TEAK 



5727 



TECK 



TEAK, teek, a beautiful forest tree of the 

 verbena family, native to Southeastern Asia. It 

 is the source of a wood highly valued for ship- 

 building and for furniture making. The special 

 qualities of teakwood are strength, durability 

 and resistance to water ; in addition, it is easily 

 worked, takes a high polish, and contains a 

 resinous oil that makes it resistant to insects. 

 In appearance the wood resembles coarse ma- 

 hogany. Teak trees sometimes grow to be 200 

 feet in height, and are generally found in 

 groups in forests of other trees. The leaves, 

 which are often two feet long and a foot and 

 a half in width, yield a purple dye. In India 

 the British government controls most of the 

 teak supply and derives therefrom a profitable 

 income. Bangkok, in Siam, and the Indian 

 cities of Rangoon and Moulmein are centers of 

 export. 



A tree known as African teak or African oak, 

 belonging to the spurge family, is also valued 

 for its wood, which is used for about the same 

 purposes as the Asiatic teakwood. The African 

 wood, however, is the less durable. 



TEASEL, te'z'l, a genus of plants contain- 

 ing one commercially valuable species, the 

 fuller's or clothier's teasel. This plant, which is 



TEASEL. 



native to the south of Europe and has been 

 naturalized in America, is used to raise the nap 

 on cloth. The parts employed for this purpose 

 are the heads of the tubular pale lilac or white 



flowers. These heads are cut in two and at- 

 tached to a cylinder which is made to revolve 

 against the cloth. The largest heads are used 

 for raising the nap on blankets; the next size, 

 for raising that on cloth for men's garments. 

 Small, immature ones are used for fine woolens 

 and broadcloth. Strange to say, no mechanical 

 device has ever been invented which satisfac- 

 torily fills the place of this plant. It is a this- 

 tlelike herb with long, stemless leaves, prickly 

 stems, and stiff, sharp bracts surrounding the 

 flower heads. 



TECHNICAL, tek'ni kal, AND INDUSTRIAL 

 EDUCATION. The modern trend toward the 

 practical in education is seen in the establish- 

 ment of vocational courses in the public schools 

 and in the successful operation -of numerous in- 

 stitutions which prepare young people to earn 

 their livelihood. Technical and industrial edu- 

 cation is a general term covering the various 

 forms of instruction having this end in view. 

 Such instruction is carried on in technical high 

 schools, in manual training classes and in trade 

 schools, and is continued in schools of applied 

 science and technology of college rank. Among 

 immature students mistakes are often made be- 

 cause these inexperienced young people do not 

 always know for what vocations they are best 

 fitted. What is being done to direct such stu- 

 dents, and to help them choose vocations in 

 which they will be successful, is told in these 

 volumes under the heading VOCATIONAL GUID- 

 ANCE. 



The reader is also referred to the article 

 SCHOOL, subheads Vocational Schools, Technical 

 Schools and Trade Schools, ahd to the allied sub- 

 jects listed at the end of the article EDUCATION. 



TECK, tek, ALEXANDER AUGUSTUS FREDERICK, 

 Prince of (1874- ), an English army officer 

 who was officially announced Governor-General 

 of Canada on May 7, 1914, to succeed the Duke 

 of Connaught, but was unable to assume office 

 on account of the outbreak of the War of the 

 Nations. He was ordered to the front, and in 

 November, 1914, distinguished himself for valor- 

 ous service and was promoted to the rank of 

 colonel. His Highness is the brother of Queen 

 Mary and the great-grandson of George III 

 through his mother. In 1904 he married Prin- 

 cess Alice of Albany, granddaughter of Queen 

 Victoria. He received his education at Eton 

 and Sandhurst, served in the Matabeleland 

 war in 1896, and for bravery in the South Afri- 

 can War was given the Queen's medal, and ap- 

 pointed a member of the Distinguished Service 

 Order. 



