Norwich bulletin., 1910-12-24

SWritten Specially for The BuIetin.)
 An item from the bustling town of
 Liberal out in Seward county, Kan
 sas, has big interest for the broom
 using officers Of the human army. Per
 haps you never even heard of Liberal,
 Kansas, but you've certainly heard of
 what comes from there. It is the
 broom corn capital of the United
 States: claims for itself that it ships
 more broom-cor than any other place
 in the country, and gives facts that
 seem to substantiate this assertion.
 Up to November 30 Liberal had, this
 fall, shipped BIO carloads of the packed
 brush twenty-five more carloads were fu the warehouses waiting for cars to
 load them in, and it was still coming
 in from the surrounding country. Farmers estimates were that about
 one-third of the crop was in at that time This would make the total amount raised near Liberal and ship
 ped from there about a thousand car loads. It Is said to take about six big
 wsgonloads to make one carload. If this be so, the crop, right around there, must amount to about six thousand big wagonloads. This is some corn One farmer alone had seventeen hum dred acres in broom-corn and he does uot think 1t possible to get all the stuff harvested before Christmas. Say, l hope it wasn't so cold out there as it was hereabouts. last week. If it was, those broom-corn harvesters must surely have had cold noses!
 The interesting fact about all this to the feminine portion of the popula- tion is that, the crop being the very biggest and best ever raised, it may for something besides parior Orna- ufents. They will undoubtedly once more become as cheap as vacuum cleaners and can be used in practice as well as in wifely admonition and chastisement. There are also two in- feresting facts connected with the story Of Liberal and it's broom corn dor the overalls-weartng half of farm .uE humanity.
 The first is that Seward county has been raising broom-oorn for over twenty years now and has never had complete failure of the crop, though Che average rainfall there is only if teen Inches per annum. The farmers raise it. not because they have any special love for it as a crop but be- cause experience has shown them that their land is peculiarly adapted to its The soil Is a dark sandy loam which holds moisture like a sponge for many months during a drouth, thus in- surfing a vigorous stand, while some thing tn tt also tends to produce ex- Ceptiouaily fine brush. Also, there Is always a market demand for the pro- duct Farmers raise broom-corn be- cause they can raise good broom-co a nd because they can always sell it- ct some price.
 The second interesting thing about fhis years crop to us hoe-handlers of the homelier sex is that. being the big Fest and best crop that was ever pro oucea, H is worth only one-thiFd of what E was last fall when the crop was slim and the quality poor. Isn't q hat just the way things generally go with us7 Eh? Last fall, with a light yield Of second quality. the brush sold in this same town for $225 a ton. This 1ell the average prIceds $75 ton. This 1nay seem like quite tidy price, but if you've ever tried to raise 6. few rows of the stun you can ina zine how much 5t would take to make a ton. It isn't un ucA heavier than unsettled hay, and 3t talEae some tine~-sone time and 1hen some rnorer-to get together and Bunch and bale ton of 1t, single brush by brush I know that can ruow and rake and get into &he barn o ton of hay with less work in less Ifn1e than I can cut and dry and 'bunon hundred of bToom-coTn. But that isn't the point; tho point is that chis years big crop of fancy brush is FoEhh 6H dHEs HldTkeE 'OgllH one e-TDlrd as 1n uch per ton asslast years short crop oc poor brush.
 It's the od story over again: It was 80 high last year that everybody went into h~ r11is season. The result is a drop in price. This is gratifying to Those who have to buy broo7ns, but not so sarssEaetory to ifhoss who have broorn-corn to ser It always happens % v4fh al farm products. Our dear Friends. Che spec1Ilators and middle men, find ut aGaat some particular crop 5s G5fng well and. wikh tfBir glib talk aS0ut -ovsr-auppfy' and "can get all we Hraat for haIf what you ask" they hear the market down til at Laststhere 3sa't enough in the crop to pay for raasing. Then farmers stop growing " try somethtng else in fife hope of sgerting more money. The result Is a elrortaFe. and then ehescorsun1er gets ~soelred" Prices for the crOD go up s9uk5ns and farmers ga4jnto it again gsrgeiy. whereupen She Fame disgusting @yele begins all over gadn. "So it lgoss, and so f. is"
 Al