BROOM CORN. A plant of the genus sor ghum, a native of India, and cultivated for its branching panicles; almost universally used now in the manufacture of brooms for sweeping and whisks for brushing clothes. The plants of this genus are all more or less rich in saccharine matter. Sugar sorghum, of which broom corn has been said to be a representative type, is now extensively cultivated in many of the States north and south, for its syrup and sugar. The cultivation of broom corn for its heads has of late years become an extensive industry in a number of Western States, principally in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Kansas. The intro duction of broom corn, as a Cultivated plant in the United States is attributed to Dr. Franklin. Having seen an imported whisk broom in the bands of a lady of Philadelphia, he found a seed adhering to one of the straws and planted it. From this originated the industry in the United States. ' The cultivation is principally like that of Indian corn. The hills vary from three feet apart each way, to three and a half feet one way, by two feet the other way. It is also sown in drills ; but in the West this is not much practised, since it adds to the cost of culti vation and handling. In the West less hand hoe ing is required than in the Eastern States, but in the West the cultivation is not considered re munerative except when raised in large fields, with ample shed-room for drying, and presses for baling, since so much depends upon the manner in which it is placed in the market. The brush must alwaya be cut before the seed is fully formed, usually when in the soft dough state. The Country Gentleman describes the manner of cultivation East as follows: Good crops of broom corn may be raised, with proper care and atten tion, on any clean fertile land where Indian corn will succeed well. River flats are particularly well adapted to it, provided the nature of the soil or the situation gives them a good natural drainage. Uplands should be well underdrained if the subsoil is retentive of water. Dihined muck beds are more liable to frost, are not corn pact enough, and are not well adapted to the culture of this crop. As the plants appear small and feeble at first, and are easily choked by as over-growth of weeds, it is more important that the soil should be clean than for the culture of common corn ; and, as complete success dependa on fertility, more pains should be taken to have everything just right. A crop of broom corn, it is true, may be raised with a moderate degree of care and attention ; but the yield will be moderate, and perhaps it may prove a losing affair. In order to obtain the highest net profit, let everything be done in the most perfect manner. If the land is not perfectly clean, the best way will, doubtless, be to plant on a freshly inverted sod—a clover sod being decidedly the best, especially if the land is inclining to be heavy. The roots of the clover will loosen it in a better manner than plowing or harrowing alone can accomplish. An excellent mode is to spread old manure, the seeds of which have been killed by fermentation, or any other manure that is clear of foul weeds, on the clover the previous slimmer or early in autumn. Late in autumn or early in winter will be better than spreading in spring. The manure will soak into the soil during the several months before plowing, and become better diffused than could be accomplished by any plowing or har rowing. The time for planting is about the same as for common corn—as early as will do to escape spring frosts. Before planting, let the soil be made perfectly mellow, and if to be in hills, mark out so that they may be as near together as will admit of convenient cultivation. The nearer they are together, or in other words, the more evenly and uniformly the plants are distributed over the surface, the greater will be the yield of brush.
A common distance of hills is two and a half to three feet one way, and twenty inches to two feet the other. If planted in drills, a larger crop may be obtained, as a greater number of stalks will grow, but they are attended with more labor. The number of plants may be about three times as great as for Indian corn. If a larger quantity of seed is planted, so as to require some thinning out, the crop will be more even and larger, but will need a greater expenditure of work. It is common to plant a dozen or more seeds in each hill, about an inch deep, and thin out to seven or eight—leaving a larger number if the hills stand two by three feet than if twenty by thirty inches. Drills are often placed only twenty-eight inches apart. Many regard the finbr and softer brush of thick growth as best. The cultivation of the ground should be commenced as soon as the plants make their appearance. It is very im portant that they be not allowed to become en cumbered or crowded with weeds. Keep the whole surface perfectly clean from the very start. Continue the horse cultivation once a week, as long as the size of the plants will admit. This is not generally attended to, but the constant stirring of the surface and breaking of the crust will make an important difference in the amount of the crop. When the stalks have sufficiently grown, or when the seeds are in the milk state, i the breaking back is performed. It is done at a convenient height for the operator, generally so as to leave a foot or two of stalk from the base of the brush. Two rows are broken towards each other, so' as to admit a ready passage be tween the other two. The seed being rather diffi cult to cure by drying, some cultivators give no attention to saving it, especially as it often fails to ripen at the North except in favorable seasons.
If the stalks are broken back a little earlier, they form a better brush. In a few days they are cut, just ahove the break, and laid in bunches to dry. These must not be opened, to become wet by rain, as this would injure their value. The seed are removed by hand, with a sort of coarse comb, where the plantations are not large; but when the crop is cultivated on an extensive scale, it is done with a machine driven by horse-power. The brush or tops are dried by laying them on horizontal poles, and successive tiers placed one above the other, leaving spaces for the air be hveen each. Sheds or lofts may be used for this purpose. Temporary structures for drying are made of rails, the brush being laid on pairs of rails placed horizontally, so as to form a structure twelve feet square, or equal to the length of the rails, and each successive tier formed by resting the horizontal rails on an additional rail placed under each of their ends. By selecting the larger rails for one side, this side gradually becomes higher than the other, and admits a board roof for the top when the height has reached eight or ten feet. The quantity of brush yielded from an acre is usually about five or six hundred pounds, but, in rare instances, it has reached as high as a thousand pounds. The price varies from five to ten cents. There is more uncer tainty with this crop than with many others— not on account of the difficulty of raising, for with proper care it is reasonably certain, hut from the uncertain or fluctuating character of the market. With the seed, especially, this un certainty is great. Sometimes it is sold as high as three or four dollars per bushel; at other times for not more than fifty cents. The seed may, however, be profitably used as food for horses when mixed with oats or other grain. When the seed is not allowed to mature, several successive crops have been grown on the same ground with out detriment, and with moderate manuring.