BROOM CORN. 479 



It is always well to mix it with some of the common grains. When mixed with corn, 

 it is said to be as nutritious as an equal quantity of oats. Sheep will masticate the whole 

 seeds better than cattle, because they will grind it finer. Still, when not ground, it is always 

 best to cook the seed, as it is thus rendered soft and more digestible. 



Soil and its Preparation. The best soil for the cultivation of broom-corn is that 

 to which Indian corn is best adapted. It should be rich and mellow, free from weeds, and 

 not subject to early or late frosts. Lands for this crop should never contain a surplus of 

 water. Such as have a subsoil retentive of water, should be under-drained. The best river 

 bottoms are well adapted to it, providing the situation gives them a good natural drainage. 

 Its culture is not, however, confined to any particular kind of soil. Any soil that is dry and 

 of average fertility, will yield a fair crop. 



Unless the land is naturally quite rich, fertilizers of some kind are essential. Well-fer 

 mented manure of any kind is good, that from the barn-yard, pig-sty, or sheep-pen being 

 valuable for this crop. Guano, plaster, wood-ashes, and lime, also give good results, but 

 generally not quite equal to the former. 



Soil should be made as clean and free from weeds as possible, as the young plants seem 

 weak and feeble at first, and are consequently easily choked by the weeds. A clean soil also 

 admits of less labor in the after-culture. 



As with common corn, different cultivators adopt different methods of preparing the 

 land. Whatever the method of preparing the soil, the surface should be finely pulverized by 

 plowing and harrowing before planting. The manure is generally applied broadcast; in 

 addition to this, a small quantity of manure applied to the hills or drills before planting would 

 serve to give the young plants a vigorous start. The preparation of the soil should in all 

 respects be similar to that made for corn. 



Planting. Broom-corn may be planted either in hills or drills. Hills are generally 

 preferred as a matter of convenience in the after-culture, as they admit of running the culti 

 vator both ways. 



The rows may be from three and a half to four feet apart, according to the variety to be 

 grown. Dwarf varieties are sometimes planted three feet apart, but four feet is sufficiently 

 near for the large kinds. The hills may be about two and a half or three feet apart, accord 

 ing to the variety grown, although some prefer to have them the same distance as the rows. 



In the cultivation of this crop, it is very essential that the seed be of the best quality and 

 thoroughly ripened. Seed of inferior quality, or that imperfectly ripened, will either fail to 

 germinate or produce weak, sickly plants. 



As many of the seeds often fail to germinate, even when of average good quality, the 

 usual practice is to plant a liberal quantity to the hill, and afterwards thin out the plants to 

 five or six, leaving only the strongest and most thrifty looking ones. From fifteen to twenty 

 seeds to the hill are sufficient. If too large a quantity is planted, the young plants will be 

 crowded, and as they are naturally at first very weak, overcrowding at this period would ren 

 der them more so, and prove injurious to the crop. 



When the seed is sound and well-ripened, two quarts will be sufficient for an acre, this 

 being the usual allowance. If much of it is imperfect, a much larger quantity will be 

 required. For drill planting, a somewhat larger amount will be required than for hills. The 

 planting should be done when the soil is warm and dry, and all danger of frost is passed; 

 about the time of planting corn, or a little later. 



When the seed has been thoroughly cleaned of the stems or pedicles adhering to them, 

 it can be planted by any of the common seed-drills that will plant seed of small size. Corn 

 planting machines and wheat-drills are used for this purpose. When only a few acres are to 

 be planted, dropping the seed by hand although a slow process is often practiced in some 

 localities. A small garden seed-planter is much to be preferred to planting by hand. 



