Show RAISE BROOM CORN What Plant Is and How Handled Properly From Two to Three Months of Good Growing Weather Is Needed to Produce Profitable Crop Climate and Soil Broom corn belongs to tho same ipeclos of plant as do common sorghums sorgh-ums used for making sirup kafir and Jerusalem corn and cano grown for forage and grain It differs from all other plants of the sauna species in I having panicles or seed heads with much longer straighter and stronger branches or straws This difference wherein lies the value of the plant has been produced by the selection of seed from plants possessing these characters to a great degree writes II K Undsey president of tho American Amer-ican Warehouse Company In Farmeis Star and Live Stock It Is for tho teed heads or brush as they are iillod which are used In the manu Icture of brooms that the plant Is iiltlvulcd Iliooin corn Is divided Into two groups known as standard and dwarf rile stamlanl type grows to n height af 10 to 16 feet while the dwarf variety grows from five to six feet high rhore are many varietal names used by sellers of broom corn seed but ninny of these are simply now names applied to old strains of broom corn and really do not represent varieties that have been sufficiently Improved to deserve special designation Tho plant Is subtropical and does best In a warm sunny climate where there Is sulllclent rain during the early part of tho growing season to produce a strong rapid growth However In order that the crop may bo harvested it the proper time and In good condition condi-tion and tho brush dried rapidly so that It will retain Its fresh green color It Is necessary that warm dry weather prevail at harvest time From two to three months of good growing weather Is all that Is needed to produce a crop Many localities In tfie west have produced n crop of broom corn In dry years when practically prac-tically all other crops were burned up Any soil that will produce corn or cotton Is sufficiently fertile for broomcorn broom-corn For the best grades of fine lough dwarf broom corn light sandy lolls have been found preferable while tho heavier black soils are more suitable for standard broom corn Although broom corn will mako a fair record even In the face of unfavorable un-favorable conditions and It Is therefore there-fore able to bring returns where many rops fall at the same time the yield could be raised very much per acre by better cultivation Liberal tillage brings the soil Into good physical form It facilitates the storage and conservation of moisture It admits air to tho soli and thus gives encouragement to the life processes proc-esses which are so essential to the liberation lib-eration of plant food Proper plowing borrowing and pulverizing the surface of tho ground In preparation for seedIng seed-Ing will give better results In raising a I crop of broom corn tho same as It would for any other kind of crop Broom corn like other plants In the same group makes Its most rapid growth In warm weather Seeding should not bo started until the sol has becomo quite warm as the plant makes rather slow progress tho first two or three weeks after which time It grows rapidly Where the acreage Is extensive It Is best to plant varl ous fields at Intervals of a week or ten days so that all of the fields will not blossom at tho same time and all can be harvested when In the proper condition Tho late planting of which this crop permits sometimes make It desirable for replacing wheat corn oats or oth etcrops that for some reason or other have failed to start sufficiently well There nre two methods of planting which may be followed namely Surface Sur-face planting and listing Either of these methods If carefully followed will give good results In sections where Istlng Is practiced the soil should receive some previous prepara Ion and the listed rows need not be more than three or four Inches deep This Is plenty deep enough to secure all tho advantages of this system and there will be little danger of covering the young plants at tho time of first cultivation As soon as tho young plants are two or three Inches high cultivation should commence Narrow shoveled cultivators cultiva-tors with fenders to keep tho soil off the plants are used until the plants attain at-tain n height of about a foot after which they grow rapidly and will thrive with the same cultivation as does Indian corn Many find It advisable advis-able to harrow lengthwise with the I rows with a sharp toothed harrow just I as the plants nre coming up With n I wide harrow and plenty of horse pow sr this operation Is quickly accomplished accom-plished The broom corn will probably bo largo enough to permit the use of tho gllar corn cultivator 15 days or I hree weeks after planting |