The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-01-23
TOBACCO INDUSTRY
IN KENTUCKY FAR
AHEAD OF NORMAL
Crop in Blue Grass Region
Has Brought 80 Cents a
Pound.

Kentucky farmers, who raise ap-
proximately one-third of the tobac-
co produced in the United States and
about one-tenth of the crop produced
in the world, are enjoying the unusual
position of marketing for record
breaking size, writes the u Louisville
correspondent of the Associated
Press. 80 ~ 81
In addition to being one of the
largest crops ever produced in this
state, Kentucky's output this year is
Of unusual quality. Leaf, Tugs and
| trash, as they are called in the ter
minology of the tobacco trade, are
of the finest character. The leaf to-
bacco is long clear leaf which comes
from the middle Of the plant; Jugs
are the heavy leaves, possibly spot
ted by the soil which has been splash
ed on them by rain, which grow at
the bottom; while, trash is made up
Of small immature leaf at the top Of
the plant.
So good has the quality been that
farmers are becoming accustomed
to receiving proportionately higher
prices for the poorer grades than
they do for the best. These poorer
grades are essential to the produc-
tured tobacco, and the bidding for
them has been keen. Even frosted
tobacco, which in former years sold
for one or two cents pound and
was used only for the making of an
extract shipped abroad to be used in
terrifying certain sorts of foreign to-
baccos, are bringing prices farmers
would have been glad to obtain for
trash of the first grade last year.
White Burley, $16 Per 100.
Within recent years Kentucky
farmers have received an average
price for all qualities of white bur-
ley, the backbone of the tobacco
crop in this state, Of about $40 a
hundred pounds. Sales on the va
rious markets this year have been
at an average price of SIG to $3.50
a hundred pounds. The crop OF white
hurley this year will run we'll over
00,00O,o0O pounds.
Tobacco produced in the, "Black
Patch" or the dark tobacco region
of western and southern Kentucky.
even more remarkable than that
scored by the hurley of the "Blue
Grass section.
FTyOr Leaf sDOuOlcS.
"Pryor leaf" for which the farm
er within recent years was glad to
get an average price of five to six
cents pound, is now selling at ap-
proximately twelve cents a pound
Within the last few days, one
farmer sold his crop on the Owens
boro market at an average price of
thirty cents pound, breaking all
previous records, it is said, for prices
paid for this character of tobacco.
AS a result of these conditions mill
lions of pounds of tobacco are being
rushed to market by the farmers of
the state each week, and it is esti-
mated by tobacco men that farmers
have now released a greater portion
of their crop than has been out of
their hands at this season for many
years.
Much of this tobacco is sold on
the floors of s,nall "loose leaf" ware
houses In the smaller towns, where
the weed is sorted as to quality and
displayed in open baskets for the in
spection of buyers.
About 200,O00,OO0 pounds of to-
bacco is sold each year on the Louis
Vile breaks in hogsheads This
tobacco is sold on the basis of a.
sample drawn unfortunately from
the interior of the hogshead. Much
of the tobacco bought on the loose
leaf floors is packed in hogsheads
and resold on the breaks" In adj
dition a large quantity of Kentucky
tobacco goes to the market at Gin
cinnati.