4& BROOM-CORN AND BROOMS. 



doing. Your questions as to cost and profits are not so 

 easy to answer, as those who are very free in telling every- 

 thing else in relation to the crop, do not care to let their 

 neighbors see their day-book and ledger. The average 

 returns are probably from 500 to 600 Ibs. of brush to the 

 acre, though we often see reports of 1,000 Ibs. or even 

 more to the acre, but these are exceptional crops. It is 

 probable that a ton to 3 acres is a liberal estimate of the 

 yield for this district. Some growers claim that it can 

 be raised for $40 a ton, which I have no doubt is true in 

 exceptional cases, but it will not do to accept it as the av- 

 erage ; no doubt $50 to $60 the ton will come nearer the 

 actual cost, one year with another. 



WHAT A RETIRED GROWER SAYS. 



A correspondent near Homer, 111. , who was formerly 

 largely engaged in growing Broom-corn, writes that he 

 has been for some years out of the business. 



" However, I will do the best I can to answer your 

 inquiries. I know of no one controlling more than five 

 or six hundred acres. I know but little of the varieties 

 now grown ; when I was in the business, we thought we 

 could grow a much better quality of brush from seed 

 brought from the East, than from native or acclimated 

 seed. I have always planted in drills. The cultivation 

 required is the same as for corn, except that more hand- 

 hoeing is necessary to keep the weeds and grass down ; 

 it grows extremely slowly whilst young, but rapidly after 

 the first foot in hight is obtained. 



"One man should do all the labor necessary to the 

 cultivation of say 20 acres, but as the harvesting season is 

 short, four or five times the help would be required for 

 the harvesting and preparing for market. In my time we 

 found the average cost per acre, including rental of land, 

 cultivation, harvesting, and preparation for market, about 



