The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1912-04-05
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES

Tobacco journal, and more particularly
so coming in the wake of the courts
order disintegrating the great tobacco
trust. 1t is being asked, if any num-
ber of large factories can legally COM
bine to absorb each other and thus re-
strict competition, where is the limit to
prevent the effectual monopolization of
the cigar industry? 1t is being argued
that in order to effect such monopo-
liZation it would be necessary to en-
brace all the branches of the industry.
A monopoly could be effected, it is
pointed out, by combinations in the diff
ferent branches of the industry. There
might be effected a monopoly in the
seed cigar, one in the seed and Havana
cigar and another one in the clear Ha
vana cigar industry A combination of
the leading factories in each line would
not mean a monopolization of the entire
cigar industry but merely monopoly in
a certain line of the industry, but not
less monopoly in the popular accep-
tance of the word. By absorbing a
leading factory here and there in the
seed line and seed and Havana lines as
has been done of late in succession with
a number of these factories the compe-
tition in these lines would naturally be
limited and gradually concentrated in
ever fewer concerns. But what will
there be left of the leaf trade if this
merging of large factories should con-
tinue in the ratio which has taken place
within the past few weeks? asks the
Journal. The large factories may not
seek voluntarily this monopolization but
rather be drawn into it by trend of
modern means of industrial develop
ment, is the answer.
The annual report of the Agricultural
Experiment station at the Wisconsin
university contains the following con-
cerning tobacco diseases: Diseases of
the tobacco plant result in serious loss
to growers, but as yet, investigators
have devoted but little attention to
their causes Or to possible means OF
control or prevention. During the past
two years Mr.. Johnson of the horticul-
tural department has conducted inves
LEGATIONS on the disease known as 'Ebed
rot" or "damping off, - which causes
the rotting of young plants in the seed
he'd. 1t has been found that Sdamplng
off" in this state is due almost entirely
to two fungi, Pythium debaryanum and
a species of Rhysotonia. The trouble
is brought on by an excess of moisture,
high temperature, thick sowing and
poor ventilation. The work done at
this station tends to disprove the value
of some of the soil treatments quite
generally recommended for the preven-
tion of the disease, and to emphasize
the Importance of sterilization of the
seed bed, which destroys the spores of
the disease producing fungi. Burning
the seed bed by building fires upon it,
or sterilizing the bed with steam, have
given success. The latter method is
practiced by covering the bed with gal
vanized iron and introducing steam.
Study of the stem rot of tobacco has
been made from infected plants from
various localities. Two types of fungi,
Fusarium and Trichothecium, neither
of which seems to have been reported
before in connection with this disease,
have been found to be present in al
most all cases. No practical methods
of control can yet be suggested for this
disease.
A prominent leaf packer, who re-
turned last week from a trip through
Ohio and Wisconsin, has the following
to say in regard to the 1911 crops of
those two states: II was not very fav-
orably impressed with what I saw of
the three staple Ohio types. The to-
bacco was grown under adverse condi-
tions, drought having interfered with
it in the early stages The dry spell
was not broken until the last days of
August, when abundant showers fell.
The tobacco got most of it's growth in
about two weeks and shot up at phe-
nomenal rate, producing big percent
age of large, thin leaves, many of
which are not suitable for 'tabling, ,
and which would never produce good
home trade filler. The crop was also
harvested under bad weather conditions
and the curing season was far from
good. There has been great deal of
complaint of pole burn, pole-sweat, wet
stems and fat stems. The last named
is caused by the tobacco freezing in the
sheds. It is a crop that requires
good deal of courage and circumspec
tion to handle properly. So far as the
Wisconsin crop is concerned, the south
ern section, as is we'll known, suffered
severely from grasshoppers and storms.
A small portion of the tobacco that es-
capped has been taken up by the pack
ers, and the larger portion Of the en-
tire crop has been bought up by few
tobacco manufacturing companies at
prices ranging from five to eight cents
straight, SO that, in spite of the dis
asters that attended the raising of this
tobacco, the farmers have been fairly
well remunerated for their labor The
tobacco grown in Vernon and Crawford
counties and in the still more northern
sections of the state was raised under
fairly favorable weather conditions,
and is pronounced by many to be the
finest tobacco the state has produced
since 1906. 1t is declared that 85 per
cent of that part of the crop was bought
up by large cigar manufacturing con-
Germs in August and September at
prices prohibitive to the average pack
er. It is understood that not much
more than II, 900 cases of this tobacco
will be available for the general mar
ket. 1t is also understood that not
more than 1900 cases of 1910 Wiscon-
sin are left, and all of the crops raised
previous to that year are out of the
mark of N " Loaf ,