304 



POPULAR ECONOMIC BOTANY, 



The fullers^ teazel produces a large conical composite 

 flower-head, which is persistent after the flowers have died ; 

 it is covered with hard, stiS", sharp-pointed bracts, the points 

 of which are bent in the form of a hook ; these cones are 

 about two and a half inches in length, and one inch and a 

 half in diameter at the base ; they are used for raising the 

 nap on woollen cloth, for which purpose they are so admi- 

 rably adapted, that no invention has yet been found to 

 supersede them entirely. When used, they are cut into 

 halves or quarters, and a great number are fixed in a frame 

 with the hooked bracts outwards, so that a large surface of 

 these minute claws is presented ; the frame is then made to 

 move over the surface of the cloth until the little sharp 

 hooks of the teazels have scratched up the required nap ; 

 large quantities are imported from Hamburg and Holland, 

 besides which the teazel is extensively cultivated in many 

 parts of England. 



Dutch Rushes. T]quisetum liyemale, (Nat. Ord. Hqui- 

 setacece.) 



This curious vegetable production is found abundantly 

 in the low boggy grounds of Holland, whence it is occa- 

 sionally exported; it is also found in similar localities in 

 England. Its stem, which is about a foot in height, is covered 



