122 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



desirable. The cultivation requires the keeping down of the 

 weeds and a loose mulch of soil on the surface until the plants 

 are too large to cultivate. 



When the plants have grown to considerable size they begin 

 to send out blossom buds. These must be removed from all 

 plants except those that are to produce seed for the next crop. 

 When the leaves are ripe the plants are cut and taken to sheds 

 and arranged on racks to cure. At what stage of growth the 

 leaves are ripe is hard to tell in words. It must be learned 

 by experience. After the curing process is done the dried 

 leaves are handled in various ways to prepare them for the 

 market. The method of handling depends upon the use to 

 which the leaves are to be put. 



Broom Corn. — Broom corn is closely related to sorghum 

 and looks very much like it. The branches of the heads are 

 longer and usually lighter colored. The stems of broom corn 

 are not sweet like those of sorghum. The head or "brush" 

 is the valuable part of the plant. 



Broom corn is raised in nearly every state and territory of 

 the Union, but the total amount produced is not large. Illi- 

 nois, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas, Iowa, 

 California and Tennessee are the states producing the larg- 

 est amounts. Three counties in Illinois (Coles, Douglas and 

 Moultrie) produce about one-half of the total crop in the 

 United States.* 



There are two kinds of broom corn, the standard and the 

 dwarf. The standard grows quite tall, as much as twelve 

 feet, and has a brush fifteen or more inches long. The dwarf 

 varieties grow about six feet tall and have brushes about 

 twelve inches or more long. The standard varieties are used 

 * Farmers' Bulletin 174. 



