CHAPTER X 

 THE MANUFACTURE OF BROOMS 



In former years many farmers raised a small 

 quantity of broom-corn for the purpose of supplying 

 their household with brooms. The crop was har- 

 vested, cured and made into brooms by the farmer 

 and the members of his family. In some cases the 

 entire manufacturing process was completed with- 

 out the aid of machinery, while in other cases the 

 handling of the crop was facilitated by the use of 

 very simple homemade machines which were 

 operated by hand. 



According to the Twelfth Census, there are in the 

 United States 1,526 broom and brush manufacturing 

 establishments, with a capital of $9,616,000. Among 

 the states, Illinois takes the lead with 156 factories, 

 representing a total capital of $500,000. 



At the present time the manufacture of brooms 

 in the home has been almost entirely superseded by 

 the factory method. And hand machines have been 

 supplanted by power machines. With the hand 

 machines one man can make seven or eight dozen 

 brooms per day, while with power machines the 

 process is divided between several operators and 

 the output very much increased. Some of the larger 

 manufacturing establishments turn out more than 

 a thousand dozen finished brooms per day. 



Homemade Brooms. Several years ago a writer 



