The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1917-12-12
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE NOTES.

tiOn-Farmers Not Interested i'm
Cooperative Marketing Association.
a. The Chamber of Commerce has re
ceived supply of tobacco seed from
Moore Brothers, of Durham, N. c.,
the lessees of the Sumter Tobacco
Warehouse, which will be distributed
free to those farmers who are pa
irons of the Sumter warehouse or
market next summer. Tobacco grow
ers are urged to call at the Sumter
Chamber of Commerce for seed and
printed instructions how to prepare
beds, fertlize same, and particularly
how to protect beds against freezing
weather.
The varieties of seed are the Long
Leaf Gooch. an ideal seed for sandy
Soils and the Warne variety. Both
of the varieties grow to an unusually
. large size, cure we'll and bring big
prices.
. Tobacco growers are warned of the
importance of amply protecting their
beds from cold, and to guard especial
~ against excessive freezing weather
as it is likely that owing to the un-
precedented demand for tobacco seed
Of the varieties usually planted in this
section, and grave danger of the sup
ply being exhausted at an early date
that it will be impossible to furnish
duplicate amounts of seed for re-seed-
ing beds as has had to be done for
several years past when the beds
were killed By freezing weather.
Hundreds of tobacco growers have
been in the habit of neglecting their
tobacco beds during excessively cold
or freezing weather. and have had TO
re-seed their beds year after year
This causes an unusual delay in get
ting plants out in the spring, ana
causes poor stands and poorly nourish-
ed plants
Judging from the number of to-
bacco warehousemen who wish to
lease n tobacco warehouse in Sumter,
the prospect for high prices for to-
bacco for next two or three years
must be good, as the applicants have
in nearly every instance offered to
take n warehouse on two and three
year leases. The fact that tobacco
buyers are interested in renting
warehouses indicates that they know
. something about the prospective
prices of tobacco for next year OF
o possibly for several years more.
AS warehousemen receive their
compensation in the shape of a per-
centaRe of the amounts received 70,
tobacco by the sellers, the warehouse
men evidently see something good in
l. commissions from high prices or there
D. would not be so many trying to rent
warehouses for next season.
s. The committee of farmers appoint
ed to organize a cooperative produce
. marketing association at the mass
meeting held in the Court House
l about sixty or ninety days ago, re-
ported to the Sumter County Coun-
u Gil of Defense that it seemed impos-
sible to interest farmers in the asso-
citation.
1t seems that farmers are getting
such big prices for everything they
hot
sity for marketing association at
), present But these high prices have
not always been in order, and abnorm-
al demands and excessively high
prices will not always be the order of
the day. Farmers should look ahead
for next summer when they will have
hundreds Of bushels of potatoes, cab
bage, beans, and other produce in ex-
cess of the local demand, and when
they will be abusing the business men
OF Sumter for not buying their pro-
duce for more than the business men
can sell the produce for, and for which
Sumter business men have no calls.
The city of Sumter isn't big enough
to consume all Of the potatoes, beans,
cabbage, and other perishable produce
grown in Sumter county, nor all of
the hogs raised either. So outside
connection or connections must be
made to dispose of thousands of dol
lars worth of produce during the
summer and early fall months.
The Sumter County Council of Dc
'"nse' and the Sumter Chamber Of
commerce are not advising the farm
ers to grow produce for market, or
to sell to the people of Sumter city
but for use on the farms only. or