MARKETING BROOM CORN. 11 



ing fiber, evenly and tightly tied with five strands of No. 9 wire, and. 

 preferably cross-tied with lighter- weight wire. Only well-cured and 

 merchantable brush should be used, and as a matter of protection and 

 appearance care should be exercised in having the brush well 

 " butted " before it is placed in the bales. 



STANDARD-SIZED BALES. 



A standard bale of broom corn is 45 inches long, 26 inches wide, and 

 34 inches high. As found on the market, however, a bale usually is 

 about as high as it is long and varies in weight from 300 to 425 

 pounds, depending on the fineness and quantity of brush used. 



Bales of standard length and width load in cars without dead 

 space, whereas odd-sized bales do not. Standard-sized bales are pre- 

 ferred because shippers are unable to load off-sized bales to the mini- 

 mum load stipulated and are thus compelled to pay higher freight 

 charges. 



CKOSS-TYING. 



Since the bulk of the broom corn is shipped from country points to 

 terminal markets and is often subjected to rough handling in transit, 

 the regular method of baling is not always sufficient to insure its 

 arrival at destination in good shape. Stocks that present an uninvit- 

 ing appearance on the sales floor usually command a lower price than 

 do well-made bales of equal grade and quality. A comparison of the 

 two bales in Plate IV, figure 2, clearly reveals the importance of care 

 in preparing bales for shipment. 



As a precaution against damage in handling, cross-tying has come 

 into general use. The method employed is to connect the two opposite 

 end wires of a bale with somewhat lighter wire than that used in 

 baling to prevent the outside bale wires from slipping. Usually four 

 cross-ties are used. They are placed at each of the four sides, prefer- 

 ably underneath all five of the bale wires. As the Dwarf variety has 

 small stems it is more difficult to bale neatly than the Standard 

 variety, the ends of the bales tending to taper somewhat. This 

 variety, therefore, particularly needs cross-tying to prevent the out- 

 side wires from slipping. 



If baled broom corn is not marketed immediately after being baled 

 it should be stored in a dry place protected alike from the direct 

 rays of the sun and from rainy weather. 



MARKETING AT COUNTRY POINTS. 



KINDS OF DEALERS. 



It is practically impossible to classify the various broom corn 

 dealers, because of the overlapping of the functions that each per- 

 forms. A dealer, for instance, may be generally known as a resident 



