I860.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
13 
heads conlined, so that they can not use their 
tongues upon their own skin. 
It is said by old hostlers, that a good currying, 
brushing, and rubbing down once a day, is equal 
to a feed of oats for a horse. However this may 
he, there can be no doubt that it greatly promotes 
the comfort and health of horses and cattle. It 
removes all filth from the skin, which is apt to 
accumulate in stables, unless currying is attended 
to daily. The skin is constantly throwing off 
effete matter, which collects around the roots of 
the hair, and stops up the pores, unless it is in 
some way removed. The tongue does this par¬ 
tially, but the card and curry-comb do it still 
better. This office is performed for the horse 
quite regularly, because he is more frequently 
exhibited in the presence of his owner, and the 
cleanliness of the carriage, and of the clothes 
of the family, depend somewhat upon the con¬ 
dition of the skin of the horse. But the ox, the 
cow, and the young animals, are sadly neglect¬ 
ed. It is not unfrequently, that a yoke of oxen 
will come out of the stable in the Spring, with a 
thick plaster of filth upon their hams, the accu¬ 
mulation of a whole Winter—a disgrace to hu¬ 
manity, and to the good husbandry of the owner. 
All these animals manifest their pleasure at 
the use of the card and curry-comb upon their 
skins, and after a little practice, the young stock 
will come as regularly for their carding, as for 
their food. It is an excellent method to tame 
heifers that are to bear their first calves in the 
Spring. They become accustomed to the hand¬ 
ling of man, and submit to the first milking with¬ 
out much resistance. It is equally good for 
steers that are soon to be brought under the yoke. 
They become so gentle under gentle treatment, 
that they are easily broken to the yoke, and make 
a more tractable team, than by the ordinary pro¬ 
cess. The card is a much better persuader, than 
the ox whip. This is excellent business for the 
boys, and they should be taught to keep the card 
moving. 
Home-made Corn Brooms. 
[Though the improved brushes, brooms, carpet- 
sweepers, etc., made of hog’s bristles, are com¬ 
ing into more frequent and general use, still the 
days of broom-corn are not yet numbered, and 
will not be for some time to come. Broom-corn 
is easily grown, and, in the newer portions of the 
country especially, it is a matter of economy to 
produce enough for home use. Though as a gen¬ 
eral rule the regular manufacturer can make 
brooms on a large scale cheaper than it can be 
done by individuals, yet the cost of transporta¬ 
tion, and the two or three profits to be paid before 
they reach the consumer, and the necessity of 
saving every possible penny when one has to 
struggle hard to come out square at the end of the 
year, make it a matter of economy to get up 
brooms, as well as other domestic utensils, on the 
farm. Making brooms is not a very difficult op¬ 
eration when it is understood, and with a little in¬ 
struction almost any one can do it. Not long 
since we heard a ‘Buckeye farmer’ remark: 
“ When my daughters want a new broom they 
just go to the shop and make one.” Our Maine 
Contributor has prepared a description of his pro¬ 
cess with some illustrations, which we take pleas¬ 
ure in presenting below. There may be better 
methods, but this corresponds nearly with what 
we helped practice many years ago, when a boy 
ou a Western farm, “way out in the woods,” and 
we think the hints here given may be useful to 
many persons.— Ed.] 
Supposing the reader has learned from your 
mmm 
Fig. 1. 
previous articles just how to raise the broom-corn 
and gather it, I will omit all on that topic, further 
than to say that broom-corn is grown just like 
common maize or Indian corn, and requires simi¬ 
lar soil and cultivation. The seed should be 
planted thicker to avoid failures, and many prefer 
to put it in drills. When the seed begins to hard¬ 
en, the upper joint is broken over to prevent the 
head from breaking off the stalk too short. Be¬ 
fore hard frosts the heads with about a foot of 
stalk are cut off and laid on the barn floor, or on 
rails or poles under cover to dry thoroughly. 
To clear off the seed and prepare the brush, a 
wooden comb may be made with a 
saw, on the end of a board, like 
fig. 1. The board may be nailed 
against a log or bench, or be cut 
short and secured in a work¬ 
bench vise, if one be at hand. 
Save the seed for horses or poultry, selecting first, 
enough good plump kernels for the next planting. 
Cut off the stems about six inches from the brush. 
When ready to use, take as much as is need¬ 
ed, and set the stalk portions in water up to the 
brush, and leave to soak an hour or two. When 
softened, gather in the hands enough for a broom, 
with the largest and best stalks on the outside, in 
regular order. The good appearance of the per¬ 
fected broom will depend upon the evenness of 
the brush and good arrangement of the outside 
layers. Next, fasten a strong small cord to the 
ceiling, with a loop for the foot in the lower end, 
or lie a stick in, upon which to place the foot. 
