HARVESTING BROOM-CORN 35 



straws. When the upper leaf sheath surrounds the 

 shank it is important that the knife cut through a 

 sufficient distance to sever the head but leave the 

 sheath partially attached, so that it will be left be- 

 hind when the head is removed. A leather stall is 

 worn on the right forefinger, so that by grasping the 

 stalk between the finger and the knifeblade the head 

 may be severed by a pressure of the thumb on the 

 back of the knife blade. Not less than six inches of 

 stem should be left below the attachment of the 

 straws, but if more than eight inches of shank is left 

 the value of the brush is decreased. 



As the brush is cut it is laid in small piles on alter- 

 nate tables. The brush is so placed as to be within 

 easy reach from either side as a wagon is driven over 

 the empty table between. 



Figure 9 shows the tabled broom-corn ready for 

 the cutters, and Figure 10 shows the cut brush piled 

 on the table and ready to be loaded as the wagon is 

 driven over the empty table to the right in the 

 photograph. 



Hauling. Since the quality of the brush is in- 

 jured by rain, it is essential that the cut brush should 

 be hauled to the scraper, seeded and put in curing 

 sheds as soon .as possible. In some sections the 

 brush is cured out of doors, but this method pro- 

 duces a bleached head of very poor quality and one 

 that will not command the full market price. 



Where broom-corn is grown on a limited scale an 

 ordinary handy wagon may be used to haul the 

 brush, but where the crop is grown on an extensive 

 scale a dump wagon (Figure n) is usually em- 



