638 



TEASEL 



TEOSINTB 



opposite conditions here render intensive cultiva- 

 tion unprofitable. 



Marketing. 



From the grower the crop goes to the dealer or 

 middleman. The price has varied from iifty cents 

 per thousand (an unprofitable rate) to two dollars 

 and even more, although the latter price has not 

 been reached in many years. For the past few 

 years the price has been ninety cents to one dollar 

 per thousand. Considering that it requires two 

 years to grow the crop and that much hand labor 

 is required, any price under seventy-five cents will 

 not return a fair margin of profit. 



Fig. 860 



Teasel, first year. 



Although nominally sold by the thousand, the 

 teasels are really sold by weight. A thousand of 

 the dried teasels are estimated to weigh ten pounds. 

 The dealers trim off the projecting spurs about the 

 base, shorten the stem, assort them into several 

 grades according to size and the quality of the 

 hook, and pack them for shipment to the manufac- 

 turer. 



Use. 



The teasel has been used from ancient times in 

 raising a nap on cloth. At first the work was done 

 in a rude way by hand. At present the teasels are 

 arranged on a cylinder in such a way that the cloth 

 passes slowly over them while the cylinder or 

 " gig," as it is called, revolves in the opposite di- 

 rection. Thus the recurved hooks catch the fibers 

 of the wool, causing them to stand up from the 

 surface of the cloth and form a nap, which in fine 

 cloth is sheared to bring it to a uniform length. 

 After a time the spaces between the hooks become 

 filled with the fibers. They are then cleaned by 

 machinery. By this means the teasel may be used 

 several times before it becomes worthless. Al- 

 though a number of machines have been invented to 

 take the place of the teasel, nothing has been prac- 

 tical enough to come into general use. The teasel 

 hook is strong enough for the work and yet elastic 

 enough to " give " before breaking the cloth, char- 

 acteristics difficult to secure in a machine. 



TEOSINTE. Euchlosna Mexieana, Schrad. Also 

 given as E. luxurians and Reana luxurians, 

 Dur. Graminem. Guatemala Grass. (Pronounced 

 teosin'te.) Fig. 861. 



By W. J. Spillman. 



An annual forage plant closely related botani- 

 cally to corn. The appearance and inflorescence 

 are much like corn, but no true ear is formed ; 

 the seed is produced on slender spikes in four or 

 five leaf-axils near the center of the plant. A 

 tassel is borne similar to that of corn. Some botan- 

 ists hold it to be the original form of corn, with 

 which it readily crosses. It is a rank grower, 

 reaching a height of nine to fifteen feet, 

 and bearing an abundance of leaves and 

 tender stems. Thirty to sixty stalks are 

 sometimes sent up from a single root. 

 Some of the suckers attain nearly the 

 same size as the main stem and mature 

 at about the same time. Under favorable 

 conditions, growth continues until checked 

 •t ^,..-., by frost. 



^^>.-.-- Distribution. 



Tf- The successful growing of teosinte is 

 restricted by soil and climatic conditions. 

 f It demands a rich soil with an abundance 

 of moisture and a long, hot growing sea- 

 son. Where these conditions do not pre- 

 vail, it is easily superseded by sorghum, 

 corn and other forage crops. The plant 

 is a native of the warm parts of Mexico 

 and Central and South America, though 

 it was first cultivated in Australia. In 

 the United States its best growth is made along 

 the Gulf coast, in Florida and Louisiana, and in 

 Georgia and Mississippi. It may be grown as far 

 north as New Jersey and Kansas, though in the 

 northern states it can scarcely be considered an 

 economic forage plant. It has been grown with 

 some success in Michigan and southern Oregon. In 

 New York and Vermont it has not given satisfac- 

 tion. In Texas it has given satisfaction, both as a 

 green and as a dry feed. It here grows to a height 

 of nine feet, and produces three crops a year, but 

 it does not mature seed. 



It seldom matures seed north of latitude 30°. 

 The seed raised in the United States is grown 

 almost exclusively in the southernmost part of 

 Florida, though seed has been matured at the 

 Louisiana Experiment Station. 



Culture. 



The planting season is May or June, and it should 

 not be delayed beyond this because of the long 

 growing season required. Rich bottom land or any 

 soil that will produce good crops of corn -is most 

 desirable. The drills are three to four feet apart, 

 the plants one foot apart in the row. It is some- 

 times advised to make the drills five feet apart and 

 the hills three feet apart in the row, three or four 

 seeds being planted in each hill. The richer the 

 land the farther apart should the seeds be planted. 

 One to three pounds of seed per acre is used, de- 



