TEAZLE (h;pwa•ss PollS•wes) Is • plant which grows will in the hedges, but an Improved variety is carefully cultivated Ise those districts et England where cloth in manufactured. It is used far the purpose of feeming a species of bnish with which the finer hairs of the woollen fabric are drawn to the surface, where they produce what is 'usually called the sap of the cloth. Several attempts have been made to substitute artificial teazles, termed of hooks of very fine and cLuitio steel wire ; and at one time there was so much appearance of success, as to cause the cultivation of teazles to be neglected : but it was soon fonnd that the wires tore the fine fibres of the wool, especially where there were knots in the thread, whereas the hooks of the teazles gave way, and either bent or broke off before the fibre of the wool was injured.
Teazles grow strongest and best in a stiff loam. They require the soil to be in good heart, and are supposed to exhaust it much ; but no great portion of manure is required to obtain a good crop. The growing of teazles is a peculiar trade. The teazle.grower hires a piece of ground suited to his purpose from the farmer for two years, and pays a considerable rent. If the ground is broken up from grass, it is ploughed as deep as the staple of the soil permits, and as early as possible, if before winter so much the better : the ground is laid in narrow stitches, on which the seed is sown In April, in rows from 12 to 18 inches mart : moisture is necessary to make the seed germinate. AS soon as the plants appear, they aro thinned out, and the intervals carefully hoed and weeded. During the summer, the ground is several times dug, or spaded, as it is called, to a considerable depth, with very narrow and long spades; this greatly invigorates the plants. In November, plants may be transplanted from where they stand too thick to the places where they have failed, and also to other land cultivated ter the crop. They should stand about a foot apart in the rows.
During the ensuing spring, the cultivation is repeated. They soon begin to push up their stems, and are fit to be cut in July, just when the blossom has fallen. As they do not come to proper maturity at the same time. several successive gatherings are made They are cut with a sharp knife about nine inches below the head, and tied in small bundles or handfuls : thick gloves are very necessary in this operation. They must be carried tinder cover before night, as the rains or heavy dews would injure them. When the sun shines, they are exposed to dry in the same manner as is done with onion seed, and they are never packed close until they are perfectly dry. When drying they are usually hung on poles ; so that the air may circulate between the bundles. The bundles are afterwards opened, and the teazles sorted into kings, middlings and scrubs, according to their size; 9000 kings or 20,000 middlings make a pack.
Teazles are a very precarious crop; sometimes they produce a very great profit, and at other times a serious loss. Care and cultivation lessen the chances of failure greatly : but the price also fluctuates eo much that it is an uncertain speculation, resembling hi this respect the cultivation of hops. Ilene° it Is undertaken by men who are prepared for the event, and who make the profits of one year repay the loss of another. A good crop of teazles is about 10 or 12 packs on an acre : this is sometimes exceeded, but more often it fails by one-half, and a total failure is not uncommon. The price may average 51. or Cl. a pick, so that a good crop is worth more than the land it grew on ; the expenses, however, are large. Although teazles are said to exhaust the ground much, yet from the continual stirring of the soil they render it very fit to grow other crops, provided a proper quantity of manure is used : thus very good crops of wheat • have been obtained after a crop of teazles.