WHEN seen in full liuwer the Wild 

 Teasel {Dipsacus sylvestris) is a 

 striking plant. It grows to a 

 height of six feet or more, and the larger 

 flower heads will measure as much as four 

 inches in length. The flowers, mauve 

 coloured, prove a great attraction for bees ; 

 indeed, there is an old Yorkshire saying 

 which likens a crowd of people to " bees 

 round a Teasel (or ' Tazzle ') field." 



The flowers commence to open out — not, 

 as might be expected, at the base of the 

 head, but half-way up, and then proceed 

 in two distinct circles, one upward, the 

 other downward. 



The Fuller's Teasel (Dipsacus fitllonnm), 

 formerly largely used in cloth dressing, 

 was derived from the Wild Teasel. 

 The photographs here given 

 show the difference between the 

 two flower heads. The bracts which 

 remain after the flowers die are 

 straight in the wild plant, and not 

 very stiff ; but in the cultivated 

 variety these are hooked and 

 possess just the stiffness requisite 

 for raising the nap of cloth without 

 tearing it, and so large tracts of 

 land were given over to the Teasel- 

 growing industry. 



The seeds, which are about a 

 quarter of an inch in length, and 

 very narrow, were sown broadcast 

 in ^larch or April, and the plants 

 did not reach maturity until after 

 a period of eighteen months. 

 When fairly above ground the 

 young plants underwent a process 

 of " slinging" — i.e. the best plants 

 were left growing about a foot 

 apart and the rest rooted up along 

 with weeds and rubbish. For this 

 singling out a specially made spade 

 was used, the blade being about dr 



eighteen inches in length and four 



943 



or five in width, with a wooden handle 

 curved outward so as to be well clear of 

 the plants when in use. 



May or June the following year the plants 

 began to flower. The leaves are united 

 at the base and form a kind of cup, which 

 is nearly always filled with water, whether 

 there has been any recent rain or no, the 

 cup so formed by the two lowest leaves 

 often holding considerably over a pint of 

 liquid. If the rain had been recent this 

 was often utilised by the hardy sons of 

 the soil to quench their thirst. 



In September, or nearly eighteen months 

 after being sown, cutting operations 

 began, sometimes the " hands " being 

 engaged by the day at a stated wage and 



lED FLOWER HEAD OF FULLERS TEASEL 

 (DIPSACUS FILLOSIM). 



