28 BROOM-CORN AND BROOMS. 



a saw-buck, with the sides and one end boarded up ; the 

 ends of the stems coming against the back of the box, are 

 kept straight. The brush is removed from the box to 

 the drying house. 



In this as in all other handling, it is very important 

 to keep the brush straight and smooth. It is very easy 



Fig. 5. SCRAPING MACHINE. 



by careless handling to get it in a tangled condition, 

 which materially decreases its value. 



ASSORTING THE BRUSH is a matter of importance; as 

 with most other products, when good and bad are mixed 

 indiscriminately, the whole will sell for only the price of 

 the bad. Hence the poor and crooked brush should be 

 separated, and kept distinct until it is baled for market. 

 While the best growers agree in doing this, they do not 

 agree as to when is the best time for doing it. Some do 

 the assorting when the brush is delivered at the scrapers, 

 while others find it more advantageous to call it before it 

 is removed from the tables. A man goes along in ad- 

 vance of the wagons, and places the poor and crooked 

 brush by itself, and both the straight and crooked are 



