The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-03-21
Efforts of American Tobacco
Company to Introduce CuI-
tivation of White BurIey Is
Being Opposed.
BELIEVE THAT CROP
WOULD HURT OTHERS
Pollen From White BurIey
Would Contaminate the
Other Varieties, 1t Is A.
legged by the Growers.
palladium Specially


Eaton. o., March 21-What NAV
prove the greatest financial injury to
Preble county agriculturalists general
ly, is the effort now being made by the
American Tobacco company to intro
duce the cultivation of the white bur-
ley tobacco in this county, and with an
alarmed zest, the members of the Ohio
Tobacco Packers association have ris-
en- up in arms for the purpose of beat
ing down the plan.
The Ohio packers, in the interest of
the farmers, and also themselves, have
been inspired, and literature advising
been forwarded to nearly each and ev-
cry farmer in the county.
Not a Suitable Crop.
Quoting representatives of the Ma
tional Agricultural Department, and
using figures and facts gained by actu-
al experiments, the Ohio Packers have
endeavored to show the farmers what
would be the result of the introduction
of this new crop. They claim the soil
as found in this section is not adapted
to this grade of tobacco, and from a
productive standpoint in pounds to the
acre, the crop will be failure
Strong stress is put upon the state
nent, that to be successful in the to-
bacco industry, farmers in Preble
county must continue to raise the vari-
eties which have in years previous
been grown and proved successful.
These grades are thinner, Spanish,
seed leaf and Dutch.
More convincing pressure against
the introduction of the new crop is the
fact that the pollen from the hurley is
capable of communicating and running
the other tobacco crops. For one
larmer in a locality to be a producer
of hurley would mean that the crop of
his neighbor, should he cultivate one
of the other crops, would be injured by
the contamination and be made worth.
less. The effects of the injury thus
sustained would practically be perma-
nent to the soil, and only by the pass
ing of many years would the injury be
remedied.
Trust Agents Busy.
For the past two years the American
Tobacco company has employed high
priced agents in the county to induce
farmers to take up the production of
the hurley, which, they claim, will
thrive as we'll in this soil as anywhere.
Seed was furnished free to prospective
nd CT
ments were made in a small way with
the crop, which seemed successful, and
this year the acreage given to the bur-
ley will be materially increased. This
year, in the boom of the new crop, the
Americans agents have cited cases
where theeyrowers of last year received
an average price of from $125 to S14o
per acre for their hurley, while raisers
of the other natural crops had sold at
per acre. These statements have
gone far with farmers, and have been
beneficial to the interests of the
American.
The suspected motive of the Ameri
can company is that, by marketing a
hurley crop in this county, the Ken
tucky hurley raisers, who have warred
with the company for years over the
price paid, will be whipped into line
and compelled to come to the terms OF
the company. The American compa
ny furnishes the only market for the
hurley. and should not the supply in
Kentucky be secured, Preble's crop
would he its salvation
The Ohio Tobacco Packers associa
, tion is composed of buyers in the mar.
cts afforded in many of the cities OF
the middle west, and they handle bu'
| the Spanish, thinner. seed leaf and
Dutch, for use as smokers and filters
The hurley is primarily a wrapper to
baeco and its use for anything else is
failure.
Should the hurley receive favorable
consideration in this county, besides
the injury to other tobacco crops, with
it comes a possible fear of the exten
sion of the Kentucky night-rider dep
relations into this county.