Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1862-02-27
agrirultural,
From the Prince Georgian
TO THE TOBACCO PLANTERS OF MA
RYIANn

medium of your columns, to call the atten-
ton Of the Planters Of Maryland to the pros
pective prices of their great staple this season,
and to suggest to their consideration few
reasons why, for once. they have it in their
own power, supposing army and political
affairs to remain in statu quo, to fix their
own price at which they will SELL l mean
of course by their own price not an exorbi-
tant or unreasonable one. but such as COM
mercially, they have right to expect and
if, for instance, should suggest an average
of S10 for fair crops, as against, say Sc.
which some agents now put the price, it
would only be what they obtained in 1857,
when there were no reasons, as compared
with those now existing, why these high
prices should prevail
The reasons existing then, it is not neces-
sary to enulherate. We have the fuct that
all tolerablc crops brought an average of
$40, and many sold as high as $12. Why
should they not do so now? The produc-
ton of the whole country in 1861 was the
shortest crop for many years. Virginia soil
being occupied by contending armies and
herself struggling for National existence,
the attention of her agriculturists was turn
cd to raising grain instead Of the ''weed."
What little was grown is kept within her
confines, her ports being hermetrically seal
ed against it's export. Almost all that was
grown in this State will be manufactured
therein for home and army consumption.
The same state of affairs produced the same
result in North Carolina
For the same reasons the crop in Ken
tucky, Tennessee and Missouri was doubt
less very materially reduced, and as what
was grown in these States must be shipped
from New Orleans, the whole stock from
this second largest Tobacco shipping port.
Il have not the statistics by me to say wheth-
er she is not the largest If not the very
largest, she is second only to Baltimore,
is entirely shut out from competition, and
exercises as great an effect upon the market
as if these large producing States had grown
absolutely none.
The Ohio crop is greatly shortened for
several reasons. A bad season there, and
prices tu year, the se-. city d Ia
Dor, so many of her farmers boys" having
''gone to the wars" and the increase in the
area of land cultivated ingram, because of
the war.
The Tobacco from that State, little from
Kentucky and the Maryland cropis all that
can come to Baltimore. which, with New
York, are the only Tobacco ports open, or
Judging from the recent European news,
likely shortly to be opened. The quantity
to be sent to New York from all quarters
must perforcc this year be SO small that it
cannot interfere with the Baltimore market,
in which all the great Tobacco business of
this country, or better still, for the increase
in prices, what little of it cau be done, must
be transacted.
The stock to come to Baltimore from Ohio
and Kentucky being, as have said, neces-
sarily small, and SO ascertaiaea to be, we
have only the Maryland crop to supply the
immense demand for foreign shipment and
home manufacture which must result in
Baltimore The Maryland crop we all know
to be the shortest made for several years.
the crop planted having beer reduced and
the season having been. upon light soils.
and in many neighborhoods, very unfavor-
able. In Prince Georges. the large Tobac-
co-Growing County, the crop is confessedly
short, and in the other counties, am credi-
bly, informed. still shorter.
Where, then, is the supply to come from
to satisfy the ordinary demand? But the
demand will be extraordinarily large =
Europe. owing to small shipments last year,
will require more than ever, and the home
consumption will be much larger. With a
million or mors men in the armies, receiv-
ing, those in the Federal Army, besides the
''relief' voted them by the different State
Legislatures, and which I may remark, en-
passant is to come principally from the
pockets of the Farmers, much the larges
pay given to any army in the world, and
with most of them, officers and men alike
much more than they we're accustomed to
the increase of consumption here alone mus
;, be enormous and all familiar with armies
know that nothing so helps to while away
the tedium and monotony of camp life as tht
quid and the pipe. and the quantity used BY
each man in the camp is probably double
what he had been previously accustomed tt
consume The writer, for instance. know
that in the Mexican War parties on pay
of S11 month, constantly paid the suffers
% cents a pound for uncut and unmanufac
tured Leaf Tobacco The price was grea
on account of the transportation. Now
with the armies right in the Tobacco-Grow
ing Region. and in the Federal Army. be
sides the ''relief" of from $6 to $12 month
to each man from his State, their pay 81
instead of $11, (wby the difference. excep
that the Mexican War was fought princi
, pally by Southern men, how much creates
will the consumption be?
But there will be also another large ane
: annual demand for Maryland crop. Vas
quantities of it. and of the commonest kind
fortunately again. are now being manufac
tured in Baltimore and the Northern cities
in place of Virginia and Kentucky. that ha
always been previously usel for these pur
!, poses, but which can now no more DC so
l., t(,,e, ,iti t|,Yn ia Eurppc And her,