The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-12-18
LEAF TOBACCO SALES
FOR THE PAST WEEK
Large DeiveriesinA All Of the Virginia and Car
lima NJ Markets-Too Large, in Fact.
Heavy Sales Made.

Notwithstanding the cold weather
and some other unfavorable conditions
the deliveries of loose leaf tobacco in
the Richmond market for the past week
We're very large larger perhaps, than
they ought to have been. Something
over 100000 pounds of the leaf was
sold in the five warehouses, and with
the exception OF about $4,000 pounds
ties OF Orange, Fluvanna, Albemarle.
Mecklenburg and Louisa in Virginia
and from neighhoring counties in West
Virginia. all of the offerings were OF
the sun-cured stock.
The farmers have been advised not
to market their goods too freely, that
is to say not faster than the manu-
facturers can handle IT. Possibly the
farmers. or good many of them, are
ignorant OF the fact that the leaf: the
sun-cured stock the manufacturers buy
to-day is not put on the market by
them in the manufactured state for
twelve months. Now to keep this leaf
they have, to put 1t in order. pack it
whole year For this purpose they
have ordering and drying houses, and
these houses and the machinery with
which they are equipped have just so
choked up to the extent of that ca
pacity the manufacturers must quit
| buying.
To, illustrate: Suppose Bill Jones's
ordering and redrrying capacity is 5O,-
900 pounds week and the breaks get
SO heavy by the eagerness of the
! growers to market their goods, that
he buys that $4,000 pounds the first
sales day Of the: week. To buy any
more the other days of the week he
| rot or greatly detorIate on his hands
before he gets 1T in keeping shape.
While he is willing and anxious TO
| pay the grower the outside price for
Ito take that risk OF having damaged
goods on his hands. and as a natural
sresult of too heavy breaks he keeps
off the market the other days of the
manufacturers drop off the market.
down goes the price of the weed, and
\ then the farmers cry out. '.We are in
the hands Of the trust" or something
Just as bad. 1t Is physical impos-
sibility for the manufacturers OF the
sun-cured stock to handle the big crop
of 1910 in three months. and if tho
/ growers of that big crop will insist
upon throwing the same on the market
within ninety days they will have only
1 themselves, to blame for lower prices
The thing to do Is to take from seven
i to nine months to market the crop, in
stead OF rushing 1t to town within
three or four months, and the growers
are now IN financial condition to do
Just this thing.
The deliveries last week were larger
than the capacity OF the redrylng and
ordering shops of the manufacturers
and consequently with two or three
manufacturersydr driven from the market
/ prices necessarily weakened a fraction
However. the figures obtained on al
] really desirable goods were in the
main satisfactory, to the sellers. art
many farmers went home with big
Christmas money In their pockets.
II The wareAousemen We're careful no
to overload the floors, and they helt
the shipped goods back, giving the
wagon deliveries first chance. Becaus
OF this package goods have accumu
lated in every warehouse In the toWp