12 BROOM-COKN AND BEOOMS. 



to have first made brooms for sale in 1798, though the 

 plant was cultivated for home use some years previous to 

 that time ; Shakers and others in New England, es- 

 pecially in the valley of the Connecticut, soon engaged 

 in the business to what then seemed a large extent. 



As the demand increased, the cultivation extended 

 westward, and for a long time the valley of the Mohawk 

 was the great center of its cultivation, and there is still 

 a large production of Broom-corn, as well as manufacture 

 of brooms in that locality. 



Some years ago Ohio produced large crops, and the 

 southern and central portions of the State took the lead- 

 in this business. 



At present the center of the culture is in Illinois, espe- 

 cially along the line of the Illinois Central Kailroad, 

 where not only is the aggregate area immense, but indi- 

 vidual growers engage largely in the business, and it is 

 not unusual to find from 300 to 700 acres in this crop 

 belonging to one man. The methods of culture followed 

 by these large producers are given in another chapter. 

 Missouri produces a great deal of Broom-corn, but we 

 have no accurate statistics for this or any other State, as 

 strangely enough this important crop appears to have 

 been quite ignored in taking the U. S. census for 1870. 

 Some statistics, showing the extent of the manufacture 

 of the product into brooms, are given at the end of the 

 chapter on Broom Making. 



It is probable that the returns for this crop in Kansas 

 will be very large at the close of the present season, as 

 the farmers of that State appear to be undertaking its 

 culture very extensively. We learn from a friend in the 

 Broom-corn district of Illinois, that the demand from 

 Kansas for seed has been so great that the price has ad- 

 vanced to a point that may affect the breadth to be sown 

 in Illinois this spring. 



California has a climate and soils which seem to suit 



