CHAPTER IX 
BROOM-CORN BY-PRODUCTS 
In sections where the plants are allowed to ripen 
the broom-corn seed is used for feed, but in the im- 
portant broom-corn producing sections the brush is 
harvested during the blossom stage, and very little 
seed is secured. 
Feeding tests with the fodder of standard broom- 
corn has shown that the stalks are woody and un- 
palatable, and that they are of little value for feed- 
ing purposes. But if cut immediately after the brush 
is harvested the dwarf varieties produce a fodder 
almost equal in feeding value to corn stover. Fig- 
ure 18 shows a field of dwarf broom-corn which has 
been cut and shocked. After threshing the stalks 
may be used for forage. 
In 1909 the United States Department of Agricul- 
ture began a series of tests to determine the value of 
broom-corn stalks for the manufacture of paper. 
Since broom-corn has been selected for the produc- 
tion of a larger quantity and a better quality of 
brush, it is natural that the production of fiber in 
one part should be correlated with a higher quality 
of fiber in the whole plant. As a result of these 
experiments it was found that the broom-corn stalk 
is suitable, so far as quality and yield of pulp is 
concerned, for immediate use in paper making. It 
reduces to pulp rapidly and with a small consump- 
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