The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1906-10-05
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES


Reference was made last week to the
discovery OF some shed damage in the
curing crop. Dealers who have made a
more critical examination of the country
sheds report that in most cases where
stem rot has been found was in the later
harvested portion of the crop that had
been crowded into driveways and sheds
without sufficient attention being paid
to proper ventilation. Rather than go
to the expense of providing additional
curing room growers have taken chance
upon crowding the sheds, with the re-
suit that they must suffer some loss for
their indiscretion. Such growers must
have realized at the time they were as
suming long chances and il such errors
make trouble at the time of delivery
they may prove rather costly ones. 1t is
no ways probable any great amount OF
the crop has suffered from stem rot but
at the present prices growers could
hardly afford to permit such losses
through their own folly. The expert
ence of the 1900 crop is still fresh in the
minds of most growers, nor do many care
to see them repeated.
*x*
If the present New England crop is to
be thrown upon the market as binder,
as is suggested in an article published
in another column, il must mean new
competitor for Wisconsin leaf which
must be reckoned with a year later. So
much of the New England leaf has been
supplying a wrapper demand OF Late
years that it has not figured greatly in
the binder market. But Florida and
Texas wrappers seem to be crowdlng for
supremacy for domestic wrapping stock
and New England growers are told they
must sell their leaf at binder prices.
Wisconsin prices this season are SO near
those usually paid for New England leaf
that it can hardly be offered the manu-
facturers at much less than the eastern
product. When the jobber or manu-
facturer comes to choose between the
two at about the same figure, it may not
take him long to decide which he will
acceps. The addition of $4,000 cases or
such matter to the binder supply does
not argue we'll for the maintenance of
prices when the present crop is ready
for market. Time will tell whether the
sugges tion here offered has really much
significance.
***
a phase of the tobacco business that
has been practically dead In America for
the past three years is about to take
new lease ON life. This is shown in the
activity that is being manifested 10 all
sections of the country in making prep
arations for the handling of strips for
the English market. There has been al
most none of this class of tobacco trade
for over three years on account OF the
prohibitMe' duty imposed by the Eng
lish government. This act was repealed
last spring, however and American strips
are again allowed to come IN under the
old terms. This means that nearly all
the tobacco shipped to England will be
stripped before being priced, which Will
require nearly three times as many
hands and about twice as much time.
1t is a matter of conjecture what attl-
tude the farmers association will take
toward the strip market. The majority
of the associations have ordered that all
tobacco held by them must be priced,
and the strip people say that they must
have the tobacco loose 'Or very lightly
priced, in order to separate the leaves, so
! that the large middle stem can be re-
moved. The import duty of six cents
per pound, which the English govern
ment levied three years ago, forced deal
ers to ship the leaf intact to England,
where it was stripped, the object Of this
duty being to give this income to British
| labor. The experiments did not prove
success, however, and now parliament
! has come back to the old scale of 3s. t72
cents) per pound on leaf and 3s. Id. (73
cents per pound on strips. This differ
ence of two cents per pound is what the
American laborers get for stripping cut
| the large middle stem of the leaf. This
work is done largely by women and
| children and some men who are not aole
| to perform heavy work. The repeating
| of this duty by the English government
will benefit American labor to 10 small
| extent
x**
| The unsettled conditions in Cuba are
| being carefully noted by the tobacco
trade. The loss of labor at the critical
harvest time would be greatly felt, and
this scarcity of labor is what the tobac-
co trade most fears. If there is no one
to engineer the tobacco crop there will
be no crop for the simple reason that 1T
cannot produce itself 1t is said that an
insurgent general has been aiding some
| of the poorer farmers to prepare their
ground for the seed. If this is so, 1t ls
doubtless because the insurgent officer
desires to retain the allegiance OF these
farmers, and if be deemed it necessary
he would call them into service at mo
ment's notice and let their crops go to
hang. Moreover, if he thought it good
move, it is doubtful if he would hesitate
to destroy the crop he had helped to
so.,nn ahon< Cnho ,1cualIV makes