The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1921-12-09

OrS or the bulletin at between S5U and
500 per acre.
In the matter of seed selection, the
bulletin mentions as the seeds having
produced the best results in this state
are Connecticut Havana, Comstock
Spanish and Connecticut Havana No.
SO. The Resistant Cigar Binder Seed,
strain under development by the Wis
consin Agricultural Experiment Sta
ton, is also mentioned favorably, and
an improved type of this seed is men,
toned as anticipated.
***
The Reporter has given the para
graphs above from the bulletin in order
to give its readers ar idea of some of
the matters treated and the nature of
the treatment, leaving, of course, the
larger portion of the bulletin to be
studied by the interested grower ard
handler of tobacco when he receives a
copy from the department. A request
for copy is all that is needed on the
part of Wisconsin growers.
In future issue The Wisconsin To-
bacco Reporter will print discussion of
che advisability of reducing the tobacco
acreage in the state for the 1922 sea-
son. Conditions which obtain in the
industry today, and which show no sign
for some time to come,
spfompt us TO lay the matter before the
Wisconsin growers.
Rotation of crops as a regular system
is recommended Three years of to-
bacco on the same field, followed by
corn, barley and clover, or, four year
rotation with cover crop of timothy
and clover, the second crop of which
should be plowed under in the fall, be-
fore fitting it for tobacco production
To keep up the fertility 20 tons of barn
yard manure to the acre is put as the
standard for, Wisconsin tobacco soil,
and fall spreading is recommended. Of
the use of commercial fertilizers, the
bulletin says: Commercial fertilizers
can proftably be used alone or in con-
junction with barnyard manure on most
Wisconsin soils. Most of our tobacco
soils respond to fertilization with phos-
phate fertilizers II. On soils relatively
low in fertility it is safest to apply
complete fertilizer, that is, one contain
ing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium
in the proportion of 2-12-2, or a similar
formula.
Speaking of ''The Best Soils" the
bulletin says: 1.-The finest quality of
tobacco is usually grown on the sandy
loam soils cf Wisconsin, when ade-
quately fertiized. Such soils are quite
typical of Vernon and Crawford coun-
ties. In the southern district tobacco
is grown on light clay loan and on
black prairie loans. These soils are
usually higher in natural fertility and
produce larger yield per acre, but
| frequently higher percentage of dark
er and heavier leaf. New soils of this
type, however, or soils properly man.
aged so as to keep up the vegetable
matter, produce tobacco of a very de-
sirable quality. The growing of tobac-
co on heavy clays or On muck or peat
soils should not be attempted.
Under the topic, Good Handling I'm
portant," the bulletin makes the fol-
lowing general statement: 1.-The grow
er may do as much at stripping time as
in any other stage of handling the crop
in increasing its market value. Special
care should be taken not to get the leaf
into too high case, since this is almost
certain to result in damage either in
the growers or the packers hands,.
In addition to this all damaged or poor
grades should be removed The grow
er soon establishes reputation as
good or poor handler of tobacco, and
this eventually reacts on the price
paid.
The enormous growth of the cigarette
production in this country during the
past twenty years, an increase OF 1910
per cent, is undoubtedly responsible, at
least to considerable extent, for the
slow growth in the cigar production, IL
per cent in twenty years. The use of
cigarettes even in the cigar leaf Sec
tions has increased by leaps and bounds
and the consumption of cigars has to
that extent been reduced, That the
cigar leaf industry from the bottom up
needs to sit in and take counsel how to
start the tide going the other way re-
quires no argument.