Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1903-04-03
BROOMcORN.
How = Crop Was Drown - Droou,-
making and It's Pronfs-

Georgia Cultiyator correspondent suC-
gests more than one valuable point to
those interested in the subject Having
a cut Of black slough bottom land In
prairie country that always seemed to
be home for chicken corn. 1 thought
l wOnld plant IL in broomcorn. So
bought the Missouri green variety (this |
is the long brush kind, bedded the
land the 1st OF January by listing with /
two burrows to the row with nine inch I
pillow, broke out balks at one furrow
with three horse middle breaker and |
planted on top OF the row April 1. |
About the first week In June barred
of with single horse turning plow, fol- |
lowed Immediately with hoes, chopping
1T TO one and two stalks every hoes |
width in the drill when the stand
would permit. 1 did not have more
than Il two-thirds stand, caused by
heavy rains Immediately after plant
ing. / planted with a standard planter
with sorghum disk attached (about five
pounds 10 the acre.. AS soon as IL was
hoed l ran out middles at one furrow
with twenty inch sweep. Not having
any rain after the above mentioned, no
more cultiyatng was done. We had
two showers. but not enough TO stop
plows till 2Sth OF July. About the LIST
of July started to cutting all tops that
were mature enough with four inches
OF stem. 4 hand cut two rows at 20
and dropped the handfuls on the row
to his left. Another hand following
this one took up the piles. carrying
f1anrr, 20. 4l,<
OF the cut, as was most convenient.
The broomcorn was hauled and put in
the house in layers about three inches
thick. one floor being eight inches
above the other till house was full.
These floors can be made of four inch
Stats or wider, supported by same ma
terial made into posts and Orders or
steps. This manner OF curing prevents
mold, which would color the brush.
The greener the color the better price
II will bring. l tried turning down
tops. but saw that that gave the brush
rainbow shape, which n undesirable
We went through every four or FIVE
days and cut out all tops that were
fully headed out-that is, when the
straws had got tough down to the bot
tom Of the top blade shuck that in
closed the top. Seed would be hardly
filed out and was barely In the rough
state. find the brush cured at this
stage cures a natural green and has a
stronger fiber and works better I'm
making brooms, but 1t is much harder
to scrape seed off II.
Sucker and Second Crops.
After had cut of all main tops and
all sucker tops Sucker tops are those
that sucker out for one, two, three.
four, five and six joints down from
main top after II is cut off, and are
used In working into the inside of
cheap brooms) I cut the whole stalk
and hauled to the house and ricked.
Stock are eating fodder from the same
every day now. After had cut down
the stalks we had good rain on July
%. The old roots sprouted out. These
sprouts grew up just as sorghum does
and made a second crop OF brush OF a
deeper green and finer fiber than the
first crop, with about one-third the
yield. By the time the second crop of
brush was saved frost came about the
LIST of November and stock gathered
the fodder from the stalks. From the
three acres. with the bad stand and
dry summer, saved one ton Of cleaned
brush.
PROFIT In BroOmmalxinE.
The first 500 pounds Of brush saved
in July 1 shipped 20 broom factory
and received 4 cents per pound. Next
was offered cents per pound when
first began to cut the top and sent
sample, but 1t took about three or four
weeks for the brush to dry in the
shade. Being In Macon awhile after
shipping the 500 pounds, found that
the factory man was shipping this
brush back to my town, manufactured
! into brooms, at what 1 considered a
big profit after deducting the ma
terial used In making and he paying
the freight each way on raw material
and manufastured form. Having a
pretty good idea how to handle tools
(also had the tools to handle, as every
farmer should have). 1 made myself a
broom winder and press to wind the
brush on handles and hold the broom
TO the sun. With these two necessary
machines 1 have been making out of
my brush as good q broom as tho fac
| tory machine made ones Ny outfit
cost about $40. l buy handles, tacks.
wire and Irvine from a dealer in broom
makers supplies at a cost of about 21h
cents for two pound broom, for
| which get an average of 20 cents each
from dealers, ready sale. Any one can
| figure what 1900 pounds of brush will
! bring. Besides there are the hay and
seed that l let get ripe. The brush
that about twenty bushels OF seed
came Off Of on one-third of my patch
Is somewhat colored and is worked into
the inside Of cheap brooms.
Brief Mention.
Mesquite grass furnishes ideal pas
turag &c for sheen and scr1nh onl.r form,