54 Teasels. [Sess. 



tons of seed are produced in the United States alone, worth 

 about £10,000,000 in the raw state. The seed is dealt with 

 in^oil mills as follows : The short cotton still adhering to the 

 seed is made into wadding. Then a machine called the 

 huller removes the shells. The shells are used to feed cattle 

 when coal is cheap, and as fuel when coal is dear. The kernel 

 is cooked by steam, ground to pulp, and pressed in hydraulic 

 presses. It yields enormous quantities of oil, and the residue 

 is the well-known cotton-cake used for fattening cattle. The 

 oil is used in a rather crude form for miners' lamps, in a more 

 refined form for railway and other lamps, and in its most 

 refined form as a substitute for, or adulterant of, olive oil, and 

 is greatly used for cooking in Italy, Spain, France, and the 

 United States, and almost universally for tinning sardines. It 

 is used in butter-making in Holland, and in the United States 

 it is made into lard, rivalling pure hog's lard in whiteness, 

 and is largely preferred to hog's lard for culinary purposes. 

 Thus the seed brings from 10 s. to £2 per acre to the planter 

 — a clear gain, as formerly it cost money to get rid of it. 



The inner bark of the cotton-stalk bears a fine fibre, like 

 flax or jute, but it is not used at present, as no machine has 

 yet been devised to separate and clean it. So you see there 

 is still at least a chance left for a mechanical genius to dis- 

 tinguish himself, and as a side issue to make a fortune 

 legitimately. 



TX.— TEASELS. 



By Mr A. B. STEELE. 



{Read April 22, 1903.) 



In appearance teasels somewhat resemble thistles, and, like 

 them, have assumed a protective covering of prickles. These 

 sharp-pointed, straight, or curved bodies serve either as a pro- 

 tection against the attacks of animals or as climbing organs. 

 They have apparently been adopted by the teasel for de- 

 fensive purposes, for towards the top of the stem the spines 

 or prickles become more formidable. The flowers, too, are 



