Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 19.djvu/104

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
*
78
*

TEA INSECTS. ETICK-COVERED COCOON OF A FAGGOT-WORM. cossid moth ; it bores into the stems of both cof- fee and tea plants. Three sijecics of bark-lice {Aspidioius thew, flavescens, and transpaiens) also oc- cur commonly upon tea, and the first named is one of the most serious enemies of the growing plant, very noticeable at the time of pruning. Three mites feed upon' the leaves, one of them a 'red spider' ( Telriiiiychus bimaculatus) , another the five-legged tea- mite (TypModromus cart- iHitus), closely related to the rust-mite of the orange. It feeds upon the lower leaves. The yellow tea- mite {Acarus transluceiw) feeds upon the buds and produces the condition called 'sulky.' Consult Watt, The Pests and Blights of the Tea Plant (Calcutta, 1898). TEAK (Malayan tekka, Tamil tekku, teak- tree). Two kinds of timber, valuable for ship- building and other purposes. Indian teak {Tec- tona-giandis) belongs to the natural order Ver- benacese; African teak or African oak (Old- fieldia Africana) . to the Euphorbiacefe. The for- mer is found in the mountainous parts of Mala- bar and other parts of Southeastern Asia. The teak forests of India are mostly under govern- mental control and yield a considerable revenue. The usual practice is to girdle the trees and al- low them to stand for two years to season thor- ouglily before felling. Teak has been introduced in some parts of India in which it is not in- digenous. It is a beautiful tree ^vhich rises above all the other trees of the East Indian for- ests, sometimes attaining a height of 200 feet. Silk and cotton stuffs are dyed purple by the leaves. The timber, which will sink in water un- less dry, is one of the most valuable produced in the East; it resembles coarse mahogany, is eas- ily worked, strong, durable, and not liable to the attacks of insects. It is largely used for furni- ture, some of which is handsomely carved, and for shipbuilding, for which purpose it is exported. The teak generally grows rather in clumps in for- ests than in forests of itself. African teak is adapted to the same uses as the Indian teak, though it is not (|uite as durable. TEAL (connected with Dutch telutg, teal, brood, telen, to breed, and perhaps with AS. tilian. Eng. till, OHG. zil, Ger. Ziel, object). One of a group of small beautiful fresh-water ducks, mostly in the genera Nettion and Querquedula. They are migratory, going to the tropics for the winter, and when in the United States are shy and silent, feeding chiefly at night on water- plants, seeds, worms, and insects. They make their nests usually at some distance from water, and lay greenish, or in some species cream-colored, eggs. Species of these two genera are known in all parts of the world. The commonest North American species is the green-winged teal ( Sei- tion CaroUnense) . This fine bird is nearly the same as the 'common' teal ( Xrffi'on crcccn) of the northern parts of the Old World. About a 78 TEASEI,. dozen other species are met with in Asia, Africa, and South America, all favorites among gimners and epicures. The blue-winged teal (Querque- dula discors), represented in Europe by the gar- ganey (q.v. ), is verj' abundant in man}' parts of North America. It is rather larger than the com- mon teal. The head and neck are blackisli with a large white crescent in front of the eye. The wing-coverts are sky-blue and the under parts are purplish gray with black spots. The cinnamon teal {Querquedula cyanoptera) is also blue- winged, but the general color is rich purplish cliestnut and there is no white on the head. This is a South American duck, which is also common west of the Rocky ilountains as far north as Oregon. Two other species belong to South Amer- ica. Consult authorities and Plate under Duck. TEANO, ta-ifno. A city in the Province of Caserta, Italy, 4'2 miles north-northwest of Naples, at the foot of the extinct volcano Rocca Monfina. It was one of the leading cities of Campania. The present town is interesting for its old ruins, among them a castle. Population (conmmne). in 1901, 13,326. TEARSHEET, Doll. A vicious and vigorous female character in the second part of Shake- speare's Benry IT. TEARS OP THE MtTSES. A poem by Ed- mund Spenser, published in 1591. by Ponsonby. It is a discussion of the mediocrity of the litera- ture of the day, and is put into the mouths of the various muses, who thus deplore the decay of their power. Its source is a Latin poem by Har- vey (15S8). In the Midsummer Xight's Dream, V. i., Shakespeare describes the work as 'a piece sharp and satirical.' TEASEL (AS. tcesel, twsl, OHG. zeisala, teasel, from AS. toesan. Bavarian Ger. zaiscn, to tease wool), Dipsacus. A genus of plants of the natural order Dipsacacese. The only valuable species is the fuller's or clothier's teasel (Dip- sacus fuUonum), a native of Southern Europe, TEASEL CDipsacus sylvestris). naturalized in the United States. It is a bien- nial, several feet high, with sessile serrated leaves, prickly stems and leaves ; and with cylin- drical heads of pale or white flowers, between