The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-24
BROOM MAKING
Much Skill and Care Required in
the Manufacture of the Friend
of the Housewife
WORCESTER CONCERN
HAS A BIG PRODUCT
Broom Corn Plant Brought From
India and Planted In This
Country BY Benz. Franklin

The simplest article of common
everyday use requires a care in its
preparation that few are aware Of
The busy housewife as she sweeps out
her rooms and groans at the dirt left on
her floors by her thoughtless boy, sell
dom thinks of the method of manufac-
ture of that humble implement of of
fensive and defensive warfare, the
broom. That household necessity"
has been in use for time beyond the
memory of man, and although frowned
upon by its naughty rival, the carpet
sweeper, still holds its own and is the
arch enemy of dirt.
Few people also know that here in
Worcester is the largest mandatory
of brooms in New England. At 10
Austin street, Oliver NJ. Dean has been
making brooms for many years, and
from the smallest beginning has grad
ually increased his business until it has
reached it's present proportions. While
Mr.. Dean deals more especially IN
broom supplies, which he sends all over
the east, still the quantity of brooms
that come out of the mandatory daily
would make one think that either there
was an aWful-using the word adVisedly
amount of dirt in the world, or that
brooms were worn out almost as soon
as some persons patience.
1t may be interesting to start from
the material from which the broom is
made and follow the process up to the
finished product.
The broom corn plant first grew in
India, and it is said that worthy Ben
jamin Franklin planted single seed
in this country, which grew as did his
wisdom. From that one seed, let us
assume that all the broom corn in this
country took it's start, even if it be not
strictly true. The broom corn grows
more than twice the height of mans
head and resembles somewhat the COM
mon Indian corn.
But broom corn has no ear, the seed
being all in the brush, as it is called.
Today it is raised principally in Hi
nois Kansas and Nebraska, but years
ago was grown in the Connecticut val
ley near Hadley and in the Mohawk
valley in the vicinity of Schenectady,
N. Y.
The proper time to cut the corn is
before the frost, when it is in bloom and
not discolored. When the cutting is
being done, two rows are broken side
by side, about three feet from the
ground and a natural table is made by
crossing one upon the other, and then
the broom is cut, leaving a stalk on
each broom about six inches long.
AS the cutting is in progress, the
teams go through the fields gathering
the brooms and then it is carried to
the sheds and cured. This curing
process is done by placing the broom
II, > che DC 11T1fi1 ic
nearly dry, when it is scraped to take
off the seeds and baled into packages
of 800 to 400 pounds in weight and
shipped to the manufacturer to be
made into brooms.
This is the shape in which the ma
terial comes to Mr.. Deans factory.
Thirty or 40 years ago, brooms were
made in a far different manner, than
they are mAde today. Irvine was used
instead of wire in winding, and was
placed on a roller and held under the
feet, while the handle was held on the
knees and the corn wound on the han
die In finishing, it was sewed round
instead of fiat, as brooms are made
now. Steam winding is much used now
in many of the largest factories, as well
as steam sewing, but in some of the
best shops brooms are made by ma
chinery worked by hand or foot power
The bales are then ready to be put
through the first process. A man
takes bundles of the broom corn from
the bale and vets them and then
bleaches the bundles by placing them
in a room subjected to sulphur smoke
fumes. After the bleaching, the broom
corn is dyed slightly with an aniline
process which has been in use only a
few years, but makes the goods more
uniform in color.
The corn is then sorted into grades
according to quality and length of the
corn, and is put in its place by itself
ready for winding and sewing. A man
stands by a little machine which is
operated by the foot, and first the wire.
which runs on a bobbin, is attached to
the handle, which is securely gripped
in a socket. Next, circle of the corn
is placed around the handle, and fast
as they are called, are placed on the
handle and wound with the wire. The
same man or another workman does
the sewing. The broom is put into a
clamp or press and pressed into shape
and, with a big shuttle, the stout cord
is sewed in and out until the whole is
fastened. The ends are cut off square,
and what seed still clings to the broom
is removed, and a velvet finish or tin
pocket is put around the handle where
TIE top is wound with the wire. The
brooms are then labeled and ready for
the market.
In the making of the broom there is
skill and care used. A green hand
would have task on his hands to get
out broom day but skilled work
men turn out from four to six dozen a
day.