CHAPTER XX. 



TEASEL. FLAX. HEMP. BROOM CORN. 

 OZIER WILLOW. 



592. TEASEL (Dipsacus Fullonum,) is a native of Europe, 

 and is used by the manufacturers of woollen cloth to raise a nap 

 on the surface, by means of the fine and elastic hooks with 

 which the seed pod is armed. There is a native American 

 species (D. sylvestris,) devoid of these hooks, and therefore 

 useless. 



593. It was not till about 1820 tbat this plant was introduced int^ 

 field culture in the United States. It is now grown in parts of New- 

 York and New England, in sufficient quantities to supply the demand. 

 The first raised in this country sold for $10 per thousand ; as late as 

 1835, they were imported at a cost of $4 or $5 per thousand; from 1845 

 to 1850, they were afforded as low as 75 cents to $1 per thousand. The 

 demand for them necessarily increases with the number of woollen man- 

 ufacturies , and as these are met with in most of our Western States, 

 this plant could probably be grown with sufficient facility and profit, 

 on a limited scale, to make it worth the attention of Western farmers, 

 for home use. 



594. Having a tap-root, the teasel requires a deep rich soil. 

 A strong, gravelly loam produces the best and most serviceable 

 heads ; and sward-land plowed deep, and well turned under in 

 April is preferred. After plowing, the soil is pulverized and 

 made smooth and even. The land is marked out in rows 3 or 

 3^- feet apart, or a drill is used, and the seed sown at the rate of 

 6 quarts to the acre, and lightly covered. This should be done 

 early in May. In about a month, the field is thoroughly weed 

 ed with the hoe and fingers, and the plants thinned out to a dis 

 tance of from 4 to 6 inches. After this, a cultivator is used 



