The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1917-09-14
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES

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An early September frost, the last
bit of calamity of disappointing sea-
son, has given the Wisconsin tobacco
growers the hardest jolt they have
ever received The seven million dol
lars which cur farmers hoped would be
paid for the 1917 crop if delivered at
contract price, has shrunk to unknown
figures for Jack Frost has spilled the
beans, so to speak. A drop in tenn
perature on Sunday and Monday nights
to the freezing point and thousands OF
acres of unharvested tobacco have been
ruined for cigar leaf purposes. The
northern sections of course were more
severely hurt and almost everywhere
north of Dane county the leaves are
blackened and hang limp on the stock.
In Rock only the fields on low ground
show much marking from the frost.
But good proportion Of the crop is
yet green and only with good weather
conditions will it be able to reach the
sheds. Had the tobacco been ripper it
would have withstood frosts better.
From the Vernon county section comes
the report that the damage is very
great as we'll as in the counties still
farther north. No such widespread in
jury to tobacco, corn, potatoes anG
other late crops from frosts has &C.
Cured in late years, and it is no con-
ISOLATION to add that the loss of the corn
crop far exceeds that of tobacco. The
stemmers will now have an opportunity
to rebuy quite portion of the frost
bitten and hailed leaf and we learn
they are already in the field.
~
AS further particulars reach US OF
the extent of the hail storm mentioned
last week it becomes evident that our
estimate of the damage sustained to
the tobacco crop of 1000 acres was far
too small. The area covered by two
separate hail storms, the first in the
vicinity of Cambridge extending from
near Cottage Grove eastward across
part of three townships in a strip vary
ing from one to three miles in width in
heavy growing district, and the Sec
ond from near Oregon east across the
TOWNS of Porter, Fulton and portion
of Milton in Rock county stretch of
about fifteen miles and a width of at
least couple of miles at it's greatest
breadth, is larger than is usually COW
cred by such storms. Several places
the track of the storm hail fell in such
quantities as to strip the leaves from
the stalk. The damage to the tobacco
crop therefore owing to the high prices
at which it had been contracted for
will doubtless exceed that of any pre-
vious hail storms in the state. Wher-
ever insurance had been taken settle
ments have been effected mainly at the
full amount of the insurance written.
In the two counties above mentioned
probably not less than 1000 acres have
been more or less injured by hail. Re-
ports of still another hailed district in
the Kickapoo Valley about Soldiers
Grove effecting several hundred acres
more which added to the injury by the
earlier storms will bring the percent
age of the crop effected by hail well up
toward the average of other years.
Much of the tobacco only partly dam
aged will be taken over by the stem
mers as has lately been done when dis
asters of this nature overtake the fields
so it is difficult to estimate what the
monetary loss will reach which of
course will be large.
The losses which the Hartford In
surance Co. will be called to pay in
Wisconsin on hail indemnity this sea-
son is quite likely to put a final crimp
in hail insurance on tobacco. The COM
pany sustained enormous losses in the
Connecticut Valley already. So far
hail insurance in Wisconsin which was
largely experimental, has proven un-
profitable after three years experience.
While the Hartford company is abund-
antly able to meet all it's losses it seems
extremely doubtful if it will want to
continue to write hail risks on tobacco
for the hazard is altogether too great.
***
The total revenue received by the
Government from the cigar, cigarette
and tobacco industries during the past
fiscal wear amounted to S1O3. POI. .592.