Messrs. Van Eppes, of Schenectady, have been engaged in the broom manufactory business about eleven years.  They have a farm of about 300 acres, 200 of which are Mohawk flats.  A large portion of the flats was formerly of little value, in consequence of being kept wet by a shallow stream which ran through, it, and which, together with several springs that issue from the sandy bluff on the south side of the flats, kept the ground marshy, and unfit for cultivation.  By deepening the channel of the stream, and conducting most of the springs into it, many acres, which were formerly almost worthless, have been made worth 125 dollars per acre.  They have also, by deepening the channel, saving the water of the springs, and securing all the fall, made a water privilege, on which they have erected an excellent mill, with several run of stones, leaving besides sufficient power to carry saws for cutting out the handles of brooms, &c.

They have about 200 acres of the flats in broom-corn.  The cultivation of this article has within a few years been simplified to almost as great a degree as its manufacture.  The seed is sown with a seed-barrow or drill, as early in the spring as the state of the ground will admit, in rows 31/2 feet apart.  As soon as the corn is above ground, it is hoed, and soon after thinned, so as to leave the stalks two or three inches apart.  It is only hoed in the row, in order to get out the weeds that are close to the plants, the remaining space being left for the harrow and cultivator, which are run so frequently as to keep down the weeds.  The cultivation is finished by running a small, double mould-board plough, rather shallow, between the rows.

The broom corn is not left to ripen, as formerly, but is cut when it is quite green, and the seed not much past the milk.  It was formerly the practice to lop down the tops of the corn, and let it hang some time, that the brush might become straightened in one direction.  Now, the tops are not lopped till the brush is ready to cut, which, as before stated, is while the corn is green.  A set of hands goes forward, and lops or bends the tops to one side, and another set follows immediately and cuts off the tops at the place at which they are bent, and a third set gathers the cut tops into carts or waggons, which take them to the factory.  Here they are first sorted over, and parcelled out into small bunches, each bunch being made up into brush of equal length.  The seed is then taken off by an apparatus with teeth, like a hatchet.  The machine is worked by six horses, and cleans the brush very rapidly.  It is then spread thin to dry, on racks put up in buildings designed for the purpose.  In about a week, with ordinary weather, it becomes so dry that it will bear to be packed closely.

The stalks of the corn, after the tops have been cut off, are five or six feet high, and they are left on the ground, and ploughed in the next spring.  It is found that this keeps up the fertility of the soil, so that the crop is continued for several years without apparent diminution.  It should be observed, however, that the ground is overflowed every winter or spring, and a considerable deposit left on the surface, which is undoubtedly equivalent to a dressing of manure.