Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1873-11-22
FOREIGN TOBACCO CIRCULAR.

We publish below an extract from
the Monthly Tobacco Circular OF
Parry & crosbies, dated Liverpool,
Nov. LIST, 1872. 1t will prove of in
terest to tobacco men in this section:
During the month adyices have
been received from the Western States,
stating that serious damage had been
done to the best of the growing crops
by worms or caterpillars, which are
said to show a marked preference for
the longest and finest leaves. In some
districts the Tobacco has been cut
green to save it from early frost, such
advices however command but little
attention in this country where both
buyers and sellers are more Influenced
by the state of stocks on the spot, and
with the latter it is more especially our
province to deal-nevertheless we will
venture to point out TO our American
readers an enemy, which, if not check
ed, may eventually do more injury than
grubs and frost, not to the plant, but
to the trade in American Tobacco. We
allude TO the annually increasing care
lessness in putting up of both Leaf
and Strips. the latter we now often see
rendered dull and dingy by the pres
ence of dust and dirt, while many
otherwise good hhds. are seriously de-
Perforated in value by the mixture of
perhaps not less than 200 lbs. of short
common tobacco, quite unfit for the
purposes for which the bulk of the
hid. is we'll suited. We must remind
steamers that POO lbs. or even 100 lbs.
of almost useless tobacco is serious
item to a manufacturer who has to pay
for it, duty and cost, IS 10d or As per ID.
We are quite alive to the fact that the
most careful stemming and packing
cannot make good strips out of bad
leaf, but there can be no doubt that
careful packing will enhance value and
tend to facilitate sales. We now turn
to leaf, and here we must use plain
language, and say that we too often
meet with hhds. that are positively
false packed. Let the packer of the
leaf hid. put himself in the position
of buyer, and he will find that the
presence of q break of common tobacco
in good hid. will go far to reduce the
value of the whole to that of the worst
portion, besides which the man who
wants and is prepared to pay for good
leaf, will not buy the false packed hid.
at all. The effect of false packing of
Maryland tobacco has been to drive
this growth in great measure out of
consumption in this country. 1t must
be remembered that when once any
class of goods is thrown out of favor
it is most difficult, and often impossible
to revive the demand. While on the
subject of packing, we will give, for
the information Of our readers, an ex-
tract from letter lately received from
the West Coast of Africa ALLOW
me to suggest that you caution your
American friends that as they have at
last commenced to make light weight
originals, it is pity to spoil them by
too much pressure, whereby they not
only injure the tobacco, but reduce the
size of the hid. in many instances to
that of 81 cwts. repack-a size now
altogether unsaleable on the coast.
That tobacco requires certain amount
of pressure to preserve it [ am we'll
aware, but to press it nearly solid is
quite unnecessary, and will cause buy
ers to refuse such hard pressed tobacco
as unsuited for the African trade"
The writer Of the above is practically
acquainted with the trade on the coast.
We may add to his remarks that the
negro trader judges his purchases by
his eye. He knows good tobacco, and
he knows the proper average size or
external appearance of tobacco hogs
head, but he does not understand
weight. The trade is barter, and the
negro will give so much palm oil for a
fair sized hid. of good leaf; but he
gives no more for hid. weighing 1000
lbs. than he will for one weighing 400
TBS. Therefore, aswe have often stated,
we require for the african trade good
leaf, "a to heads to the pound,) we'll
and fairly packed throughout, in
hogshead of full average size, and
weighing from 1900 to 800 TBS. net.
not exceeding the latter. Our Ameri-
can readers may say that we are not
aware of the difficulties that stemmers
and putters-up of leaf have to contend
with. True but this we do know,
that many marks of strips are put up
free from dust, perfect in condition.
assorted in three classes-good, medi.
UNI, and short. We have similar evil
dence that leaf also can be put I'D
suitable in every respect for the African
trade-(length and quality, number of
heads, weight and size of hid, as de-
scribed.) As far as regards Western
and Virginia tobacco, the faults we
have named are the exception and not
the rule, though there are rather too
many exceptions; but Maryland for
some years past has been getting worse
and worse, until false packed hhds.
are rather the rule than the exception.
Manufacturers assure us that they have
taken as much as 6 per cent. of pure
sand out of hid. of MARYLAND, and
that there was still enough left to des-
troy the edge of their knives, and so
spoil the operations. There was a
time when Maryland tobacco was mack
ed free from sand, aud unmixed with
trash"