The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1919-06-20

the packers of caring for this amount
of tobacco. In a season where labor
has been scarce and the packers found
it difficult to handle their purchases,
this has been great help. The cost
of packing this season has been ab-
normally high and if the farmers have
been careful about the selection of to-
bacco to be handled and have good
serviceable binders to offer the trade,
they will doubtless find that eventually
they will receive fair profit in pre-
pairing their tobacco for market. There
are evidences of improved conditions in
the binder market and all of the avail
able binder stock will be wanted. Ex-
port demand is opening up for Wiscon-
sin leaf.
Unless all signs fail the 1919 tobacco
crop will be transplanted in the fields
at much earlier date than any other
crop grown in Wisconsin. This comes
about because of the phenomenal
growth of the plants which have actual
ly forced growers to transfer the plants
to the field or lose them entirely. There
have been enough plants thrown away
this season to reset the entire acreage of
the state because they have reached a
size too large to be used in the trans
planter. Usually the fourth week in
June is heavy week in getting the
plants into the field, which has moved
up this year to somewhere between the
second and third week. How the acre
age of the present season compares
with that of year ago cannot yet be
foretold. Some growers claim that the
full amount of intended acreage is out
and no shortage will occur Certainly
the weather conditions have been fav-
orable for getting the full intended
acreage into the field. AS is usually
the case in wet seasons, cut worms are
reported to be working quite exten-
sively. The most effective way of
combating these pests is through the
poison course. A solution Of paris
green mixed with bran or finely cut
clover scattered about the field gener-
ally puts an end to their depredations.
The great objection to this method is
that poultry and birds will suffer if
permitted to visit the poisoned fields.
-
With the transplanting season at
hand, and in Connecticut already well
advanced, less talk is heard of acreage
reduction. In commenting on the pos
sibility of curtailment by the grow
ers of the tobacco area, one prominent
Water Street packer said: Talk of
any material reduction in tobacco acre
age this year is absurd. What other
crop could these farmers plant which
would yield anything like the return of
tobacco? Taking the country as a
whole, the tobacco growers averaged
as great a profit on the 1913 crop as on
any crop in the history of the tobacco
industry. Wisconsin and Connecticut
growers have Jared even better than
they did in 1917. In Ohio and Pennsyl
vania, while they fell somewhat below
the abnormally profitable returns of
1917, they are still certain of a hand
some return. Is it reasonable 20 sup
pose that because the farmers see no
possibility of two or three hundred
per cent profit on this years crop that
they will refuse to produce normal
crop of product, which, even at
greatly reduced prices, is reasonably
certain OF yielding return far greater
than anything else they could grown
~
According to reports received by the
Department Of Commerce from the
American Trade Commissioner at Stock
holm, Sweden, under date of March IA,
1919, there Is an absolute lack of raw
materials for the tobacco industry OF
Germany, causing 5000 cigar factories
to close. The number of employees In
the entire industry has been reduced
from 100000 in 1916 to 80, 900 in 1919.
1t is reported that the prices of tobacco
reached unparalleled heights. Growers
received SO. 259 per pound for round or
pointed leaves, and $0.237 for the low
est leaves. Tobacco which before the
war would have been almost unstable.
brought $0.19 per pound. The retail
prices of manufactured tobacco az
given in few advertisements quoted
from various German papers reflect the
high prices. Cigarettes ranged from
$5.T TO $47.50 per 1000, and cigars
from SO. 1875 to SOL each. At present
the Netherlands cannot be depended
upon as formerly for tobacco, and dur
ing the transition period Germany will
have to rely upon tobacco substitutes
which, however, can be used only to q
limited extent in cigars.