The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-01-24
POLE ROT IN TOBACCO,
Prof. Milton Whitney Says Connecticut
 Has Lost $1 1000. .OOO by It.

! PfOI. Milton WHltney says COnnectlcut
 Has Lost $1, 100000 by It.
 Prof Milton Whitney, in charge of the division of soils in the United States Department of Agriculture, has writ ten a letter to Congressman F. Stevens Henry of this district as follows. It ex- plains itself:
 | Dear Sir-I have just returned from very interesting trip to Tariffville and l Hartford, at which latter place I att l tended a meeting of the New England Tobacco Growers association, where I was exceedingly gratified at the many | evidences of appreciation of the work that is being done by the department. l I have already informed you of the work in the production of a very fine grade of Sumatra wrapper, which is yielding on the average about 1,5O0 pounds per acre when taken from the shed, with a probable loss of 10 per cent. in fermentation and baling, and l NliiSll IS ylGluliS ltdIiJ ol Hdlle cu per cent. of wrapper leaf of the finest pos sible texture, elasticity and style. AL though the growers are doing every thing they can to push the work of grading and ba.ling this tobacco, l fear it will be the 1st of March before it will be ready to be sold.
 The most reliable estimates l can get at this time indicate that there will Joe between 800 and 1000 acres of this shade grown Sumatra planted this com ing season in Connecticut and Massa- chusetts. This represents very large investment and the department will do all that it possibly can to advise the farmers of the best methods to pursue in every stage of the crop. These mat ters were presented to the association and seemed to give very general satis- faction.
 There is very intedesting side issue that has developed in the course of this seasons work. The year just passed will probably be noted for the disas- trous effects of the pole-rot in a crop which gave most gratifying promise at the time of harvest When the tobacco was curing in the barns the weather was excessively damp and foggy. am informed by reliable dealers that contracts made for tobacco in the field at IS to 20 cents per pound have been broken and the tobacco has been sold for from 6 to 12 cents per pound for the end is not yet seen, as much further damage is expected when the crop is case sweat. The total loss to the Con- necticut farmer from this cause will probably amount to not far from $1000, GOO this year. During the very worst of this foggy weather our experts cured 56 GOO pounds of the delicate and high priced Sumatra leaves from forty-one acres without any appreciable loss from pole rot The method consisted sim ply of building fires on the barn floors so as to dry the atmosphere and to dry the leaves at least once in twenty four hours, Although i've were work ing with some of the best tobacco sheds In the Connecticut valley, the sheds were so poorly constructed that fog and rain would drift in through the cracks, requiring heavy firing to dry out the air within the barn and to dry the to- bacco once day. If the barns had been tightly built so they could have
  room, small charcoal heaters hung from the lower tiers would have sufficed to control the climatic conditions in the barn and to prevent the pole rot
 The Connecticut farmers have delib- erately sat by and seen their tobacco rot in their poorly constructed sheds, with a total loss to the state this year of wellnieht a million dollars: while our experts cured with perfect immun- ty from the pole rot the product from forty~one acres on twelve or thirteen different farms of extremely valuable md tender Sumatra leaf I think this S a lesson which the Connecticut farm ITS will not soon forget; and while 1t is l side issue of our main, experiment, it will undoubtedly prove of great and asting value to the Connecticut grow ITS.
 Our experts proved last year in Ian 'aster in the fermentation of 100000 bounds of leaf from Pennsylvania, Ohio Wisconsin, New York and Connecticut hat black rot can be absolutely pre- .ented by careful bulk fermentation md they have proved this year in Con lecticut that pole rot can be prevented " proper construction and treatment f the barns These are two enor- nously destructive agencies to the l Northern cigar leaf growers. and am ure that this work of the department . vill be of great benefit to the tobacco | interests. I Assuring you again of my warm ap- C recitation of your constant support and in this work, and assuring C oil bo trp,, as been fully justified by the results, beg to remain,
 Very respectfully yours, :