The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1913-09-12
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES


NOIE DUN ONE iO6Go
Local showers covering fair portion
OF the southern tobacco growing sec
tions on Sunday night broke the heated
spell that has prevailed nearly since
the harvest started and was proving a
decided detriment to the crop. Every
day for a week previous the burning
heat and hot winds were taking thou
sands of dollars out of the value of the
crop, in stunting the development of
the later fields, tending to produce
small, thick filler leaf rather than
binder tobacco. The hot weather, too,
was not good for the shielded tobacco
as the curing was proceeding much too
fast to secure proper colors or quality.
Just what benefit will be derived from
the rains and cooler weather is yet to
be determined as far as helping out the
later fields, but certainly the curing of
the harvested tobacco has been greatly
aided. One thing seems already GER
tain there will be more B stock in the
present crop than was hoped for or
even desired.
One of the obstacles in the way of
intelligent field buying, were it to be
resumed this year, is the unevenness
of the crop that has been apparent
ever since the planting season and the
uncertainty Of what the late fields will
finally yield as a binder proposition.
There is some late tobacco on almost
every farm of considerable acreage and
growers would hardly care to contract
any portion without all of the crop.
This additional hazard ought of itself
to postpone buying until more def
mite knowledge of what the final out
come will be. And humping against
the provisions of the new law is not an
entirely pleasant thing to contemplate,
either.
Word comes from the eastern mar
ket centers that the trade is anxiously
awaiting the samples of the 1912 Wis
consin with the assurance that it will
be quickly taken up if it proves as good
a binder as the manufacturers hope for
It is pretty well understood among the
trade that the supply coming on the
market for the independent trade is
long ways short to. meet their needs
and it will be very strange if prices do
not show some stiff figures. The Con-
necticut valley offerings are said to
have been gobbled up so quickly that
it is now practically off the market.
The conditions were never better for
the absorption of a good big binder
crop than at present and Wisconsin
growers will be lucky if they are pre-
pared to take advantage of it.
IS
According to the statistics of the
treasury department, we imported dur
ing the fiscal year ended June 30th last,
6, 398, 1872 pounds of leaf suitable for
cigar wrappers, all of which with the
exception of 200, 600 pounds was brought
in from the Netherlands, and all Of
which with the exception of limited
quantity of Java and Borneo leaf could
be put down as having been Sumatra.
During the same period we exported
751, ,589 pounds Of foreign wrapper leaf,
leaving 5.647, 1913 pounds as the net
quantity of our wrapper importations.
On the first of July, 1912, our bonded
warehouses contained stock of for
eign wrapper leaf amounting to 6, 1876,
601 pounds which added to the net
quantity imported made total supply
Of foreign wrapper leaf for the fiscal
year amount to IL, 042, 794 pounds. But
on the first Of July of this year the for
eign wrapper stock in. our bonded ware
houses amounted to 6,373, 338 pounds,
which when deducted from the total
supply during the year gives us guam
tity of 1868, 456 pounds, the exact
amount which was withdrawn for home
consumption during the fiscal year 1912
1913. Converted into bales the guam
tity withdrawn was equivalent to 80, 600
bales. Comparing this record with the
consumption record of Sumatra during
the fiscal year 1911-1912, our last years
Sumatra consumption shows an increase
of 2, 600 bales. And this increase took
place in spite of our diminished Suma-
ira imports by over hundred thou
sand pounds. Of filler leaf we import
ed during the last fiscal year 81, 055, 1853
pounds and exported of our imports
2,O12, 479 pounds, making a total of our
net imports of SO, 043, ,484 pounds. On
the first day of the last fiscal year our
bonded warehouses contained stock
of q, 977, ,918 pounds which added to the
net importations for the year gave US a
total supply of Sc, 421, 4O2 pounds of for
eign filler leaf. But the stock of for
eign filler leaf in our bonded ware
houses on the last day of the last fiscal
year amounted to 45, ,745, ,734 pounds,
which when deducted from the total
supply shows quantity of 40,695, ,668
pounds to have gone into consumption
during the year, Of our filler imports
q, 553, 759 pounds came from Cuba,
showing an increase of 5, 1000, 900 pounds
over the total filler imports from Cuba
during the fiscal year 1911-1912 and
%, 729, 888 pounds from Turkey both in
Europe and Asia. In other words, the
import of Turkish leaf that goes into
IL 2 ...1 4%<e, hos