248 ENGLISH BOTANY. 



the cloth ; any artificial contrivance of wire or bristles is stronger and less elastic, and 

 more liable to injure the fabric. At one time wire machines were very generally used, 

 and the Teasel plant ceased to be cultivated in Britain ; they were, however, found not 

 to succeed, and were soon thrown aside iu favour of the original Teasel. The heads of 

 the Teasel were at first set into a frame, so as to form a comb or brush with which to 

 manipulate ; but an improvement has been adopted by means of fixing the heads to a 

 cylinder, which revolves and performs the necessary operation more rapidly and per- 

 fectly. Large quantities of Teasels are grown in Somersetshire and near Bristol, for 

 the purposes of the cloth manufacturer. An acre will produce about IGO bushels, worth 

 about one shilling each. The use of the Teasel in the manufacture of cloth seems to 

 have been introduced by some foreign artisans who settled in this country. Without 

 this plant our cloth manufactory could hardly have made any progress. It has been 

 cultivated for this purpose ever since the reign of Richard I., and since the time of 

 Edward III. has been a regular article of consumption in chith-manufacturing districts. 

 It is a singular instance of the failure of mechanical invention and progress of intelli- 

 gence to supersede an ancient and apparently rude contrivance. The growth and 

 cultivation of the Teasel demands constant attention and labour throughout the year. 

 The heads are cut from the plant with a knife peculiarly formed, and the hands pro- 

 tected with gloves. They are very carefully dried, and great trouble is taken to prevent 

 their being wetted by a shower after being cut. The large heads which ripen first are 

 the most valuable, and are called kings ; these are tied up and dried separately. The 

 next crop consists of middlings, which are smaller, and are also called princes ; these 

 are best adapted for the dressing of fine and delicate cloths. So great is the trouble and 

 risk involved in the cultivation of Teasels, that it is seldom undertaken by any but 

 labourers and small farmers. It is always regarded as a casualty crop, the market price 

 varying from £4: to ,£22 per pack : a pack contains about 9,000 of the largest heads, or 

 1G,000 of the smallest. 



Dr. Prior tells us that the name Teasel really signifies to tease, and is applied 

 metaphorically to the scratching or teasing of cloth. 



SPECIES III.— DIP SAC US PILOSUS. Lhm. 



Plate DCLXXYI. 



I^eich. Ic. Fl. Germ, et Helv. Vol. XII. Tab. DCCIV. Fig. 1393. 

 BUlot, Fl. Gall, et Germ. Exsicc. No. 1495. 

 Cephalaria pilosa, Gr. & Goclr. Fl. de Fr. Vol. II. p. 69. 



Stem with weak prickles. Hadical leaves on long stalks, ovate, 

 acuminate, crenate-serrate, hairy ; stem-leaves oval or elliptical, at- 

 tenuated at both ends, the lower ones shortly stalked, crenate-serrate, 

 rarely entire, sometimes with a few short indistinct prickles on the 

 midrib beneath, generally with a pair of small lobes on the petiole. 

 Anthodes globular, slightly drooping when the flowers are expanded, 

 afterwards erect. Pericline of narrowly triangular spinous-pointed 

 herbaceous downy slightly-prickly leaves, ciliated with long hairs 

 on the margins and midrib, spreading or slightly reflexed. Scales 

 on the clinanth shortly obovatc, abruptly acuminated into a trian- 



