The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1900-04-26
HOW TO PLANT BROOM CORN.
correspondence Cotton Plant.

Correspondence Cotton Plant.
CLEMSON COLLEGE, April b.
There seems to be Il great deal of in
tcrcst just now. in broom corn. Col.
Newman receives letters daily, asking
for directions for planting, harvesting,
and curing the crop. The writer asked
Col. Newman If broOm-corn is al inn
portant crop, 10 which he replied, cit
furnishes The world with brooms." If
the supply Of brooms increases, the
world will be cleaner and and brighter
and the people happier and healthier.
Here are the leading points as TO
broom-corn raising, as given by Col.
Newman:
The plant IS a saccharinc sor-
ghum. The preparation, planting and
cultivation are, in general, the same
as that necessary for raising sorghum
for syrup. On thoroughly prepared
land, plant from two to five quarts per
acre. In Ohio and New York one
bushcl Of seed will plant about fifteen
acres: but here bushcl will plant
twelve acres.
The cultivation is easy. The land
should be we'll fcrtiliZcd, and the seed
put in rather shallow. The cultivation
is like that fol corn or sorghum. 1t
should be kept clean. and should have
shallow cultivation after each rain in
order to keep good soil mulch.
The main points are the harvesting
and curing. AS with tobacco, the
price depends chiefly on these two
operations. 10 secure the best brush
wifi ln al. ;.;I
proper green color, The brush should
be harvested just as the seed are pass
ing from the milk to the dough stage.
The old method of "bcnchingn by
bending two rows dhagonally across
each other, the one thus supporting
the other, is no longer used, because
it gave a red brittle brush instead of
elastic green. Eight inches of stalk
cut with the brush is the standard.
More stalk increases the weight, but
more than that proportionatcly reduces
price.
The market demands green brush,
which is secured by curing in the shade.
For this purpose, sheds with movable
slated trays are necessary. Bulklng in
curing, lures both the strength and
the color of the brush.
There are various simple devices for
stripping the seed. When the crop is
grown on a large scale, machine like
the small grain thrcshcr with the upper
concavc left out is used. When cured
and stripped of seeds the brushes arc
put up in a way very similar to that
IN which cotton is balcd, the packages
containing about six hundred pounds.
An acre properly fcrtilizcd and culti-
waited will yield six hundred to eight
hundred pounds of cream brush.
Southern growers have the advantage
OF getting the crop III on comparative.
y bare market, when the old stock IS
nearly exhausted and before the North
crn crop can be gotten on the market.
Inc proper plan for the Southern
growers is for the farmers in & section
to establish Il broom factory, employ
an expert superintendent, and pledge
themselves to produce enough to keen
the factory running throughout the
year. In this way they will receive
the profits from the finished product
instead OF selling for price of the raw
material.
Those cmbarking in this industry
should thoroughly inform themselves
as to the best methods of harvesting.
curing and marketing, and providing
necessary sheds for frames for securing
a first class product. d"
The letters Col. Newman receives in
dicatc that very few have much in-
formation as to the requisites for sue
cess. Some. good publication on. the
subject is necessary to get the details
for handling the crop. ID. w. ID.