MAKING BROOMS BY MACHItfEKY. 



51 



culty by any one with fair mechanical ability, or the en- 

 gravings here given will serve as sufficient guides for a 

 carpenter or other mechanic to work by. 



The first step is to sort tRe brush into three sizes, with 

 straw of 15, 17, and 19 inches long respectively ; rough, 

 short, or crooked brush is used for the inside of the 

 brooms, and is to be kept by itself. That which is 

 longer than 19 inches is called ' ( hurl," and is used for the 

 largest and highest priced brooms, the stalk being cut off, 

 and the straw only being used. Then the brush is cleaned 



Fig. 19. DRAINING THE BRUSH. 



from any adhering seeds or hulls or broken straw, by ex- 

 posing it in handf uls to a rapidly revolving drum or cyl- 

 inder in the machine, used in preparing the brush for 

 market, shown on page 28. In a small way this may be 

 done by a coarse comb. The brush is then tied up in 

 bundles, and the buts dipped in water and placed on 

 a bench to drain, as shown in figure 19. The stalks are 

 then soft and pliable, and the brush is ready for the 

 wrapping-machine, shown at figure 20. It consists of a 



