176 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



[No. 3. 



From the New York Farmer. 

 BROOM CORX. 



The cultivation of broom corn is carried on to a 

 very great extent on some of the alluvial lands on 

 the Connecticut river, and in small patches in ma- 

 ny of the interior towns. The towns of Hadley 

 and Hatfield raise large quantities, which are 

 manufactured into brooms, and distributed through- 

 out the country. The seed is considered of about 

 two-thirds of the value of oats, and, mixed with 

 corn, makes an excellent provender for the fat- 

 tening either of swine or neat cattle. The return 

 of seed is somewhat precarious; but often it is 

 abundant, and will more than pay the whole ex- 

 pense of cultivation and preparing the crop for the 

 market. I have known a case in which 150 bush- 

 els of good seed have been obtained from an acre; 

 and I have been assured, on good authority, of a 

 still larger yield, though this is not frequently to 

 be^xpected. One thousand pounds of broom to 

 an acre is a very good crop. It will pay well for 

 manuring and good culture. No crop is more 

 beautiful than the standing corn when in perfec- 

 tion. It frequently attains a height of 12 to 15 

 feet. The stalks of the plant are. very long and 

 hard, and, therefore, rather difficult to load upon a 

 cart. They are considered as of no value but for 

 manure. The usual practice is to table the corn, 

 that is, to cut off the top, or tassel the broom, as it 

 is called, about two feet from the top, and bending 

 the stalks of two rows together, lay it down until 

 it is seasoned and fit to be carried in. The re- 

 mainder of the stalks are then burnt in the spring 

 in the field, and some Utile advantage is derived 

 from the ashes. A much better way, it is thought, 

 is, after gathering the crop, to cut the stalks and 

 lay them lengthwise in the rows, and plough them 

 immediately under. They will become entirely 

 decomposed by spring. A still better mode is to 

 carry them into the cattle and sheep yards, where 

 they become incorporated with the manure, and 

 make a valuable addition to the compost heap. 



The seed is planted in rows, wide enough apart 

 for the plough to pass conveniently between them, 

 and dropped in hills about eighteen inches from 

 each other. Four or five stalks are considered 

 sufficient to remain in a hill — more are sometimes 

 allowed. The cultivation and manuring is more 

 than for Indian corn. It may be manured in the 

 hill or by spreading, or in both ways, as you have 

 the means of high cultivation, which this plant 

 will bear. The stalks are not eaten by cattle, nor 

 even browsed by them; but I am not certain that 

 the leaves would not furnish a good feed for young 

 stock, if stripped early, when tender, and well 

 cured, as the Indian corn blades are cured at the 

 south. What would be the effect of such mutila- 

 tion upon the crop itself, and whether it would 

 compensate for the labor, are inquiries which I 

 am not able to answer, and in respect to which I 

 cannot learn that any experiments have been 

 made. It is an important subject for experiment. 

 As it is at present managed, the plant returns little 

 to the ground compared with Indian corn; and the 

 Hadley and Hatfield farmers are obliged to con- 

 nect with it the fattening of beef to a considerable 

 extent, to furnish manure for their broom corn. 



It is deemed a good crop when the broom com- 

 mands five cents per lb. The price has heretofore 

 been subject to great fluctuations. At one time it 



w r as the custom for every farmer to make up his 

 own brooms, and then to<ro and sell them where 

 hecould. This was bad for all parties. Itbrought 

 too many competitors into the market; and often 

 unduly depressed the price, and the buyers were 

 often obliged to put up with an inferior arlicle. 

 Now the manufacturing and the growing of the 

 broom are in different hands; and ihe farmer, as 

 soon as his broom is ready for the market, finds a 

 purchaser at a steady price; and the manufacturer 

 feels that his reputation, and consequently his suc- 

 cess, are concerned in the quality .of the arlicle 

 which he furnishes. 



It is a little remarkable, that notwithstanding 

 the extent and importance of this product, for one 

 manufacturer within a ie\v miles of me makes 

 several hundred thousands of brooms a year, that 

 in no book of agriculture in my possession can I 

 find any account of the cultivation of this plant, 

 not even in that excellent New England work, 

 "The Complete Farmer.''' 1 The Shakers for a 

 long time almost monopolized the raising of the 

 plant and the manufacture of brooms; and their 

 brooms, which, like the other manufactures of this 

 industrious community, were always of a superior 

 quality, usually commanded a high price, gene- 

 rally 42 cents or more. Corn brooms are now fre- 

 quently sold from eight, to twenty-five cents; but 

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

 sell." The Shakers, however, maintain the qual- 

 ity of their manufacture. The handles, in an un- 

 finished state, are furnished for a cent a piece; the 

 wiring and the tying on are usually done by the 

 bundled. The scraping the seed from the brush 

 is an unpleasant business, and often very injurious 

 to the eyes. The manufacture, where it has been 

 carried on extensively and with ample capital, has 

 yielded encouraging profits. 



An intelligent and enterprising farmer in my 

 neighborhood, who last year cultivated three acres- 

 and one-half of broom corn in our alluvial mea- 

 dows, has been kind enough to furnish me a de- 

 tailed account of the expense of cultivating an 

 acre, which maybe relied on for its exactness, but 

 in which the rate of labor is probably over-esti- 

 mated by the day. His broom was sold in the 

 autumn at eight and one half cents per lb. It rea- 

 dily commands this spring 12| cents; had he for- 

 tunately retained his broom until this time, the 

 profits would have been greatly enhanced, while 

 the expenses would, of course, have remained the 

 same. 



Account of the expenses of cultivating an acre 

 of broom corn in Deerfield meadows, in the year 

 1S34, by Mr. Alvah Hawkes: 

 One ploughing, 12th May, $1.25 



Holeing out, one-third of a day's work, 34 



Ten loads of manure, at 75 cents, 7.50 



Putting manure in the hill, 2.00 



Planling, one day's work, 1.00 



Seed, four quarts, at. 75 cents per bushel, 10 



Hoeing, first time 3£ days, 3.50 



do. 2d do. 3 do. 3.00 



do. 3d do. 2-i- do. 2.50 



Horse and boy to plough for the season, 1.00 



Tabling and cutting, four days, 4.00 



Gathering, carting, and packing away, 2.50 



$ 28.68 

 The expense of cultivating one acre is $28.6S 



