14 BROOM-CORN CULTURE 
and the production of a superior quality of brush, to 
meet the demands of the manufacturer for a high- 
grade material of uniform quality. 
The Choice of Land.—Broom-corn will permit of 
later planting than most of the principal crops, 
and for this reason it is sometimes advisable to use 
it as a gap crop for replacing corn, oats or other 
cereals that have failed to make a good start. 
As a rule, however, careful attention should be 
given to the selection of the land to be devoted to 
broom-corn. It is quite essential that the soil of the 
field should be of uniform fertility and free from 
weeds. A foul piece of land planted to this crop 
will require a great amount of labor to keep the 
weeds from choking the young plants, since the 
broom-corn makes a very slow growth for the first 
two or three weeks until it gets its root system out 
into the soil. 
In localities where broom-corn is grown quite 
generally, it should be made to take a permanent 
place in the regular system of crop rotation. The 
grower can then afford to supply himself with dry- 
ing sheds, scrapers, a baling press and other equip- 
ment necessary for the proper handling of the crop. 
It is unwise to make broom-corn the principal 
crop, as is sometimes done in Illinois, Kansas and 
Oklahoma. It is much safer to devote only a part 
of the farm to this crop and hold the brush until 
the market permits of a profitable sale. If broom- 
corn is grown exclusively, the holding of the brush 
for a higher price will entail a large financial burden, 
and in addition to this, the work of the farm will be 
