OTHER FARM CROPS 657 



brush should be left bulked until all dampness disappears. A hand 

 press may do where only a small amount is produced. But if any 

 considerably quantity is grown some form of power press will be 

 required. The bales are usually tied with large wire, which injures 

 the brush less than fine wire. Bales usually weigh about 350 pounds 

 when they arrive in market. One power baler will work about eight 

 men and bale around ten tons per day. 



Marketing. The prices vary according to supply and demand. 

 Good, first quality brush can always be sold. Off color brush, 

 bleached, musty, crooked, coarse, brittle or poorly cleaned brush is 

 always lower in price and often cannot be sold at all. When broom 

 corn is very scarce, manufacturers will sometimes buy brush that 

 would be rejected at any other time. But even in such times it sells 

 at a price much lower than good quality brush. The following mar- 

 ket grades are recognized: Common, partly off color, red-stained 

 and bleached, self-working. Fair grade, slightly off color, self- 

 working. Good color and good fiber, self-working. Fine fiber, 

 dwarf, red tipped. Fine fiber, dwarf, running well for whisk brooms. 

 Fair, crooked. Good, well-handled, crooked. Fair, medium, red- 

 tipped. Slightly tipped, smooth growth. Good, green, smooth, self- 

 working. Choice, green, self-working, carpet stock. Fair, medium, 

 sound hurl. Good, medium hurl. Good, green, smooth, carpet 

 hurl. Choice, green, smooth, carpet hurl. 



Conclusions. Broom corn is quite drouth resistant and is con- 

 sequently adapted) for Colorado plains. Inexperienced growers 

 should only attempt a small area at first until they have learned 

 the requirements of the crop. Good seed must be obtained. This 

 can be done best by each grower producing and caring for his own 

 seed. To raise any considerable acreage requires sheds and shed 

 equipment, dump wagons, baler, thrasher, and a number of small 

 items. These wall probably cost from $1,200 to $1,500 and up. The 

 equipment will last several years if properly cared for. Broom corn 

 may be profitable under dry farming, but it will seldom pay under 

 irrigation. To succeed with broom corn it should occupy a regular 

 place in the rotation and uniform acreage planted from year to year. 

 Checks in the growth due to cold or drouth produce a tendency to 

 brittleness. Wetting by rain or dew and drying tend to produce 

 brittleness and red-tinged brush. Strong light bleaches and gives 

 uneven color. To produce a good cmality of brush takes care, but 

 it brings good prices. (Colo. E. S. Cir. 9, 1910.) 



Additional References. (Ill E. S. Cir. 18 ; Y. B. 1901.) 



SUGAR CANE. 



Sugar cane belongs to the family of grasses ; and most authori- 

 ties are inclined to trace all the different kinds of sugar cane now 

 grown to a single species, saceharum offieinarum. According to this, 

 all the different sorts of cane now met with are induced by the effects 

 of cultivation. But there is no absolute unanimity of opinion upon 

 this subject. For practical purposes we may divide the canes into 

 three principal varieties the red or purple cane, the ribbon cane, 

 and the green cane. The red cane is the hardiest variety; will re- 



