Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Teasel

TEASEL, or Dipsacus, L. a genus of plants exhibiting five species: three are indigenous; but the principal is the fullonum (more properly sativus), Manured, or Fuller's Teasel. It is raised from seed, which must be scattered on ridges, 7 or 10 inches apart, in the proportion of two pecks per acre. The most proper season for its propagation, is the month of April: the soil ought to be a strong, rich clay, or, what agriculturists term, a good wheat-land. The young plants should be carefully weeded; and, if they grow too closely together, it will be proper to thin them, to the distance of one foot. In the spring of the second year, the teasels must be earthed up; and, in the succeeding month of July, the heads will begin to flower. In August, as soon as the blossoms decay, such heads must be cut off, and exposed daily to the sun, till they become completely dry; care being taken to shelter them from rain.

The teasel is an article of considerable importance to clothiers, who employ the crooked awns of the heads, for raising the knap on woollen cloths. For this purpose, they are fixed round the periphery of a large broad wheel; against which the cloth is held, while the machine is turned.—Lastly, the blossoms of the teasel supply bees with honey; and the water, which collects within the cavities of leaves grown together, is said to be an useful application to weak or inflamed eyes; and likewise to afford a harmless cosmetic for removing spots from the face.