has to be put in a shed for a few weeks to cure and 

 dry. Remember, this is cut by hand, laid on table 

 by hand and then picked up and put on special dump 

 wagons by hand and again picked up at threshing 

 site by hand, fed on belt, taken off belt and carried 

 by armloads to the drying shed and scattered over 

 slats. Then, and still by hand labor, comes the 

 baling. By hand again this brush, which has been 

 placed on these shelves a few weeks befoi'e, is tak- 

 en off and laid in the baler and pressed into 300- 

 500 pound bale and is ready to sell. This labor once 

 was done by large groups of migrating labor known 

 as "canaries" or "johnnies" who filled the towns 

 and countryside at cutting time, filled the saloons 

 and also filled the countryside with fear. This was 

 the way of harvesting and processing broomcorn 

 for years. Then the farmers' wives had to cook 

 three meals for ten to foi'ty hungry men, who slept 

 in the barn. The "canaries" often collected their 

 pay each day and spent their wages at night gam- 

 bling and drinking. But of late years fields of corn 

 have grown smaller and neighborhood helpers drive 

 in, bringing their lunch. This eliminates a large 

 amount of extra work. Harvesting is done on a 

 piece work basis. As a result of this, Illinois does 

 not raise the tonnage it used to but this is madeup 



by crops now in OklalToma and some of the western 

 states. 



A "table" is two rows, 80 rods long (a quarter 

 of a mile) and a common man cuts three tables a 

 day while some experts get four or five. A dollar 

 a table was once the regular price but lately price 

 has been inflated to several times that, depending 

 upon conditions of the crop. Seeding is done by the 

 hour rate. 



An Illinois crop averages a ton to three or four 

 acres but out west it takes more acres. Sales of re- 

 cent years have been all the way from $100.00 to 

 $500.00 per ton. 



Now we are ready to sell our crop. Buyers 

 range the district to bid on the broomcorn much as 

 in a horse trading marathon not unlike the swap- 

 ping of articles in foreign countries. There is no 

 board of trade for the crop, very few standards are 

 set, and there exists a wide variance of grade both 

 needed and pi'oduced. There is no use for the corn 

 except for brooms. There is no other substitute 

 for the manufacturer to use; but the marketing of 

 a crop is as unique as a tobacco auction. Out west 

 around Lindsay, Oklahoma, there is a custom 

 whereby farmers often bring their crops to market 

 and the streets are filled as buyers go from one to 



PAGE SIX 