Wind this cord 
two or three times 
around the brush 
as shown in fig. 2. 
Grasp the brush 
firmly in both 
hands, and roll it 
round several 
times, increasing 
the pressure with 
the foot. [Instead 
of the foot we used 
a lever upon the 
lower end of the 
cord, one end placed under the work-bench, and 
the other held by a boy.— Ed.] The next opera¬ 
tion is to wind on a strong twine for a space of 
or 2 inches. This is best done by rolling the 
pressing cord to the part next the brush, wind 
the twine on, and roll off the cord towards 
the end, following it with the twine. To make a 
neat knot at the end, double one end of the twine 
and lay it along the outside of the stalks as 
shown in fig. 3, letting the 
loose end lie out at the left. 
| When the twine is all on, 
slip the right end through the 
loop, and draw the left end 
so as to bring the loop in under the coil of twine; 
then cut off the two enls close in to the coil. 
No knot will now be visible, as the lock is out of 
sight, and the ends are securely fastened. 
If a flat broom is to be made, which is desira¬ 
ble, press the brush part between 
two narrow boards, (fig. 4,) fast¬ 
ened near together at one end 
with a piece of leather nailed 
on. The other end of the boards 
may be held together with a 
string. Instead <>i these boards 
the brush may be put between 
two short boards and screwed 
into a vise. The sewing is 
next in order. For this, use a 
large needle of iron or steel, or one of strong 
Fig. 2. 
Fig. 3. 
Fig. 5. 
wood will do, (fig. 5,) eight to twelve inches in 
length. At the point where you wish to fasten 
the brush portion, say three or four inches below 
the winding thread, wind a twine 
once, or better twice around, and tie 
it firmly, leaving enough of one end 
to sew with. Now sew through and 
through, letting the thread pass a- 
round the winding as shown in fig. 
6. Point the needle forward in mak¬ 
ing each stitch, so as to have it come 
out on the opposite side a little fur¬ 
ther along each time. A second 
sewing may then be made further 
towards the lower end. Three sew¬ 
ings are sometimes made. Two will 
generally be enough, except where 
the brush is very long. 
Sharpen the lower end of the handle, and 
drive it in exactly in the center, and fasten it 
with two small nails upon opposite sides, and the 
broom is complete. The lower ends of the brush 
may need clipping a little to make them even. 
With a little practice a very neat broom may 
thus be made. They may be made still more 
tasteful, though not stronger nor more durable, by 
using wire instead of twine, and by paring down 
the stalks, so as to make a smaller, neater shank. 
- - — «i» --- 
How Hemp is Grown and Prepared for 
Market—II. 
Breaking. —This is considered the must labo¬ 
rious part of growing hemp, only the strongest 
hands being engaged in it. The most appropriate 
season is in February and March, in the clear 
bright days following frosty nights. The process 
is very much like that of breaking flax, and it re¬ 
quires a similar state of the atmosphere. Noth¬ 
ing can be done to advantage in damp wet 
weather. On the morning of a clear day, with 
the wind north-west, the hemp is set out on the 
south side of a fence, or where it may have the 
full benefit of the wind and sunshine. This work 
is usually performed in the open air, and some¬ 
times the breakers have a fire, which assists in 
drying the hemp, while it keeps them warm. 
The instrument in common use for this pur¬ 
pose is the old fashioned hand-brake, a little 
heavier and longer than the flax-brake of the 
Northern States. It is a rude contrivance, about 
two-and-a-half feet high, and six or seven in 
length. It consists of two jaws, furnished with 
two slats in the upper, and three in the lower, 
interlocking when they are shut. The upper is 
made movable, and in the process of breaking 
is raised up and down by means of a peg fastened 
in the head or block at the front end. The 
workman takes his stand by the side of the 
brake, grasps a handful of the hemp with his left 
hand, and with his right raises the upper jaw of 
his instrument, and by repeated strokes upon the 
hemp, breaks up the woody fibre, which falls ofl 
in shives, or little chips, until the lint is left near¬ 
ly clean. He assists the cleaning process from 
time to time by striking the hemp across the 
brake, or across a stake put up for the purpose. 
Scutching. —This process is called swingling 
in New-England, and those who have seen that 
work in the age of home-spun, which many of 
our readers remember, have a very good idea of 
the scutching board, and knife or scutch of the 
hemp districts. The board is fastened in a per¬ 
pendicular position in a foot-block, and slightly 
hollowed at the top. The laborer takes a hand¬ 
ful of hemp, after breaking, and putting it across 
the top of the board, strikes it with the scutching 
Fig. 6. 
