The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-01-05

MOUNT STERLING. Wis. Jan 5.-The
| embargo placed by General Weyler upon
| the expectation Of tobacco from the Island
| Of Cuba stimulated tobacco planting in
/ many OF the United States. and its effect
/ was felt strongly in Wisconsin. The people
/ in this part OF the world had a hay idea.
| previous to the Weyler decree. that they
/ were able TO produce certain kind Of to-
| bacco, dark and strong enough TO lift the
/ roof of house.
/ II was good for home consumption. but
/ they did nor see any commercial pOssibili-
| ties in il The farmer OF the older T7r-
| tions of the West has been generally quick
! to take advantage Of opportunities, how
ever. and since corn was down to almcs.
| nothing and pork was not much better, re
turned 10 tobacco in an experimental way
when shortage of the Cuban product be
came a certainty.
The result has been surprising. The crop
of this State last year was $4,000 cases Of
l25 pounds each. a total OF 1913 0Oo
pounds. Formerly a tobacco field was COM
paTativcly a rare thing. Now the farm
without one is the exception As the crop
I has increased i'm size the plant has improv-
/ ed quality as better seedlings became OBJ
! taiuahle The tobacco produced in Wis
consin now ranks favorably with ether
AmeIicau-growu tobacco, though il is OF an
entirely different quality from that pro-
duced in Virginia and North Carolina.
Extent OF the Industry.
The extent Of the industry i'm this state
can be best understood by comparison with
Connecticut The Connecticut filler for an
hmrrican-wddr cigar has been known for
a long time and has afforded considerable
fun for the joke maker. The fact is that
very good quality of tobacco is grown i'm
Connecticut from Hayaua seedlings, and
/ here is e great deal Of IT, The Connect
cut crop last year. however, reached only
| - 600 cases. little more than One-Jhird Of
| JhC total Wisconsin crop. The plant IL cul-
! tivatcd I'm Wisconsin iu an of it's farming
| ueighborhoods except boz the far northern
| Tier of counties. wher, the climate viii not
( permit it.
/ In Crawford and Vernon counties which
/ are iu the southwestern part OF the State.
! near to the Mississippi River the area so
/ employed is proportiouately much larger
/ than elsewhere. The tobacco itself has
/ lighteDed I'm color and decreased In rank
] ness IN the LAST three years. IL now cures
/ 10 a light brown approaching golden and
| has delicious fragrance To Is the con-
! tentiOn OF the farmers thar the ground has
/ got used 10 +, and is therefore able 10 pro-
3 ,,uCc better plant just as a man viii
ke a better Wagon wheel after years
4 p.tctice than he viii when he begins. There
/ is probably nothing I'm this. The quality
/ Of the leaf has improved because the meth
! Oh Of ITS cultivation is better understood
I and more care is taken In curing Il.
/ The crop pays well. since it is wor b
/ when To good condition from 8 TO S cents "a
! pound and a GOOD many pounds can be
. --1~r an Is F.. ftFIF
90 any especial trouble and makes no effort
I 90 round out his product into malUfaC-
1 urod shape He plants the seedlings. sees
Z that they are kept free from worms which
are not especially troublesome so far
north cuItiyates occasionally, waits until
the proper stage OF maturity has been
I reached and cuts H.
He ties d. into sheaves and hangs 10 up In
his barn or tobacco shed. and lets il alone
This Is generally ia August Along in Oc-
tOber be waits the coming OF a spell OF
! weather that he knows as a tobacco storm.
/ This Is 1--WE or six days Of rain or mist
I The moist atmosphere dampeus the hang
I ing sheaVes and makes them sufficiently
pliable 10 obyiate the danger OF breaking
I in handling If they were taken down
I when dry they would Crumbie Into powder
mostly Being devoid OF brittleuess, he
. takes the tobacco down and strips il from
/ the central stem. and reties IL into bun
dies.
I The buyer comes along, looks at it. esti-
mates its quality and offers price, which
/ is almost always accepted. The tobacco IS
then shipped 10 the factory. where il is
sorted into hands. Hands are sorted ac-
| cording TO the length OF the leaves Il
takes sixteen leave to make a hand. The
hands are then packed down hard in boxes.
. brought mp from the factory basement and
stored in upper rooms. where the plant
undergoes the process OF sweating, or par
tial fermentation. Tobacco Is product
that will generate a great deal Of heat
when closely packed. A box Of hands IN
opened three months after packing throws
on quite a wave Of caloriC, and a finger in
serted i'm ITS middle will be uncomfortable
warm. This sweating mellows the tobacco
and improves its smoking quality and
fragrance.
The Sweating Process.
The length OF time to be devoted to the
sweating process depends entirely upon the
tobacco itself It varies greatly from year
to year. There is as much difference in
the inner quality OF tobacco crops as there
is in the qualities Of grape crops. Plants
from the same farm will sometimes sweat
sufficiently in a year and sometimes in
two years General speaking a year is al
ways required for fermentation, and dur
ing this time the capital of the purchaser is
locked up in the boxes OF hands taking up
storage room and drawing no interest.
There is always a risk. too, Of overfer-
mentation and consequent spelling, The
business is not a safe one and demands the
highest class OF eXpertness in the sampler.
or the man who goes about from farm to
farm appraising and purchasing the crops.
The home factory is entirely at his mercy