The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1915-05-07

NOTE BOOK SKETCHES

WILL GROWERS HOLD TOBACCO ACRE
AGE DOWN?
Many predict that fewer acres in
Wisconsin will be planted to tobacco
this season than for several years past.
The chief reason for this is that Bad
ger growers have been unable TO move
the 1914 crop to the best advantage
and expect to see present conditions
continue long enough to control the
marketing of this years crop. The
more optimistic have viewed the slump
with less alarm, accounting for it on
the basis that slump of this kind oc-
ours about every five or ten years and
il due sither to a surplus or a general
inferiority in the quality of the crop.
The slight decrease in acreage that
is likely to be made may be good
thing if the present European war con-
tinues much longer. For the low price
of last year can be explained to some
extent by the fact that there was de-
cided decrease in the exporting. Ger
many, to which most of the cigar leaf
is normally shipped, has not been re-
ceiving any of our tobacco since the
war began. Connecticut and Wiscon-
sin each export from three or four mill
lion and from two or three million
pounds respectively and the turning
back of these amounts into the home
markets naturally caused some decrease
in the price.
Recent estimates, compiled by Mr..
George Gary, representative of the P.
Lorillard Co. at Madison, show that, in
Wisconsin, the high prices of 1913
caused an increase in acreage OF about
8 per cent, and this in addition to a
high yield per acre made an incr, ase of
over 10 per cent in actual pounds. The
figures are $4,000, 600 pounds in 1913
and 5000, 900 in 1914. The 1914 crop
was poor in quality as 21, 900, 600 pounds
went into binders and filters and was
packed into cases, while "a, 900, 600
pounds went into stemming and export
goods. Of the 1913 crop, on the other
hand, 10000, 600 pounds were packed as
binders and filters, while only q, 000,
900 pounds were used for stemming and
exporting. These figures show that
there should be ready market for
binders and filters next fall and care
should be taken that not too many
acres are raised by each grower SO that
he will be able to care for it properly
and raise good binders.
What is, then, the right number OF
acres that should be planted this year?
Economists tell us that acreage and
quality should be in the right proper
tion in order tosgain the largest net re-
turns That is to say, the smaller the
number of acres grown the better the
tobacco will be taken care of with con-
sequent better quality of leaf. Five
acres of good tobacco are better than
ten acres of poor. 1t is obvious that
the farmer operating $50 acres of land
can better afford to use the manure
produced on his farm on five acres of
tobacco than to go to the extreme Of
raising fifteen or twenty acres, starv-
ing his other. crops, and in addition re-
ducing the possibility of getting as
good grade of leaf.
Tobacco takes mainly the potash from
the soil, but there is also considerable
phosphoric acid used, and SO raising the
number of acres planted to this crop,
unless commercial fertilizers be sup
piled, depletes the soil of it's plant
growing constituents. On the average,
according to qualified authorities, no
| more than from five to eight acres
should be planted on each farm if the
best results are to be obtained. The
average farm, that is one of about 12O
acres, can we'll afford to raise five acres
and expect to gain the best results,
while the 200 acre farm can produce
eight acres on the same basis, with
proportional labor. AS it is now, some
farms having 200 acres raise twenty or
even thirty acres of tobacco and usually
do not put enough time on it, conse-
quently they do not get the quality of
leaf that they could if they raised a
smaller amount, besides exhausting
their soil of its fertility unless CONNER
cial fertilizers are used.