The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1915-12-10
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES


for the better lots of the 1915 crop that
are expected to yield fair proportion
of binder stock indicate that If the
state had been favored with crop of
normal quality the growers would have
very little reason to complain OF the
returns obtained. 1t all goes to con-
firm the general belief that good tobac-
co will always. command satisfactory
prices. It is we'll known that the grow
ing season in 1915 was beset with more
obstacles than was probably ever be-
fore experienced in this state, but such
an exceptional year comes only once or
twice in a generation, so we must make
the best of it and if imbued with the
holiday spirit be thankful that it was
no worse 1t is probable that only
small proportion of the present crop
will bring anything like the top figures
quoted in the early sales. But there
are some symptoms that foreign coun-
tries are needing Wisconsin leaf and
even the hail-cut and damaged leaf
may supply their requirements, and II
so the cheaper grades are quite likely
to bring more than the present quota
tons for stemming stock.
- -
IA report Of the Soil survey of Dane
county, Wisconsin, conducted by the
United States Department of Agricul-
,ture in connection with the Wisconsin
kT~% %,y,p "a
has just been published by the Depart
ment of Agriculture. In general, says
the report, the agriculture of Dane
county is in a high state OF develop
ment. Greater attention to the sys-
tematic rotation of crops is needed IN
general in order to secure the comblna-.
tion best suited to soil conditions on the
farm. More thorough methods OF cul-
tivation, especially of intertilled crops,
would aid in conserving soil moisture.
Attention is also called to the need for
better selection of seed. At the present
time the most common type OF agricul-
ture in Dane county is general farming
in conjunction with dairying. A num-
Der of special crops, however, among
which tobacco is by far the most i'm
portant, also receive considerable at
tention In the production Of tobacco
Dane county leads the state. Most of
the crop is sold as binder tobacco for
from to IA cents a pound, and the re-
mainder, about Is per cent of the crop,
for filler. The Darlington and the
Mlami silt loans are used most extern
sively for this purpose, the choicest to-
bacco land appearing to be near areas
of Darlington fine sandy loan where
there is just little sand mixed with
the silt. A common practice is to ap-
ply from 20 to 40 loads of manure to
every acre, which uses up all the man
ure produced on the average farm in
the tobacco section. The remainder of
the farm is, therefore, not manured at
all. Fields once heavily fertilized in
this way are usually left in tobacco for
a number of years, but the necessity OF
shortening this period is now being gen.
orally recognized. To obtain the best
results, tobacco should not be grown on
the same field longer than from three
to five years. 1t is customary to fol-
low this crop with corn for one or two
years, and then TO seed the field down
for several years. In summing up the
agricultural conditions of the county,
the report states that the tendency is
toward following better methods Of
cultivation, fertilization, and seed Sc
lection, and that, as a result of this
advance in scientific farming, crop
yields are being increased and agricul-
ture is coming to occupy higher plane.
-
The news that England had decided
to allow tobacco to be shipped to Hol-
land without the Intervention of the
Overseas Trust is good news for the
exporters, so far as it goes. 1t SO hap
pens, however, that there is such a
congestion of freight awaiting ship
ping, arrangements for which had been
made under the old system, that no
additional shipments can be made for
the next two months. In other words
there is now lying in New York enough
freight to fill all the boats that will ply
between this country and Europe until
February. This situation is embar-
RAISING and annoying not only TO the
tobacco exporters but to every indus
try that engages in export business,
and to the Eastern railroads besides.
The Lackawana has already refused to
accept any more freight from interior
points for export. The Pennsylvania,
it is said, has box cars tied up on sid
ings for distance of three hundrsd
miles from New York, all of them filled
with freight intended for export. The
New York warehouses and the docks
and freight Offices are filled to over
flowing. The worst congestion of
freight the country ever saw prevails
in New York at the present time. As
is natural under these circumstances,
steamship freight rates are soaring,
especially the rates from America to
the other side. The rate on freight
coming to this country from Europe,
while much higher than in normal
times, is still comparatively reasonable.
The rates on freight originating in this
country and being exported to Europe
are not only exorbitant but in some in
stances prohibitive. On Tuesday of
this week the rate was fifty cents per
cubic foot. The rate has been in the
neighborhood of forty-one cents per
cubic foot At the latter rate the
charge for carrying case Of tobacco
would be around S12. As most Of the