214 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ September, 
performed in the same time, as compared with that which is accomplished by the 
unscientific awkward workmen above described. 
The brooms for general work about the garden and pleasure-grounds should 
be of two or three different shapes and sizes. For sweeping close-cut grass or 
extensive lawns, my fan, or lien-and-chicken broom, was made of long, tough, 
fine birch and heath, tied in five or seven small bunches, ancj. then placed 
together in the shape of a fan, thin and flat, and from 3 ft. to 4 ft. in length in 
the centre—that is, from the centre of the base to the outside of the spray, and 
nearly the same in width. These are furnished with light handles from 4 ft. to 
10 ft. in length, made to take in and out, to suit the work and weather. Thus 
in sweeping well-kept close-cut turf, a new broom, with a 10-ft. handle set at a 
proper angle, will sweep clean from 18 ft. to 22 ft. in width, and a man will 
soon clear several acres. If there is a heavy swathe of grass or leaves, and the 
weather is damp, a half-worn broom with a 7-ft. handle is placed to work, and 
two swathes, or from 12 ft. to 15 ft., can be easily cleared at a full swinging 
sweep. In this way a large extent of ground will be soon cleared. The brooms, 
after being in this way three-parts worn down, should be cast on the rack in readi¬ 
ness to receive them, and when the 4-ft. handle has been put in, are ready to be 
used on hard roads, yards, pavements, piggeries, cowhouses, backyards, and the 
like. Finally, when the broom became worn down so as to be no longer useful as 
such, it should be returned to a large crate, to be cut into useful flower-garden 
pegs by the garden boys in rough weather or by candle-light on mornings and 
evenings in the short days of winter. This kind of broom can always be turned 
to useful account. 
Besides the lightness of the fan-shaped broom, however, its economy in the 
way of expeditiously clearing off a large amount of work is such that no other kind 
of broom can compete with it. It never clogs with dirt or worm-casts, or gets 
heavy in wet weather by holding a weight of moisture, but it always works cleanly 
—a most essential thing in economising labour and strength. It has, indeed, 
great advantage in every way over the round-bundled birch or heath broom so 
commonly used, which, from its shape and make, and its short handle, cannot be 
worked with speed and economy, while in wet dirty weather it gets clogged 
and loaded with wet and filth, so as to exhaust the workman’s strength and 
time. 
I had in use a medium-sized fan-broom for sweeping dressed well-kept walks 
and roads, and the grass about and between flower-beds, verges, &c. This was 
made with a mixture of fine tough birch and heath. Thus by bringing a little 
science and forethought to bear on so common an operation as sweeping, neatness 
order and economy are secured. But, after all, it is not so much the shape of 
the broom which is to be regretted, as the lack of a little common-sense in 
turning the time and strength of the workman to good account. Surely this 
matter is worth some consideration.— James Barnes, Exmouth. 
