The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1888-03-20
For THE PRoaR1esrvB FARMER
HOW TO GROW BROOM CORN.
r.,.oAsN>cMi,c1,s 1898

FREnoNr,sN.>C c. March rs, 1888.
Col. LII PoLK-Dear SRA few
s-agoN my friend VIC. Muproe,
former proprietor of the. "Geldsharo
Broom Fact0ry,n handed me your let
ter Of inquiry concerning broom-corn
and its. culture and suggested that I
reply, being the only one in this vicin.
ity Who had any practical experience.
I cultivated small erppefbroon,cern
last year and by giving agreat dea1of
attention at the impertant SPACES tie
brush received the praise by the G:B.
Cd. as being as nice as -theyHhad ever
handled. To, one who has had no ex5f
perienvcs with broom -cprpll there are
several very important points upon
which they will feel the need of infor-
nation as they advance with their
crop. These are the selection and pre-
parataons of the land, time Of planting,
mode of planting the cultivation, har-
resting, threshtng and curing. Atpres.
ent 1 will only give you a few hints in
the way of general remarks upon the,
most important points. "
Broom-corn being a sub-tropical
plant it is not advisable to, plant it un-
til the soil has become thoroughly
warmed so the seed will come up at
!. once. The seed may be planted any
time from the 18th of April to June
LIST. Where a large crop is planted it
is not advisable to plant all at one time,
as it must be cut exactly when it
needs it or the brush becomes discol-
oredand it's market value lnjured.
Almost any land that will bring a
good cropof Indian-corn, cottonor sor-
ghum will make broom-corn, though
like all other crops, the stronger the
land the larger the yield. The land
should be well broken and narrowed,
run rows 81 or 4 feet, fertilize q for
cotton and list two burrows on the
manure. 1t is best to use drill plant
ers. One bushel of seed will plant 10 or
IL acres. Plant in shallow drills and
cover not more than one inch. Put
10 or IL seed in the hill and thin to
three stalks for every Is or l6 inches.
If sown, when fully up, chop out to Is
or l6 inches, leaving it to average
about three stalks to every Is or l6
inches. This is for land that will pro-
duce Is or 80 bushels Of corn per
acre. Poor land must be planted
thinner and rich land thicker. The
cultivation is simple. Cultivate shall
low and IS rapidly as possible to keep
the weeds from ~devouring the little
plants, as they are very delicate when
they first come up. After they get 10
or IL inches high they grow very fast
and weeds and grass will not trouble
them much more. Land that was in
cotton last year is very nice to put in
broom-corn, as the weeds and grass
will not trouble so badly as on land
that was not cultivated clean last year.
1t will be ready to, cut in July or
August. Cut when in bloom, leaving
abount six inches of stalk to the brush.
Scrape the seed huls off as soon as
possible and place the brush two or
three inches thick on the racks in a
house where it will not be exposed to
either sunshine or rain. AM house
that will keep off the sunshine or rain,
and will admit a plenty of air will do
to cure broom-corn in. The harvest
ing and curing are the most important.
If the harvesting is delayed, or the
curing improperly done, the price will
be materially lessened. .-.i s..
Seed can be obtained from any reg
ular wholesale seed dealer The price
last spring was $500 per bushel, or
$1.25 a peck.
Broom-corn always commands ready
money. 1t is strictly a cash crop and
does not require more than pnef1af
the labor to cultivate it as it does cot
ton, and the threshing' is not attended
with very much cost if a hand thresher
is obtained which will cost not more
than $40, or $25. I had the money
for my broom;corn last year in less
than four months from the time /
planted the seed. !.
The yield is from five to eight hun.
dred pounds per acre, and the price
ranges from two and one-half to five
cents per pound, according to quality.
Long fine brush cured q bright pea
green color commands the highest
price. These are only a few general
remarks, but if you desire it / will
write you q series of communications
for publication, upon the subject Of
broom-corn and it's culture.
N. w. MUseRAvE.