80 QUARTERLY JOURNAL. 



sider them as a kind of thistle ; but their heads are really differ 

 ent, though the family stands next to the great family of plant 

 known in botanical treatises as the composita—a. family in whio 

 the thistle tribe is found. The teasel is a biennial plant, or re 

 quires two years to come to perfection. It is hardy, belongs t 

 the temperate climate, and bears frost well. It is not difficult f( 

 thorough-going farmers to cultivate it. It may be cultivated o 

 almost any kind of soil, provided it is not too rich ; the be 

 teasel is, however, raised upon a rather stiff clayey loam. Tl 

 ground is to be broken up early in the spring ; the seed is sow 

 in drills three feet apart, and may be put into the ground any tin 

 from the first of April to the first of June. It is better, howeve, 

 to sow as soon as the field is sufficiently dry, as the young plant 

 not injured by frost, should it occur, and an opportunity is giv., 

 for a wider extension of its roots. The seed, when sown early i 

 April, will require first hoeing by the middle of May, or wh^ 

 the leaf is about two inches long. Without entering upon : 

 exact detail of what is to be done, it will be sufficient to state tb 

 the plant will require much the same treatment as maize or Indi i 

 corn ; or that during the whole period it will require to be ke ■ 

 free from weeds. Attention so as to secure the growth of t 

 plant is not so difficult as curing the teasel and putting it in a cc 

 dition for market. This part of the business I will now speak 



It may be considered as ready for picking when it has just p , 

 flowering ; or when the petal (flower leaf) is ready to drop. Hi| 

 is an important fact to be noticed ; the crop must be attended 

 and gathered at once; for at this stage only are the heads a , 

 awns of the floral leaves sufficiently elastic and tough to be adapt: 

 to the fuller's use. 



If, then, a careless farmer attempts to raise the teasel, he w 

 ten to one, lose his crop, or let it injure, for want of immedl 

 attention at the precise time at which it is required. But thia 

 not all ; the teasel being gathered at the proper time, would still 

 lost without careful drying ; for at this time it is not like the( 

 head of the wild teasel which we see in the autumn, but it 

 full of the juices of the plant ; and these must be evaporated 

 a mode which will prevent mould or mildew, and at the sa 

 time preserve the elasticity of the hooks. To eff'ect this, Mr. Hi 

 kins has erected a number of buildings in form and size of ' 



