396 FIELD CROPS FOR THE COTTON-BELT 



The panicle of broom-corn is borne on an erect peduncle 

 and consists of a collection of slender seed-bearing branches 



from 10 to 28 inches 

 long, attached to a 

 shortened rachis of 

 1 to 2 inches in 

 length. Broom-corn 

 resembles shallu and 

 kowUang more than 

 other sorghums. 

 The states of II- 

 _ _„ „ c -4. -^i. I. a linois, Kansas, Mis- 



FiG. 70. — Broom-corn fruit with chaff: r, ■ -nt u j 



two staminate spikelets; o', lower empty SOUn, Nebraska, and 



glume; g', upper empty glume; (?', glume (-., i , , ■ 



of rudimentary flower; gf, flowering glume ^JKianoma proauce 



with awn; J), palet; c, caryopais. , ^J^g bulk of the 



broom-corn crop in this country. In order to produce a 

 "brush" of high quality, dry, clear weather is essential 

 diuring the maturing and harvesting periods. Rain at 

 this time decreases the value of the crop by dis- 

 coloring the brush. For this reason broom-corn is best 

 adapted to the central Mississippi valley and the plains 

 of Kansas and Oklahoma and the Panhandle region of 

 Texas. 



There are two distinct types of broom-corn, differing 

 mainly as regards height of plant and the length and 

 strength of the brush. Standard broom-corn grows 10 

 to 15 feet high with a strong brush 20 to 30 inches long. 

 Dwarf broom-corn grows from 4 to 6 feet tall with a brush 

 12 to 24 inches long. Standard broom-corn is largely 

 produced in central Illinois and is used for the manufacture 

 of large brooms. The dwarf type is largely produced in 

 Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, and is used in the pro- 

 duction of whisk and other small brooms. 



