^:>\vvxv 
calities, relative to its hardiness, health, etc., 
and forwarded from time to time, to the loading 
horticultural journals. We have tasted the can¬ 
died or dried fruit of the Japanese Persimmon 
lately with much satisfaction and appreciation 
of itB toothsome qualities. Excelling the dried 
fig in flavor, it is richer, reminding one some¬ 
what of the date, whence arises probably, one of 
its names, the Date-plum. s. b. r. 
draw r the brush through the comb till clean of is made into bundles of about len pounds, butts 
seed. out and the brush lapping. These bundles are 
Where the quantity is large, a cylinder made well compressed and firmly bound with strong 
for the purpose, some two feet long and ten or twine or other tying material. It may now be 
twelve inches in diameter,with teeth three inches put in larger bales and sent to market, or sold 
CULTURE OF BROOM-CORN. NO. 2. 
W. H. WHITE. 
HARVESTING ETC. 
W e here come to a point in broom-corn cul¬ 
ture where the practices of differout cultivators 
vary somewhat; still all aim to attain the same 
end, namely the best brush. .Some break the 
stalks a foot or more below the brnsh some 
little time before cutting, after it has matured 
to t.he stage they think proper, and let the brush 
hang, tips down, beside the stalks. Others 
“ table” it. which consists in breaking two rows 
together about two feet from the ground, laying 
the tabled portion horizontal with the ground, 
some two feet above it. Others again, let it 
stand as it grows til) time to cut, and then cut 
as it stands. Others still, break down only the 
crooked brush, and leave the rost till a day or 
two beforo cutting, when the stalks are all 
broken to hang one way, usually toward the 
rising sun. 
I believe all aro agreed that if the stalk is bent 
or broken over without entirely severing it from 
the root, previous to mature growth, the brush 
will not grow in length, but will grow coarse 
aud harsh. It is always an object to have the 
least possible amount of crooked brush, as it is 
usually coarse .°nd difficult to work to advantage. 
This usually detracts from the value of an other¬ 
wise desirable lot. Broom-corn should be har¬ 
vested beforo hard frosts, as frost injures it ma¬ 
terially ; and for thiB reason, in our northern 
climate, it is essontial to give it good early cul¬ 
ture, to induce an early, rapid growth and ma¬ 
turity. It is also necessary to give it good soil 
well warmed up with well-decomposed manure, 
ready to impart pabalum as needed by the young 
plants, which arc somewhat tender. 
As good a course as any,'in harvesting broom- 
corn, is, I think, to let it grow till a day or two 
beforo cutting, which should be done when the 
major part of the seed is in the dough state, 
nono fully hard, as then the brush is in tho best 
condition aud will bring tbo best price, if prop¬ 
erly cured, etc. Then “ table” it, which is done 
as above described. After a day or two, cut the 
brush, using a butcher or a carving-knife, not 
very keen-edged, for if it is not bo sharp, the 
leaves are less likely to be cut off and bother¬ 
some. Out so as to leave only six or eight inches 
of stalk below the point where divergence com¬ 
mences, keeping clear of all loaves, laying the 
brush straight all one way ; spread on the ta¬ 
ble” formed by the stalks. A good deal of labor 
and vexation is saved by keeping, in every man¬ 
ipulation, the brush oven and straight, not 
thrown together like hay. After lyiug aw hile to 
dry somewhat, the brush sbonld be gathered in¬ 
to small bundles and bound with corn-leaves or 
other tying material. It should then be hauled 
and spread under cover on the day it is cut. 
Thus cured it keeps a better color, and tho brnsh 
retains its elasticity better. A greenish cast of 
color suits some markets best: this is best at¬ 
tained by cutting beforo fully ripe, aud directly 
hauling it aud euriug it under cover of sheds or 
well-ventilated, airy buildings. It should be 
spread on racks suitable for tbo purpose. These 
maybe set up to auy convenient bight, aud 
formed of open slats one above another with a 
space of a foot between. 
Our next step, after the brush is well cured, 
is to divest it of the seed. This is acompliahed 
in different ways by different cultivators, the 
method depending somewhat on tho quantity 
grown, conveniences, etc. Some take two pieces 
of bard-wood board, with square, sharp edges ; 
one may bo of auy desired length and fastened 
conveniently edge-up; and the other of a con¬ 
venient length to hold in one baud. Tho brush 
is taken by the stems, in tho left hand, and 
drawn through between the edges of the two 
boards, the one in hand being proBsed on the 
brush, and turned a little to allow tho corners to 
strike the seed. Quito rapid work may be ac¬ 
complished by an active man in this way. Others 
take an iron scraper and use it in a similar way. 
Some use a broom-corn hatchel, which consists 
of a row of iron teeth, three-eigths by one-half 
an inch square, six to eight inohes long, two- 
thirds their length beveled to a point, the back 
side thicker than the front. Set the teeth firmly 
in a plank, so that the points will be about half 
an inch apart. This can be fastened to some¬ 
thing firm and convenient to work at, then 
TETOFSKY. 
long and ono-fourth of an inch Bquare, pointed 
and set in rows three-eights of an inch apart in 
the cylinder, and this driven by horses or other 
power, is used aud made |to do rapid execution. 
This works overshot with a concave; four or 
more hands can work at it—two to hold the 
brush to the machine, while (wo others prepare 
and hand it for cleaning; a fifth will find full 
employment in taking away and binding or 
spreading again the brush after the seed is off. 
