The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1907-09-06
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES

~
The TEN ptation to harvest tobacco be
fore it is fully ripened always appears
when the crop is slow in reaching ma
turity. But cutting unripe tobacco is
bad business. It can never make sat
isfactory cured Leaf and if an unsus-
pecting buyer gets it saddled onto him
it means sure loss in the end. 1t there
is any tobacco in packing dam
ages in the cure, the unripe leaf is sure
to 20 wrong first. There are some fields
that have been cut too green this season
to save it from the rust but it is very
doubtful if such leaf will bring any
where near market price when cured: :: 1t
is far better to take chances upon the
frost than to rush immature tobacco in
to the sheds. 1t is important to save a
crop, to be sure, but it is equally impor-
tant that the crop ripens and the leaf
develops a sufficient amount of gum t..
carry it through the curing process, else
it is of little value for the purposes in
tended. 1t is matter that requires
good deal of discretion on the part OF
growers to know at what stage in the
ripening will his crop warrant the re-
moval TO the curing sheds. You can
SIC arcely repeat the caution too often
Don't cut green tobacco"
*x*
The Bureau of the Census has just is
sued report on the manufacture OF to-
bacco, prepared under the supervision
+ of Mr.. William Nj. Steuart, chief statis-
tician for manufacturers. The statistics
presented relate to the production OF ci-
gars, cigarettes, chewing and smoking
tobacco, and snuff. The returns at the
census of 1850 were for 'tobacconists' !;
the value of products was reported as
| $l3, ,491 147 of which SIS, Isl, ,652 was from
Virginia; the number of establishments
il the United States was 1,4l8; the tap
ital S5,OO8, ,295; the number of wage
earners, 14,236, of which 1875 were
females; the cost Of labor, So, ,420,20 and
of materials, $7,341, ,728 The enormous
growth of the industry since 1880 is in
dicated by the fact that the value of
products, for the year covered by the
census of 1905, was 1891 ,ll7 ,681, the cap
ital employed being 1928, ,983,50l In the
same year the industry expended $685.
08S.608 for materials; $62 2,64O,3O for
| mages; S6,S0O,434 for salaries; and $780,
- GIG for miscellaneous expenses The
value of products increased 25.6 per cent
| for 1905, as compared with 1900 the cost
of materials, 35.S per cent; and the
amount paid in wages, 30.6 per cent.
The reported capital shows an increase
| of 1905 per cent This disproportionate
increase in capital is very striking. The
| increase, it seems, was mostly confined
| to the item, cash and sundries, and may
| be due in part to some differences in the
| method of reporting this item at the two
| censuses. But the figures seen to indi-
| cate that for some reason very large
and exceptional amount of capital was
employed in this industry in the year
| covered by the census of 1905 as com
| pared with conditions five years before.
| The number of wage learners employed
in 1905 in this industry was l59,4OS; this
represents the average number employ
ed during the year and includes 85,59l
men, 66,301 women, ard 7,4l6 children
| under 16 years of age. The proportion
! of women comprised in the total has
greatly increased in recent years. In
| 1880 on 23.1 per cent of the total number
of wage -earners in this industry we're
! women. This proportion increased to
29S per cent in 1890, 37.2 per cent in
1900, and 41.6 per cent in 1908. OF the
| reported aggregate value OF products
cigars and cigarettes form 647 per cent
and chewing and smoking tobacco and
snuff 35.3 per cent. Of the total mum
ber of wage -earners, 85 per cent were
employed in the manufacture of cigars
and cigarettes. The number of estab-
lishments reported as engaged in the
manufacture of cigars and cigarettes was
1885, while the number reported for
the other branch of the industry was
only 433. This striking difference is due
in part to the fact that cigars and cigar
cites are to considerable extent manu-
factured in small establishments. where
as chewing and smoking tobacco and
snuff is mostly produced in factories ol
considerable size. For the cigar and
cigarette branch of the industry the
average capital invested per establish
ment was only 1882, while for the other
branch it was S413, ,O43 A similar con
trast appears in the average number OF
wage earners per establishment. the
0umOef O6iug 0 IOE Gig dTS duu CiS al ottoe
and 55 for chewing and smoking tobacco
and snuff According to the reports oi
| Commissioner of Internal Revenue the
total amount of tobacco manufactured
| in 1904 was 44S,51l ,583 pounds, the quan
tity used in the manufacture of cigars
and cigarettes being l4l,020O29 pounds
as compared with 307, ,491, ,554 pounds
used for the production of chewing and
smoking tobacco and snuff. AS reported
by the Census the value of the raw ma
teria1s = mostly tobacco used in the
manufacture of cigars and cigarettes
| 1863, ,291 OIL was more than twice the
value of that consumed in the other
branch of the industry (S3l ,347 ,252) The
Cersus bulletin calls attention to the
fact that the number of cigars and ci
garettes consumed increased 275 pei
cent between 1900 and 1905; and that
between 1869 and 1905 the consumption
of cigars increased nearly sevenfold
while the population in the same period
increased only little over twofold. II
would appear from the figures presented
in this bulletin that the manufactures
/ L.. IL