The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1915-11-05
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES

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The month of October just past has
furnished the finest tobacco curing
weather this state has experienced in
some years, and.it is clearly misfor-
tune that Wisconsin growers have not
a better crop to improve the aGvan-
tages OF it. Rarely has such fine In
dian summer weather extended right
on through to the end of the month
with mild temperature prevailing all
the time. Even the very latest har-
vested portion of the crop seems to be
coming through with it's stems entirely
cured. The calendar has been seem
ingly reversed this season and the
weather most needed to mature and
perfect the crop has come too late to
do much good.
1t is currently reported that those
Hollanders spoken of last week pur-
chased a million pounds of Wisconsin
leaf that was stored in the sugar fac
tory at GAINESVILLE of F. G. Borden Co.
The tobacco was bought for stemming
purposes and is still in the bundle as it
was received from growers. The single
sale of million pounds is no small
transaction as matters have been going
al
past, for it is equal to about $500 cases
of packed tobacco. Without doubt this
is the largest export order filled for
some time. 1t indicates also that if
the European war were to close there
might be opened an active demand for
the cheaper grades of cigar leaf, which
might have tendency to advance the
price of binder leaf Such demand
might also help provide a market for
1915 crop, for the impression prevails
that the bulk of this crop must event
ually find an outlet through the stem
ming concerns. If Europe were to
come to our relief in moving this crop,
it would help wonderfully in clearing
the boards so when it comes to raising
another crop former prices for our
binders might be realized. Old leaf
suitable for binder purposes is very
likely to be entirely absorbed before
another crop can be grown, leaving a
hungry market before. another year
rolls around.
There were 2,30O acres of Shade
grown tobacco in Connecticut last year.
According to the calculation of we'll in
formed leaf men, there are nearly 1000
acres under shade this year. The gen.
eral opinion is that the number of bales
of fine wrappers produced this year
will not much, if at all, surpass last
years yield. Ordinarily bale of
Shadegrown when it reaches the manu-
facturer weighs about 16C pounds, to
produce which about It's or 180 pounds
of tobacco as it comes from the barn
are required There is shrinkage of
10 or IL per cent, which accounts for
the difference. Tobacco is light in
weight this year, so that bale will
contain greater number of leaves
than ordinarily. Shadegrown ordinarily
averages from 1000 to 1000 pounds to
the acre. This year the production is
said to run from 800 to 1000 pounds
per acre. Instead of six and a half or
seven bales, there will not be more
than five and half bales to the acre
on an average. This, of course, is
guess, as it is impossible to say accur-
ately what the production is until the
tobacco has been baled, but these fig
ures are indicated by the tobacco that
has thus far been taken down. Accord
ing to the above calculation, which
comes from usually Well-informed
source, there ought to be in the neigh
borhood of %, 600 bales of Shadegrown,
counting everything from first to fourth
primings. AS to how much of this will
be prime light wrappers, it is impossi
bic to give an estimate. 1t may be
stated for certainty that there will
be lots of leaves IL, 13 and IA inches
long The 18 inch and 20 inch wrapper
will be in smaller proportion to the to-
tai production than usual, though there
will be some bales of 20-inch wrappers,
and some even % inches. The most
definite opinion that any well-informed
wrapper grower will commit himself to
is that the number of bales of good
wrappers will not be larger than last
years was, in spite of the fact that the
acreage had been nearly doubled
The death knell for the tobacco pool
for the 1916 crop was sounded at re-
cent meeting of the American Society
of Equity in the Owensboro district,
when not enough interest was taken in
the proposition to put it ever. The ex-
perience OF some of the pools in differ
ent parts of the state has not been at
all satisfactory, three or four years in
some cases being required to sell the
tobacco. There are indications that
the pooling of tobacco in Kentucky is
nearing its end. 1t was at the incep-
tion of the movement to pool tobacco
o%o 70 os~ ~,