The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1920-12-04
e,lsaI lbef of Comitaerce
Urging Tobacco as. Substitute
For Cotton Planting

The sumter Chamber Of Commerce
IS urging planting of tobacco for 1921
as an important substitute cash crop
Tor cotton. Tobacco is certainly as
profitable a crop as cotton although
neither of these products have proved
very profitable this year. But times
ana conditions arc never the same for
amy great ,ongth Of time. and as the
Gotten acreage will be forcibly and
greatly reduced aeXt year, tobacco
seems to be the best understood cash
crop for the MASSES Of the farmers.
Many farmers however made goo0
! prolliS on tobacco this wear. That
proves there is mon9y III tobacco. IL
Is thought that every farmer. large
and small, should certainly try limited
aCreaScS of tobacco during 1921. The
| pahk", supply merchants, land own
cfS, and all business men should ad-
N0'ate tobacco for the coming year.
Nearly every farmer knows something.
anu hundreds are experienced tobac-
{" 2''Wtrs or profitable scale
The annual free distribution of to-
/ b2Vco seed Is of more importance this
fall than ever before Heretofore
/ hoorc Brothers and other lessees Of
the Farmers Tobacco warehouse com
pany building have supplied the sum
/ 'cl Chamber Of Commerce with all
! 'he seed necessary for free distribu-
! 'l"h because the buying Of tobacco
| Ac|d in small quantities is not only
very expensive but the majority of to-
! h0cco growers know not where 70
loru"r seed, and will not bother To or
! der seed for preparing and planting
! thcW tobacco beds which are planted
during December and January. most
of ihc beds being planted in Decem
| ber.
secretary Reardon has taken up
! WIN .hossrS X. Is. and Lee Knott.
! t'c i"sSCV3 Tor 1921 Of the Peoples
| TOBACCO warehouse cOmpany's build
ing the matter Of suppiyn. seed as
| thcre Is no lessee for the Farmers To-
! bacco warehouse for 1921 as vet. al
though there are several applicants
| for same.
IL has been customary for many
years on every South Carolina tobacco
Nnnarket for the warehouses to sunni,
| 'fee TOBACCO seed. Thousands Of
farmers expect this custom to continue
ana hundreds will not bother to order
seed themselves. Purchasing seed in
wholesale lots from the most reliable
seed houses insures the very best Of
seed at greatly reduced cost over in
diNldual purchases, and its free dis
trlbution by the Chamber of Com
merce during the past six years has
greatly encouraged the planting OF to-
bacco.
| II the Messrs. Knots do not
agree to supply the seed then some
means of securing seed must be ar
ranged for or there will be either great
/ curtaIimcnt of tobacco acreage or.
! 7uinter's tobacco warehouse custom
ci's VIII secure their seed from other
lopacco markets. Hundreds of pack
ages OF tobacco seed are annually
lnailod out from the Sumter, Cham
! Der OF Commerce and about two
thousand farmers annually apply at
| The organizations offices for seed
something should undoubtedly be
done immediately TO secure the nee
eSsary amount Of seed for free distri-
| button.
The sumter tobacco market will bc
equipped next summer with the most
| modern equipped tobacco stemmery
ana steam drying plant in South Car
oIlAa, and the China-Amcrican Tobac-
co and Trading company have their
| Hihchinefy stored in Sumter for
| months awaiting the completion of
the atcmnery buildings which will be
ilhlShcd in ample time for next years
cop as only Il little remains to ibc
! "ohc To make the buildings ready for
| me necessary machinery. About
Nv" hundred hands will be employed
| iof rom seven to ten months mex
%caF' and possibly for tWrlvo month,
( @WihS Ia the size OF the tobacco cron
nlS ln3ures about a twenty per cent
increase IN local prices for tobacco.
ana creates additional competition nor
heretofore enjoyed here. ana guarar-
! ''cS IN" keeping open of the 1921
'obacco season indefinitely and farm
crS WIZ nave more time to nut mon.
TOBACCO IN marketable shape ana to
hoid as long as possible.
HE cutting Of the acreage in NurtI,
carolina. Virginia and other tobacc.
states by association efforts to insure
h2hcr prices Will help South CaroIiu,
! prices IT is bclivecd j. cur tobacco is
| properly cured TO color and clean
| When marketed, The curing is thu
biggest factor III . sting big prices.
|