UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



i]| BULLETIN No. 1019 ^ 



Contribution from the Bureau of Markets and Crop Estimates "" 



j&?"<&j-u 



H. C. TAYLOR, Chief 



S^K- "^f^U 



Washington, D. C. 



April 14, 1922 



MARKETING BROOM CORN. 



By G. B. Alguire, 

 Assistant in Marketing Hay and Broom Com. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Use and importance of crop 1 



Preparation for market 2 



Selection of brush 3 



What not to harvest 3 



Thrashing 4 



Curing 7 



Baling 10 



Marketing at country points 11 



Kinds of dealers 11 



Time of movement 15 



Principal country shipping 



points 16 



Page. 

 Marketing at country points — Cont'd. 



Opening the market 16 



Methods of marketing 18 



Sampling 25 



Country storage 26 



Transportation 28 



Methods of loading at country 



points 28 



Channels of traffic 29 



Principal terminal and manufac- 

 turing points 30 



Cooperative marketing 30 



USE AND IMPORTANCE OF CROP. 



Broom corn is a comparatively small crop and has a limited use, 

 therefore it has failed to command the attention of the marketing 

 agencies which have played such an important part in developing 

 efficient systems of distribution for the more important products. 

 Broom corn is marketed to-day by much the same methods as those 

 employed TO years ago, but with the advent of regulatory measures, 

 grading rules, and other means of bringing about a more just and 

 economical distribution of important commodities, growers, dealers, 

 and manufacturers find that the absence of similar advantages for 

 broom corn leaves much to be desired in the development of better 

 market practices. 



In the manufacture of brooms, broom corn x has been replaced only 

 to a very small extent by substitutes. Grass, rattan fiber, bristles, 



1 The term broom corn is applied to the growing crop 1 , also* to the brush or that part 

 of the plant used in the manufacture of brooms. The words " brush " and "heads!" 

 usually mean the portion consisting of the " stem," " knuckle," and " fiber," the word 

 knuckle applying particularly to that portion of the brush where the fiber is attached to 

 the " stem." The stem is the uppermost portion of the stalk below the fiber, or the por- 

 tion^ that is harvested with a fiber. (See plate I.) The " boot " or " sheath " is the leaf 

 sheath that encircles the stem of the brush. " Hurl " as applied to broom corn includes 

 brush of suitable color, fiber, and length for use on the outside of brooms. " Insides " 

 and " covers" are the brush used for the interior of brooms. " Butting" is a process by 

 which the butts of the broom corn are evened up. (See plate IV, fig. 1.) 



69894° — 21 — Bull. 1019 — — 1 



