The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1914-03-27
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES


: NOTE BOOK SKETCHES ::
By steaming their seed beds before
planting tobacco, growers may control
diseases which annually cause much
loss. eradicate weeds which occasion q
great amount Of labor and expense, and
may obtain healthier and more vigorous
plants. Repeated trials made at the
Wisconsin experiment station have
proven this method to be effective in
preventing loss from these, heretofore,
common sources. AS a result growers
in various parts of the state will CO.
operate this spring in steaming their
beds. Already fully Is growers living
in the tobacco districts of the state
have comparatively purchased steam
pans, each steaming outfit being used
on the average on five different farms.
Pans have already been ordered by
growers living in the vicinity of Edger-
ton, Stoughton, Cottage Grove, Nor
risonville, Cambridge and Madison. 1t
is probable that farmers living in the
vicinity of Chippewa Falls, Brooklyn,
Waunakee and Burke will also cooper
ate in this manner. The cost of steam
ing, according to James Johnson, who
has carried on the Investigations, will
be approximately from Is cents to 81
per rod of bed six feet in width. The
expense of wedding the unsteamed beds
in many cases exceeds this amount.
The initial cost Of steaming pan, six
feet by twelve feet, is $50, and the
average threshing engine will provide
the necessary steam. The steam should
be run at from 100 to $50 pounds pres
sure for 80 minutes into the pan in
yerted over the seed bed.
Each important tobacco district of
the United States produces a type of
tobacco for special purposes of manu-
facture or export. The methods of
growing and handling crop must vary
according to the type of leaf desired,
and therefore according to the particu-
lar districts where it is grown. The
IU. S. Department of Agriculture has
Just issued bulletin on Tobacco Cul-
ture" which recommends methods for
| the production of various American
| types. The bulletin emphasizes the
| fact that overproduction is constant
menace to all established centers of to-
bacco growing and that the develop
Yrnent of the industry in new sections
on large scale is hardly advisable at
present. Another reason why tobacco
culture in untried sections may result
in failure is that the leaf produced will
| not be quite right in type, and there
fore it will not find satisfactory mar
ket The commercial value of tobacco
is influenced to a greater degree by
| particular soil and climatic conditions
than is that of almost any other i'm
portant crop. This has caused the in
| dustry to become highly specialized and
| the trade looks regularly to well-defined
| areas for the various types of leaf it
| requires. AS tobacco grows rapidly
over so large an area it is not strange
that many farmers experiment with it
| and often secure seeming success. That
| is, the plants grow readily but when it
| comes time to sell the crop the farmer
| can find no market There are three
general classes of tobacco described in
the new bulletin: O Cigar tobaccos.
(2) Export tobaccos. (3) Manufacture
| ing tobaccos. By manufacturing to-
baccos are meant all types used in
| manufacture other than cigars. The
manufacturing and export classes, how
ever, have much in common as regards
| cultural methods, and some types are
used for manufacturing and for export;
| therefore these two classes are consid-
cred together as distinguished from the
cigar tobaccos. Each of these three
classes of tobacco may be subdivided
into types, depending on their special
uses, methods of growing and curing,
or on the variety of seed used. In the
case of cigar tobaccos there are three
principal types, corresponding to the
| three parts of the cigar-wrapper leaf,
binder leaf and filler leaf. In the man
ufacturing and export tobaccos are such
| types as the fue-cured, Virginia sun
cured, White Burley, dark fire-cured,
etc. These various types are produced
on certain special types of soil and ac-
| cording to definite methods of growing,
curing and handling the crop. In some
cases the variety of seed used is also
an important factor. The special uses
of the principal types embraced in the
three fundamental classes of tobacco
| are brought out in connection with the
cultural directions for the more impor-
tant types. A typical district for the
culture of cigar tobacco is the Connec-
ticut valley. The new bulletin outlines
briefly the best cultural methods for
this region. Detailed instructions are
given on care of the seed bed, prepar-
ing and fertilizing the land, transplant
ing and cultivating, and harvesting.
The export and manufacturing types OF
tobaccos are grown mainly in Ken
lucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, West