The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1918-09-20
NOTE sook SKETCHES


The pesky grasshopper has done more
damage to the present tobacco crop
than all the hail storms so far this sea-
son and they are even more numerous
and ravenous as the harvest is nearing
a close. Something like $4,000 has
been paid Wisconsin growers this year
for hail losses, but this is only small
fraction of the injury done the crop by
the hoppers. Many fields have been so
badly eaten as to preclude its useful
ness for binders and CHASING it only as
stemming tobacco. A warm August
Matched out countless brood of hop
pers that swarmed over the fields that
were bordered by grain or grass and
the longer the tobacco remained unhar
vested the greater the damage done the
crop until it can safely be said that no
season in late years has this pest been
more troublesome While the grower
can obtain indemnity from hail. there
is nothing to protect him against the
nervousness of the grasshoppers.
About the best thing he can do is to ar
range to have his tobacco fields as far
away from hay or grain as possible or
surround the tobacco by few rows of !
corn as many growers have learned to
do.
The joint crop report issued by the |
department of agriculture and the bu-
reau of crop estimates, of the United |
States department of agriculture, says, |
in part: The condition of corn on Sept. |
l is estimated at 81 per cent of normal, |
compared to II per cent last year and
ten year average of 79 per cent. A 100 |
per cent crop of tobacco is being putin |
the sheds 1t is the best in many |
years and harvest is in full swing. The |
condition Sept. last year was 80 per
cent of normal The total probable |
production this year is estimated at |
rs, 933, 900 pounds.
1t is a somewhat singular coincident |
that field buying of the 1918 tobacco
crop has so far been confined to the
binder states es-New England, New York
and Wisconsin. In the filler states,
notably Pennsylvania and Ohio, prac-
tically none of the new crop has yet
been lifted The natural query is, if |
tobacco is such scarce article why
these states have not yet been touched?
Possibly the following quotation from
an eastern exchange may throw some
light on the subject: The effect of the
big production this year-now almost
as sure as if the tobacco were in the
barns-has already been felt in the
leaf market Three months ago the
manufacturers had to come to the pack
ers and ask for tobacco as a matter of
favor, almost; now the approach is the
other way. The manufacturers are the
ones who are receiving visitors and it
is said tnat they can get tobacco at a
price that is considerably shaded as
against those asked few months ago. /
The warning appeal by the New York
Leaf Tobacco Board of Trade to the
trade to take immediate precaution
against the possibility of serious tie
up in leaf tobacco and cigar shipments
throughout the United States, if orders
are not placed for shipping prior to
October first, is such timely measure
that it should be needed at once. AS
the transportation companies have no.
titled New York shippers of leaf to-
bacco including the board that after
October first rail and water facilities
of transportation will, in all probable
ity, be required almost exclusively for
war essentials and life necessities the
difficulties of shipping and receiving
leaf tobacco by the leaf houses and
cigar factories throughout the country
and their consequence for carrying on |
the holiday business can easily be i'm
agined if the purpose of the official
notification is carried out. Federal
boards in cheese times are not indulging
IN issuing orders to remain dead let
ter. The question, however, may be
fairly argued whether leaf tobacco does
not actually belong also to the essen
tial commodities classified as war me-
cessities. To Judge from the enormous
quantities of manufactured tobacco,
cigarettes and cigars contracted for by
our Government for the use of our
millions of soldiers in camps and on the
fighting front and from the published
acknowledgement by our leading gen.
erals that tobacco products are as es-
sential for the qualification of our
fighting forces as food-stuff, should
there be no way of granting the raw
leaf the same preference of shipment
as to the other war material? For If
cigar and tobacco factories cannot re-
ceive their raw leaf which is housed !
chiefly in the packing houses of the diff
ferent leaf-raising states, how could
they possibly supply the manufactured
product for our army and navyf This .
point may have some weight with the {
authorities and lead to treat the ship {
ment of leaf tobacco as an essential