The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1906-05-25
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES

Tor the tObaccO is an all important qu6S-
ton. Any land that will raise good
mealy potatoes will raise good mealy to-
bacco. Good corn land will also raise
good tobacco. In short, any rich land,
we'll manured, will raise tobacco. Pro-
lection from the wind is very desirable,
however. Our old uncle used to say
that, while corn will follow tobacco,
you cannot follow corn with tobacco"
thus proving the old adage that "corn
must be king to be successful" The
reason would appear to be that, while
both crops feed on phosphates, nitrogen,
ETC., the corn roots more nearly pene
trate the entire space between the rows,
thus using up all of the essential fertil
izers that tobacco needs, while the to-
bacco with it's shorter roots leaves in the
soil some of the properties upon which
corn can make growth.
Several years ago government experts
from Washington took some of the soil
from our uncle's "worn out" tobacco
field, upon which As crops of tobacco had
been grown within 48 years, and were to
tell us just what had been eliminated
therefrom. The next year, 1900, being
favorable one, the "worn out" field pro-
duced some over 1900 pounds to the acre
and sold for cents straight, but like all
heavy tobaccos that year damaged badly
in the shed. 1t certainly would have
proved winner had it been able to cure
successfully.
We admit that this particular piece of
land had been we'll and consistently
manured with the best of barnyard man.
ure and perhaps received more than it's
share of the manure needed to raise 30
acres of tobacco on one farm. So have
other fields in that "worn OUT section.
We call to mind the acre crop on our
friend Carriers 40 just across the way
on that good old Tobacco Street" in
1905. It was unfortunately riddled by
hail but still sold for SC and for gross
amount that would make some of our
newer lands look like the proverbial
thirty cents" This farm, in more ways
than one "worn out" sold for $120 per
acre.
Chester Pomeroy's sons have been
raising 10 to II acres per year on their
so acre farm, partly timber land, for so
years and in 1882 broke all Wisconsin
records by selling to Hooker and Manly
for Soc straight. They are still raising
on the same ''worn out" land and when
blessed with favorable seasons are to- be
found we'll cup among the bunch" both
as regards weight per acre and price.
We might also cite you Ed. Hyland's
80 in the worn out" Stoughton section,
upon which from 10 to Il acres has been
grown yearly for 25 to 80 years, yet we
hear that il has been recently sold for
$3.50 per acre. Ole Seamonsen, starting
on the Frank Burt place few years
ago with little or nothing, has raised 30
acres or more of tobacco each and every
!! year since, and is still looking for more
t'worn out" land and is actually buying
| it at $3.50 per acre.
Our 60 acre Fworn out'' farm where
| first the "filthy weed" was grown in '53,
| has raised 10 to 20 acres yearly with lit
| tie manure, yet we caught a sucker"
! two years ago and sold it for S125 per
| acre. The old adage holds good that
| ''there is sucker born every minute y
| for our sucker" caught another at $l3O
per acre. Neighbor Soverhill has used
! Darling's Bone Phosphate, 200 to 400
| pounds per acre, for 25 years with good
results both as to pounds per acre, quail
| ity and price. While we have been kept
guessing for the past two years with our
''new land" he has been saving wood
right along on the old worn OUT lines
and raking in the dollars on his worn
out" land.
We on our new land have deemed it
| advisable and now have growing 8 acres
| of hairy vetch. not the sand vetch, but
| the vicia villosa. We have for years been
using rye, clover, buckwheat, peas and
J other legumes to renovate and enrich
| the soil and have watched with interest
others experiment along the same lines.
| Mr. Chas. L. Culton, a deep student OF
| fertilizers and legumes and their use in
| growing tobacco, has used on his worn
out" Virginia farm cJw peas with sue
cess, but thinks that we should use only
| the whip-poor- variety here on ac-
count of climate. He has also used
| nitrate of sodium on his Rock county
farm, but, while it seemed to help the
| growth and spread of the tobacco, a hail
storm destroyed it and therefore results
are uncertain. Prof. Sandsten OF the
| University of Wisconsin advises 100 to
200 pounds per acre broadcast, and we
are in correspondence now with view
| of getting a ton to use. We are also
studying Myers Propaganda on nitrate
| of sodium and now have on hand three
| tons of cottonseed meal for use the pres
| ent year.
| After all. we have usually found that
| it was not use but some particularly i'll
| advised abuse of the SOIL which has
caused falling off" in any particular
growers crop. The reason can usually
be determined, not by any far fetched or
fine haired experiment, but by the good
''horse sense" always possessed by all our
| successful growers. With the markets
of the world nearly barren of serviceab ole
| goods, it is rank folly to discard the old
time tried and proven fields and waste
the golden opportunity to make kill
ing" by scoring for a start" Do not
waste good daylight by fooling with fine
spun theories and platitudes instead OF
keeping in line and all pulling together
and helping old Wisconsin to show the
| people that she is and will continue to
be Johnny on the spot with bumper
as we'll as banner crop of A l binders.
| So, brother grower, don't ring out the
| old and ring in the new" but keep the
old worn out" patch working and take
| the new on probation. Remember that
| it was Old Abe who said, Don't change
| horses in the middle of the creek" While