TEASEL. Dipsacus Fullonum, Linn. Dipsacets. Figs. 858-860.
The teasel is a biennial plant, the heads of which are used in tearing or raising a nap on cloth. It is a stout herbaceous plant with opposite leaves and with flowers in heads or whorls. During the second sea son the plant grows into a bush about six feet high, with numer ous branches (Fig. 858), at the extremity of each of which a tea sel forms. The main stalk produces the largest and strongest teasel, known as the "king." This is called a "male" teasel and is the only one of the kind on the plant, al though there are usu ally a large number of "queens" or "medi ums," as they are gen erally known, at the extremities of the lat eral branches. From the subdivisions o f these laterals, smaller branches produce the "buttons," as the smallest teasels are termed. The male teasel sheds pollen over the others, without which fertile seed will not be formed. If the " king " be removed, the other teasels will be larger and for manufacturing purposes fully as good, but the 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 he 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 bourn, or fuller's teasel, which is the only kind having a commercial value, and the wild teasel, D. sylrestris, 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 France 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 grow,h of the young plants and it gives some return from the land the first season. The stalks are usually 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.