahi *mans* of saffron flowers they had to give two *sers* of cleaned saffron. This custom, however, was abolished by his Majesty on his third visit to Kashmir, to the great relief of the people.