To form into tassels.
1785. It [Indian corn] should be kept clean and well worked in the early part of its growth—till it shoots and tassels at least.—Geo. Washington, ‘Writings’ (1891), xii. 227. (N.E.D.)
1840. The corn is unusually forward; I saw fields of it beginning to tassel July the 6th.—E. S. Thomas, ‘Reminiscences,’ i. 272. [This of course is Indian corn.]
