22 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



BROOM CORN. 



From the Fourth Report of the Agriculture of Massacliusetts, 



Broom corn {S'orghinn saccharatum.,) is the 

 next most important crop grown in (he county o( 

 Franklin. Its cultivation is chiefly confined to 

 the meadows on the Deerfield and Connecticut 

 rivers, thougli there have been instances of iari:;e 

 crops in the interior. Deeifield, Whately and 

 Sunderland in particular grow large amoun's of 

 il ; and it is said that the j)roFperity of iIk' lasi- 

 nanied (own is mainly attributable to this product. 



The average yield under good cultivation ie 

 from six hundred to eight hundred pounds of 

 brush or broom. One thousand pounds are not 

 unfrequently reached. Six to eight hundred pounds 

 are reported as the average yield in Sunderland 

 and Whately. A crop of seed Is obtained about 

 once in four years, and forty bushels of seed are 

 considered a good yield. A respectable farmer 

 in the county informs me that in one instance, he 

 obtained one hundred and fifty bushels of seed to 

 the acre. Ft is planted in hills at a distance of 

 eighteen inches between (he hills lengthwise ; 

 and iu rows about two and a half feet apart, or 

 at a distance wide enough to pass the plough or 

 the cultivator. By some farmers, broom corn is 

 planted in hills two and a half feet distant each 

 way, and fifteen stalks are left in a hill. It re- 

 quires good manuijog ; and is pometimes manur- 

 ed as Indian corn in the hill, or the manure is 

 spread. The cultivation is more expensive than 

 that of Indian corn. No crop is more beautiful 

 than the standing corn, when in perfection ; and 

 it frequently reaches a height of twelve to fifteen 

 feet. 



The stalks of the plant are long and hard, and 

 thereibre difficult to load on a cart. They are 

 generally considered as of no value excepting for 

 manure. This, liowever, is an error. The Shakers 

 at Canterbury, N. H,, among the very best farm- 

 ers in the country, are as careful to save their 

 broom corn stalks, as their Indian corn stalks (or 

 fodder; and, for the feeding of their young stock, 

 deem them equally valuable. 



The usual mode of gathering is to table the 

 corn, that is, to cut oft' the top, or tassel the broom 

 as it is called, about two or three feet from the top, 

 and bending the stalks of" two rows together, lay 

 it down and leave it until it is seasoned and fit to 

 be gathered. The brush is then cut, tied in small 

 bundles and carried in. The remainder of the 

 stalks are burnt in the field the ensuing spring, 

 and some little advantage is supposed to be de- 

 rived from (he ashes. Some farmers prefer, after 

 gathering the brush, to cut the stalks and lay them 

 lengthwise in the rows, and plough them imme- 

 diately under. They will be entirely decomposed 

 by the ensuing spring. A stilt better mode is (o 

 carry (hem in(o the cattle and sheep-yards, where 

 they become incorporated with the manure and 

 make a valuable addition to the compost heap. 

 I am satisfied from the experiment of the Shakers, 

 that if properly cured, they might be well applied 

 (0 the feeding of young stock. It is deemed ne- 

 cessary by (he raisers ol broom corn to connect 

 with it the feeding and liittening ol cattle, that 

 the necessary manure may be procured for the 

 cultivation of (his crop. 



It is considered a profitable crop when the brush 

 will command five cents per pound. The price 



has been subject to great fluctuations. Formerly, 

 it was common fur each farmer to make his brush 

 into brooms, and sell them when and where he 

 coulil. This was bad lor all parties. It brouaht 

 too many competitors into the market, and often 

 unduly depressed the price. The buyers likewise 

 were often obliged to put up with an inferior arti- 

 cle. I'lie growing ol the brush and the manu- 

 laciure ol the brooms are now in different hands. 

 The farmer, as soon as his broom is ready for the 

 market, finds in the manufacturer a purchaser at 

 a steady price ; and the manufacturer knows that 

 his reputation, and consequently his success like- 

 wise, is concerned in the qualify of the article, 

 which he lurnishes. 



The Shakers (or a loma: lime almost monopo- 

 lized the raising of the corn and the manuliacture 

 of brooms, which, like other manufactures of this 

 indusirious community, were always ofa superior 

 quality and generally commanded a high price, 

 usually 37^ cents a-piece or more. Now, corn 

 brooms are frequently sold (rom 8 to 25 cents ; but 

 many of them are, like Pindar's razors, " made 

 to sell." The handles in an unfinished state, 

 made eiiher of maple or ash, are furnished for a 

 cent a-piece. The wiring and tying on are usually 

 done by the hundred. The scraping the seed 

 from (he brush is an unpleasant business, and the 

 dust is prejudicial to the eyes. A common flax 

 comb is generally employed ; but an improved 

 machine, moved by horse power is coming into 

 use, perlbrms the work quickly, and greatly lessens 

 the labor. The manufacture, when carried on 

 extensively and with ample capital, has yielded 

 encouraging profits. 



The seed is sold at two-thirds ihe price of oats, 

 and is ordinarily of the same weight. It some- 

 times weighs more than oats, and by some per- 

 sons is more highly valued. It is by many esteem- 

 ed good food lor the fattening of swine, when 

 mixed with other grain. Some have used it for 

 (a(tening cattle and horses, but it is not approved. 

 The saving of the seed of broom corn is, by the 

 best farmers, deemed a matter of much import- 

 ance. It must be taken (i-om that which produces 

 a full and square head ; and not from that which 

 runs up in a spindling Ibrm, and " branches like a 

 pine-tree." The difference in (he seed is deemed 

 of so much consequence, (hat while ordinary seed 

 for planting can be obtained at one dollar and fifty 

 cents per bushel, the best always commands four 

 dollars. In no single thing do farmers commit a 

 greater error than in respect to seed. Inferior seed 

 of any kind of plant should never be used ; and 

 the difference in the expense between good and 

 poor seed is nothing compared with the increased 

 value of the crop from good seed. 



It is a fact, which certainly deserves mention, 

 that broom corn is taken three, (bur, and some- 

 times ten years in succession from the same field 

 without diminution of the crop. I have the testi- 

 mony of three respectable farmers to this point. 

 Yet this can only be done by high manuring. By 

 many farmers it is deemed an exhausting crop. 

 The brooms made from (he brush, cut and dried 

 while green, are tougher and much more durable 

 than those made from the brush, when suffered to 

 become quite dry and yellow. The returns of a 

 crop of broom corn in Gill are as follows : the land 

 cultivated was one acre seven rods. The crop of 

 brush was nine hundred and thirteen pounds. Of 



