hickory brooms they sold like hot cakes. By 1797 

 he planted a half acre and an acre the following 

 year and in 1798 made between 100 and 200 brooms. 

 His enthusiasm caused him to prophesy wonders 

 for this industry as every year his production in- 

 creased. By the start of the century neighbors of 

 Dickinson, seeing his apparent prosperity, started 

 to raise some of this corn and make it into brooms. 

 Then the Mohawk Valley of New York was 

 found to raise so much better brush than Massa- 

 chusetts that the crop migrated there and soon the 

 manufacture of brushes 



press to hold it in shape. This added to the broom's 

 present streamlined appearance and to its sales vol- 

 ume as well. It was here the first machines were 

 used to wind the wire around the handle and over 

 the layers of fibre, thereby enabling a man to make 

 several times the number of brooms he could tie by 

 hand. Then migrating mankind carried the seed 

 and idea to Ohio and Tennessee. 



It was, however, in 1867 that John Cofer, a 

 farmer living southeast of Areola, visiting in Ten- 

 nessee became interested in the plant and its uses. 



was started there and 

 for years flourished. 

 Here the Niskayuna 

 Shakers went into both 

 raising the brush and 

 making it into brooms. 

 Here also the brooms 

 changed their shapes. 

 Rougher corn was put on 

 the inside, more of it 

 put on two sides of the 

 handle opposite each 

 other and the result was 

 then flattened l)v a 



Pictured here — open-sided shed for curing broomcorn after it has been cut. 



i>A(;k three 



