176 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



The Teazle, or fuller's thistle (Dipsacus fullo- 

 num), bears a prickly flower-head or bur, which is 

 used in raising the nap on woollen cloths. It is 

 cultivated for this purpose in many parts of the west 

 of England. 



The seeds, in the proportion of one peck per acre, 

 are sown broad-cast on a dry soil ; and when the 

 plants come up, they are thinned to a foot asunder 

 every way. The spring is the time for sowing : the 

 ground is kept clear from weeds during the summer, 

 and in the ensuing year the plants bear their prickly 

 capsules : these are in a proper state for gathering in 

 August, when they are cut, tied up in bundles, and 

 dried. The largest and most pointed burs are esteemed 

 the best : they are chiefly used in dressing and pre- 

 paring stockings and coverlets. The smaller kind, 

 properly called the fuller's, or draper's teazle, is used 

 in the preparation of cloth. 



When applied to the purpose of fulling, the heads 

 are fixed firmly round the circumference of a large 

 broad wheel, which is made to revolve, and the cloth 

 is held against them, whereby the herbaceous prickles 

 rub and raise up the nap without injuring the texture, 

 much more effectually and securely than any artificial 

 instrument which could be invented. 



A species of moss (hypnum crispuni), which 

 abounds in Italy in every wood, growing especially 

 on beech-trees, is found to be an excellent material 

 for stuffing mattresses. It is little liable to decay, 

 and does not retain moisture. This vegetable pro- 

 duction is collected in August and September : it is 

 then dried in the shade in order to preserve its 

 fragrance, and after being beaten in the manner that 

 flocks are prepared, it is tit ibr use. 