If tho brush is not fully dried out, it should be 
again spread on tbo racks to dry fully, so that it 
can be put in bulk or bales without danger of 
heating or molding, etc. After suit*!)) frying, it 
and delivered without baling, to tho manufac¬ 
turer when near-by. 
The profits of growing broom-corn are vari¬ 
able, depending upon supply and demand. 
There is always demand, however, and at remu¬ 
nerative prices when the market is not already 
stocked with the raw or manufactured article. 
Some seasons.in the past,I have known tho price 
to go as high as twenty or twenty-five conts per 
pound, and oven more; while mothers, when the 
supply was large, tho price fell to six cents or less. 
The product per acre also varies with different 
seasons and also with the culture given; but 
with sneb culture as beforo recommended, and a 
YELLOW BELLEFLEUR. 
suitable rotation, never growing the crop two 
successive seasons on tho same ground, or plant¬ 
ing to follow sorghum, the crop may be as Bure, 
nine times in ten, as Indian-corn, and the cost 
of production but very little greater, while it 
will bring considerably more, as prices generally 
average. 
If all the directions hitherto given are followed 
with judicious closeness, an average product of 
marketable brush of eight hundred pounds 
should be obtained with fifty bushels of seed 
which will he worth for feeding purposes, or¬ 
dinarily, as much per bushel as oats, or even 
more. With this product as a basis, anyone can 
estimate the income from sn aore from prices 
in his own locality. I have hero understated, 
rather '.than otherwise, the products realized 
under favorable cironmstances of good soaHonB. 
My aim has been to give a fair average, rather 
under than over, of the results for a number of 
years in my own vicinity who: e my experience 
and observation have extended and where thor¬ 
ough culture is the rule. 
Worcester Co., Mass. 
THE USES OF MILLET. 
Millet has often been recommended as a 
forage plant, for which it has special advantages 
as it can bo sown iato in tho season when the 
other crops are out of tho way. It may be suc¬ 
cessfully grown upon land too wot for putting in 
oats or other early spring crops, or it may be 
sown on land after a crop of barley or grass has 
been gathered, and mature sufficiently for forage. 
The common millet will ripen its seed within 
sixty days after sowing and it will then make 
good hay, besides affording a large quantity of 
seed valuable for poultry, or, if ground, exoellont 
to mix with corn or other grain to feed to cattle 
and pigs. The seed of millet is worth all the 
crop costs to raise, leaving the hay for a profit. 
As the crop can be put in and harvested at sea¬ 
sons of the year when other work does not press 
upon tho farmer’s time, its culture iB made oiiBier. 
It is an excellent crop to pat upon a stubborn 
piece of gronnd to kill out weeds,such is thistles, 
dock, &o\, for if the land ib well plowed aud the 
Burfaco made mellow, the millet will soon shade 
it thoroughly and kill out the foul stuff. A little 
manure on the surface harrowed in with the 
seed will often double the crop. Time should be 
given to allow the seed to ripen beforo frost. 
The crop may be run through a threshing ma¬ 
chine, or if bound up into bundles, threshed with 
flails to separate the seed. A half bushel of 
seed is abundant for an acre. 
The Golden or German millet is the best for a 
forage plant aud resembles corn iu its growth, as 
it throws out a broad, corn-like leaf. The Btalk is 
also soft atui edible. This sort of millet requires 
Dearly tho entire season to mature its Boed, and 
should, iti a northern latitude, be sown by tho 
first of J une. For forage alone it may bo put in 
tho last of June when it will make full growth 
of stalk but not mature the seed. It requires 
stronger land than the common to make a vig¬ 
orous growth. On rich laud the amount of for¬ 
age is immense. Stock will eat either of these 
grain-grasses with a decided relish in winter and 
they aro most excellent for a change. For 
green feed they are also good. As a supplemen¬ 
tary crop, when the meadows are light, millet is 
most valuable. A meadow with a slim prospect 
for hay might be turned oyer, and bo made to 
yield a satisfactory orop by sowing to ndllet, and 
at the same time be fitted for a crop of grain the 
next year. If the frost holds off, tho seed will 
not mature when the golden is sowed late, as it 
requires a requisite degree of heat which is not 
afforded after September. It should always be 
cut before any frost touches it, or its value for 
feeding will he greatly injured. Like corn, it 
blanches and dries off when frozen. Tho seed 
of Hungarian grass is not equal to millet for 
feeding stock. It is not much if any better than 
that of our native summer grass which it very 
much resembles. The latter which is often 
plentiful in a grain crop, is good for cattle if 
ground up and mixed with bran or meal. Fed 
alone it is too laxative. 
-- 
VAN’S VIEWS. 
GROWING POTATOES CHEAPLY, ETC. 
One of the farm crops which we will soon bo 
thinking of iB potatoes, aud our Hystem of grow¬ 
ing them has of late years been much simplified. 
In the Centennial year prices wore so low that 
we had to seek now methods and endeavor to 
grow them cheaper. Those of ns who said that 
potatoes could be grown at a profit, for twenty- 
five cents per bushel, received much abuse and 
were denominated “ paper farmers ” and other 
complimentary names. Bat time has brought 
changes and we hear men tell of their crops 
raised without using the hoe, which average 
fully as high aud usually higher than those 
grown tho old way. 
There is no patent on our system and I will in 
brief explain it: 
A plowman who can always strike a straight 
THE RURAL 
278 
