TEASEL 



TEASEL 



637 



other teasels will be larger and for manufacturing 

 purposes fully as good, but th^ seed will not germi- 

 nate. Where the branches diverge from the main 

 stalk the leaves grow together and form a cup 

 holding a pint or more of water. It is interesting 

 to note that without water in these cups perfect 

 teasels will not be formed. 



History. 



The fuller's teasel is a native of the south of 

 Europe, whence it was taken to other sections and 

 is now cultivated to a large extent. In 1840, Wil- 

 liam Snook, a resident of Onondaga county, New 

 York, visited his former home in England and on 

 his return brought with him teasel seed, and with 

 the help of workmen from the teasel-growing sec- 

 tions of England he began the culture of teasel in 

 America. From this small beginning has sprung 

 a business which, although it has not spread to any 

 great extent beyond a radius of ten miles from 

 the place where- it originated, ranks as one of the 

 important industries of that section. In more 

 recent years the teasel has been grown in a small 

 way in Oregon. The Oregon teasels, although of 

 good quality, are not considered by manufacturers 

 to be up to the standard of excellence of the New 

 York product. 



Varieties. 



A number of species are known, all native of 

 the temperate regions of the Old World. But two 

 varieties are known in America, the Dipsacus Ful- 

 lonum or fuller's teasel, which is the only kind 

 having a commercial value, and the wild teasel, D. 

 sylvestris, which is a common wayside weed in 

 many sections, and is said to have some value as 

 a bee plant. 



Although there is but the one variety of teasel 

 that has a commercial value, the market teasels 

 vary considerably in quality according to the soil 

 and climate in which they are grown. The dry 

 climate and soil of Prance produce the most wiry 

 hooks known. These are needed for blankets and 

 deep-napped woolens. The moist soil of England 

 produces the opposite extreme, but it is such a 

 teasel as much of the English cloth requires. The 

 German product, which is very similar to the Amer- 

 ican, has a medium strength and is adapted to 

 ordinary woolens. This variation causes a consid- 

 erable interchange between the different countries. 

 Broadcloth, which is almost entirely a foreign 

 product, requires a small, fine teasel. This creates 

 a demand for the "buttons" from this country. 

 Blankets, on the other hand, are exclusively a 

 domestic product and call for the "kings" both 

 home-grown and foreign. 



Culture. 



The teasel seems to do its best on a limestone 

 soil, which should be made clean by previous culti- 

 vation. In the early spring the ground should be 

 thoroughly fitted and the seed sown in drills about 

 three to three and a half feet apart. One to two 

 pecks of seed per acre are used, commonly the 

 smaller quantity. When the young plants appear 



they should be given clean cultivation, and should 

 be thinned to stand eight or ten inches apart. It is 

 customary to plant a half crop of corn with the 

 teasels. This does not seem to injure the growlh 

 of the young plants and it gives some return from 

 the land the first season. The stalks are usually 



Fig. 859. Teasel, near the end of the second year. 



left standing to hold the snow on the teasel plants 

 during the winter. The second spring the field is 

 usually given an early cultivation, after which 

 nothing is done till the time of harvest. 



Harvesting and handling. — About August 1 the 

 crop is ready to be harvested, when the plants have 

 acquired their full size. The heads have blossomed 

 and between the blossoms have formed the stiff, 

 recurved hooks that give the plant its value. The 

 heads should be cut as soon as possible after the 

 blossoms have fallen. About three or four inches 

 of stem is cut with the head. The implements for 

 harvesting are a short knife, a pair of gloves to 

 protect the hands and a large basket to hold the 

 cut heads. As the heads do not ripen uniformly, it 

 is necessary to go over the field two or three times 

 to secure the entire crop in its best condition. As 

 soon as cut, the heads are drawn to a building 

 provided with ample ventilation and spread on 

 scaffolds to dry. 



Yield. 



The average yield in America is about 100,000 

 heads per acre ; in the countries of Europe two or 

 even three times this yield is not uncommon. The 

 reason for this is to be found in the high-priced 

 land and the cheap labor of those countries. The 



