Evening star., 1918-08-11
Facts About Tobacco.

--------------
CTATISTICS furnish some queer
~ facts concerning the cultivation
of tobacco in the neighborhood OF
Washington; that IL, the statistics
prove that Virginia produces much
more of the fragrant plant than she
did seventy-fiye years ago. That fact
Is contrary to popular belief. 1t seems
to be generally accepted as fact
that the production OF tobacco has
very materially declined In Washing
toms neighbor states. In Maryland
there has been a small decrease in
tobacco growth. but the current belief
is that Maryland's crop is now but
trife compared with the crop grown
when grandfather was boy.
To make up ones judgment from
the many chronicles of the olden
time the planters in Maryland and
Virginia grew nothing worth speak
ing about except tobacco and that all
the land In those states was under
cultivation. Every now and then one
reads of the decline of Maryland as
a tobacco growing state and yet rs
years ago the crop amounted to
26.251.S $40 pounds and last year 1t was
was 2i.602,600. Those are the official
figures for 1S43 and 1917. respectively.
The figures for Virginia show that In
1S43 she grew crop Of 79.450.192
pounds OF tobacco and in 1917 the crop
weighed 137.2l6.000 pounds.
1t may be reasoned that there is to
be a marked increase in the growth
Of tobacco In this region. but there is
Nnr 70 Int ~ Tha arl iu
demanding more tobacco and the pop
ulation of the world is also increas-
ing.
The United States will probably go
on augmenting Its manufacture of to-
bacco - the making of innumerable
and the making Of cigarettes and ci-
gars. and all this calls for an increase
in the production of American to-
bacco. However, tobacco grows in
nearly every country in the world.
and perhaps as the demand for 1t
of the world outside of the United
States will be put under cultivation in
tobacco. There can be no security
that the United States will hold tho
premiership in the manufacture of to.
bacco for export. Other countries may
develop the industry not only to tho
point OF meeting their own demands.
but also of competing with the United
States in the tobacco export business.
But all that is question of the flu
ture and there Is no way of reading
the future with certainty. The proba-
bilitics. however, seem to be that the
cultivation and manufacture of to-
bacco in the United States will keep
on increasing as 1t has increased In
the past
A fact not generally known to the
men who chew and smoke tobacco is
that Kentucky is the greatest tobac-
co producing state in this country,
growing more than twice as much to-
bacco as her nearest competitor
North Carolina. In that line OF agri-
bacco in Kentucky was 423,529, 900
pounds. while severty-five years ago
she produced 56.67S.674 pounds. North
Carolina. the second tobacco growing
state in the Union. last year pro-
duced 207.S52.0OO pounds, while sew
20.026,S30 pounds.
The most remarkable DEVELOPMENT
of tobacco culture has been In Wis.
consin. Massachusetts. Connecticut,
pennsylvania and one or two other
states. Seventy-flve years ago Wis
consin turned ont only 314 pounds OF
tobacco, according to official figures
and her crop last year was 55642.OO0
pounds. Between 1s43 and 1917 the
tobacco crop In Massachusetts in
SiVascu hS,UVU mounds tn
more than eleven and a half million
pounds; Connecticut rose from about
half million to nearly '35. 900 mn
pounds, and Pennsylvania rose from
$4,000 to very close upon sixty mil
lion pounds.
During the last three Quarters NJ n
century South Carolina has also had
remarkable development as n 10
bacco state. her crop In 1S43 being
1881 pounds. and in 1917 56.415 oO1,
pounds. During the same period Ohio
as tobacco raiser rose from ahout
100000 pounds to $4,000, 900. and In
diana rose from 2,375,365 pounds To
13.142.000 pounds. Seventy-fiye years
ago Missouri produced three times os
much tobacco as she grows TODAY
the figures being 1O7i9,454 pounds in
1913 and 100000 pounds last year
Tennessee increased from ri. 900 600
to S5,000,000 and Florida Increased
her tobacco yield from rs, 900 hounds
to about 3,250,000 pounds Alabama
Louisiana and Arkansas are small
producers of tobacco. In the three
quarters of n century the crop or
Alabama decreased from 2S7. 900
pounds to 135.000, the Louisiana crop
increased from $4,000 to 21S,O00. and
Arkansas increased its tobacco yield