654 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



been made comparatively free from seeds of such weeds as crab- 

 grass, rag weed, pig weed, foxtail and others, cultivation must begin 

 with the appearance of the young broom corn plants and be prose- 

 cuted vigorously and frequently, or these weeds may successfully 

 contend for the possession of the soil. It is frequently possible to go 

 over the field once or twice with a weeder after the broom corn is 

 planted and before it is up, thus destroying many weeds or so check- 

 ing their growth as to give the more slowly germinating broom corn 

 an equal start. Harrows, weeders and cultivators (with sidebars to 

 protect the plant from being covered with soil) if used frequently 

 after the young plants show along the row will greatly lessen the 

 labor of hoeing. Old stalks of weeds, corn, sorghum, broom corn 

 and the like will seriously interfere with the cultivation of this crop, 

 and such trash should be gotten rid of before the broom corn is 

 planted. 



Cultivation should be of such frequency as not only to destroy 

 all weeds before they have attained a size that would injure the 

 broom corn or interfere with the ease of their destruction, but also to 

 prevent the formation of a crust upon the soil surface and to main- 

 tain a high degree of tilth which will benefit the crop more than 

 the weeds will injure. If the plants are found to be too thick the 

 surplus should be removed when the first hoeing is done. (Ark. 

 E. S. B. 83.) 



Harvesting. The market demands a brush, green in color 

 with tough, springy fiber. To obtain such a brush, the growth must 

 have been steady and as rapid as was consistent with the nature of 

 the crop. Checks in the growth produced by drouth or cold nights 

 or cold spells tend to produce a brittleness in the brush which mate- 

 rially reduces its value. If the soil were put in good condition prior 

 to seeding and the proper cultivation followed, the bad effects of 

 drouth or even cold spells may usually be largely overcome. With 

 the above factors under proper control desired color and springy- 

 ness of brush can best be obtained by harvesting when the bloom or 

 anthers are falling from the head. Of course, the seed is undeveloped 

 at this stage and has no value for seeding purposes. It is worth 

 something for feed and may be used as manure for the land. 



Method of Harvesting. The method of harvesting differs 

 whether one is growing standard or dwarf broom corn. Standard 

 broom corn usually stands eight feet or more in height. In order to 

 harvest the brush, the stalk must be cut or bent over so that the head 

 will be in easy reach. To do this a regular process is followed called 

 "tabling." This is not only convenient but keeps the heads clean. 



Tabling. To table broom corn, the stalks of two adjacent rows 

 are bent diagonally across the intervening space in such a way that 

 the brush end of the stack above the sharp bend is supported in a 

 horizontal position, with the brush ends extending about two feet 

 beyond the opposite row. The height of bending varies according 

 to the height of the broom corn, but is usually from two and a half 

 to three feet 



