MUSTARD. 215 



of our middle states which resembles the useful teasel, with 

 this peculiar difference, that the ends of the awns or chaff 

 on the heads are straight instead of hooked, which renders 

 them perfectly useless. 



CULTIVATION. The teasel is a biennial, requiring two 

 years to mature. It is sown on a deep loamy clay, previ- 

 ously well plowed and harrowed, in drills 20 inches asunder, 

 leaving a plant in every 10 inches, or in hills about 16 

 inches apart. The ground should be kept light by occa- 

 sional stirring, and free from weeds. The plants are gene- 

 rally stronger and more thrifty if allowed to mature where 

 sown, and to accomplish this, the intermediate spaces between 

 the hills may be annually planted Avith new seed. Many 

 adopt the plan of sowing in beds and transplanting. 

 Although hardy, there is sometimes an advantage in cover- 

 ing the beds which contain the young plants with straw 

 during the winter. 



GATHERING. Those intended for use should be cut with 

 a stem eight inches long below the head, just as it is going 

 out of flower when the awns are the toughest ; and as these 

 come into maturity at different times in the same plant, they 

 should be cut successively as they come forward. Those 

 intended for seed, which should always be the largest, strong- 

 est heads, must be suffered to remain till ripe, when they 

 can be gathered and threshed with the flail. The others 

 should be thinly spread and dried under cover where no 

 moisture can reach them. They may then be assorted into 

 three parcels according to size and quality and packed in 

 large sacks, when they are ready for market. The crop on 

 good soils well cultivated, may be stated at 150,000 to 200,000 

 per acre, worth from $1.50 to $2.50 per 1000. 



MUSTARD. 



There are two species of mustard used for field cultiva- 

 tion ; the white (Sinapis alba,) and (lie black (S. nigra,) the 

 last of which is generally raised. It requires a rich loamy 

 soil, deeply plowed and well harrowed. It may be sown, 

 either broadcast, in drills about two feet apart, or in hills. 

 Mr. Parmelee of Ohio thus raised on 27 acres, 23,850 Ibs., 

 which brought in the Philadelphia market, $2,908 ; an ave- 

 rage of over $100 per acre. The ground on which it is 

 planted must be frequently stirred, and kept clear of weeds. 

 When matured, it should be carefully cut with the scythe 



