AND THE MANUFACTURE OF BROOMS. 243 



Messrs. Van Eppes are among the largest manufacturers at Schenectady, 

 and have heen engaged in the business about twenty years. They have a 

 farm of about three huudred acres, two hundred of which are Mohawk 

 flats, under culture with broom-corn. A lai'ge portion of these flats were 

 formerly of little value, in couseqneuce of being kept wet by a shallow 

 stream which ran through it, and which, together with several springs that 

 issue from the sandy bin If on the south side of the flats, kept the ground 

 marshy aud unfit for cultivation. By deepening the channel of the stream, 

 and conducting most of the springs into it, many acres which were formerly 

 almost worthless have been made worth £25 per acre. They have also, by 

 deepening the channels, saving the waters of the springs, and securing all 

 the fall, made a water privilege, on which they have erected an excellent 

 well with several run of stones, leaving besides sufficient power to carry 

 saws for cutting out the handles of brooms, &c. 



The cultivation of broom-corn by them has within a few years been sim- 

 plified to almost as great a degree as its manufacture. The seed is sown with 

 a seed-barrow or drill, as early in spring as the state of the ground will 

 admit, in rows 3J feet apart. As soon as the corn is above grouud, it is 

 hoed, and soon after thinned, so as to leave the stalks two or three inches 

 apart. It is only hoed in the row, in order to get out the weeds that are 

 close to the plants, the remaining space being left for the harrow and 

 cultivator, which are run so frequently as to keep down the weeds. The 

 cultivation is finished by running a small, double mould-board plough, 

 rather shallow, between the rows. 



The broom-corn here is not left to ripen, as formerly, but is cut while it 

 is quite green, and the seed not much past the milk. It was formerly the 

 practice to lop down the tops of the corn, and let it hang some time, that 

 the brush might become straightened in one direction. Now, the tops are 

 not lopped till the brush is ready to cut, which, as before stated, is while 

 the corn is green. A set of hands goes forward, and lops or bends the tops 

 to one side, and another set follows immediately, and cuts off the tops at 

 the place at which they are bent, and a third set gathers the cut tops into 

 carts or wagons which take them to the factory. Here they are first 

 sorted over, and parcelled out into small bunches, each bunch being made 

 up into brush of equal length. The seed is then taken off by an apparatus 

 with teeth, like a hatchel. The machine is worked by six horses, and 

 cleans the brush very rapidly. It is then spread thin to dry, on racks put 

 up iu buildings designed for the purpose. In about a week, with ordinary 

 weather, it becomes so dry that it will bear to be packed closely. 



The stalks of the corn, after the tops have been cut off, are five or six 

 feet high, and they are left on the ground, and ploughed in the next spring. 

 It is found that this keeps up the fertility of the soil, so that the crop is 

 continued for several years without apparent diminution. It should be 

 observed, however, that the ground is overflowed every winter or spring, 

 and a considerable deposit left on the surface, which is undoubtedly equiva- 

 lent to a dressing of manure. 



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