The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-05-04
Clemson Extension Work.
BROOM CORN.

Broom corn Is q species OF sorghum
grown especially for Its tops which are
used In manufacturing brooms. The crop
is one about which inquiry Is frequently
made by farmers and the following Is
written partlyinanswerto such questions.
It Is not q great money crop, not more go
than cotton If equal to 1t, and requires
more In the way Of equipment for its
handling, more labor at harvest time, and
more skill in preparing it for market than
does the cotton crop. 1t is a crop in which
the profits depend very largely upon the
quality OF the product offered for sale,
the price ranging from $25 up to about
500 per ton according to the quality
Five hundred pounds Of cured brush per
acre Is considered a fair yield.
The best quality Of broom corn must be
straight, Of good length, fine texture and
cured in such a manner as to be a good
There are two kinds grown, one known as
the standard broom corn and the other as
dwarf. This latter is grown extensively
in the central west.
In order to secure the quality Of stalk
| mentioned above 1t is very important to
have we'll bred seed and it Is almost i'm
IpCssible to buy such seed in the open mar,
lkets. One going into the business OF
growing the crop should begin at once to
Select seed with the view Of improving
the plants from year to year. -,
Any soil that will grow sorghum will
produce broom corn, and the fertilizer ap-
lplied need not differ from that used on
the corn crop when the same quality OF
land is cultivated. Since the object In
yiewis a uniform product in quality and
time OF maturing, great care should be
taken in preparing the soil. 1t should be
we'll ploWed and then narrowed and re-
narrowed until a fine seed bed Is secured.
Late planting is best on account Of the
| fact that the young plants make q very
slow growth when the weather Is at all
cool, and the crop will come into head at a
season when there Is not liable to be much
rain. The seed should be fertilized with a
planter that Is adjusted to drop q few
more seed than you want plants -four to
five pounds per acre. and under such con-
ditions Of soil and season as will insure
good and quick termination. Cultivation
Similar to what the corn crop requires Is
all that Is necessary. Weeds and grass
sbould always be kept down and the soil
mulched with loose earth by frequent Gull
tivation with q small toothed implement.
On land that will produce thirty or forty
bushels Of corn per acre one stalk OF broom
corr should be left every four or five
inches and thinner as the soil becomes less
productive. 1t Is important to have a full
stand, as there is a great tendency to
sucker when the plants are too thin on the
land and the brush from suckers is rare
ly of any value, and is not ready to har-
vest with the remainder Of the crop.
The tops should be cut eight inches be-
lew the head when the bloom is falling
and before the seed are filled out, If. the
best quality Of brush is obtained. The
brush is immediately hauled out and the
seed stripped off the same day: The seed
stripping, on a large scale, is done by
machinery that may be purchased from
manufacturers. Improvised methods like
the curry comb with long teeth or steel
spiked comb attached to a frame or side
OF O box answer very well where there is
only a small quantity OF brush to be
stripped. y.
green color. must be done under O roof
and away from the sunlight. The tops
from which the seed have been removed
are spread in Layers three inches thick on
Iatticed racks where there is free circula-
ton of air. When no juice can be squeezed
out of the stalks by twisting them, the
he removed from the racks. This will re-
nlire from four to six weeks. 1t is then
hniked for a period Of ten days or two
weeks to 90 through a sweat when it is
ready to be baled. The tops should be
very carefully sorted into different grades
as mixed brush never sells well. The bal
inp ia done with a horse power press. The
tops are Tapped togeather in the middle Of
the bale and the butts stand out ut each
end. Bales usually weige about three hun
cred pounds.
The crop requires very careful and pro
mpt work at every step and considerable
outlay in the way of equipment is necess-
airy. II one has had no experience III the
growing Of broom corn, it would be well
to start on a small scale and learn many
things from experience about the business
that it is impossible to get any other way
W. R. Perkins ,
Director Agricultural Dept