CULTIVATION. 19 



that some sowed a bushel, to be sure that the land was 

 well stocked 1 



TIME OF PLANTING. Being of sub-tropical origin, 

 Broom-corn seed should not be sown until the soil is 

 so thoroughly warmed that it will germinate at once. If 

 put in too early, there is not sufficient heat in the soil to 

 cause the seed to start, and it will either rot altogether 

 and must be resown, or the young growth will be so weak 

 that the weeds will rapidly get ahead of it. The time 

 for planting Indian corn is usually given as the proper 

 one for Broom-corn, but it may with advantage be a lit- 

 tle later than that. In the Northern States it is planted 

 from the middle of May to the middle of June. Of course 

 the precise time will be governed by a knowledge of the 

 peculiarities of the locality, as the crop must be harvested 

 before the early frosts. 



CULTIVATING. Success with the crop, other things 

 being favorable, depends upon keeping it free of weeds 

 while young. The young plants when they first show 

 themselves, are very small, appearing much like grass, 

 and though they soon become strong and vigorous, they 

 are weak at first ; the seed being, when divested of its 

 hull, quite small, the germ has only enough nutriment 

 prepared for its early growth, to enable the young plant 

 to get fairly above the ground, and it has at once to form 

 roots and provide for its own subsistence. In its young 

 state it is poorly fitted to struggle with weeds, and unless 

 these are removed from the start, the crop will be a poor 

 one. Hence not only thorough, but immediate cultiva- 

 tion is required. 



In order that the cost of production may be as low as 

 possible, the crop is worked- almost entirely by horse im- 

 plements. To get ahead, and keep ahead, of the weeds, 

 cultivation must begin as soon as the plants are well up, 

 some commencing as soon as enough are up to allow the 



