The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1921-02-04
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES


century. The soil which is suitable for
it has not become exhausted, the de-
mand for Wisconsin binder leaf has not
deere ased, and the return to the grow
er, wi lie variable in the amount of net
profit from year to year, has been sat
isfactory enough to keep the old grow
ers constantly in line with new crop
to sell every season, and new men have
come into the industry year after year,
increasing the acreage until during the
past year over so, 900 acres of the plant
were cultivated in the state. The last
years have brought exceptionally high
prices, and though the cost of growing
tobacco has increased vastly, it has not
increased perceptibly more proportion
ately than that of growing other staple
crops. Tobacco has been great econ
omic asset to the sections of the state
where soil and climate are suitable, and
has been the means of putting many
man who started with little, where he
could accumulate enough to become
substantial owner of valuable land and
other property. 1t has furnished a
large amount of labor to men and
women in all the towns and villages
where tobacco has been handled, and
the taxes assessed upon the business Of
the industry in these towns have yield
ed large revenue for public improve
ment The farmers who have followed
tobacco culture as branch of their
agricultural development have grad
ually become proficient in its culture,
and are becoming. more SO every year
as their experience grows, and as the
study of soil, fertilizers, seed selection
and the prevention of. plant disease,
carried on at the state experiment sta
tion, assist them in intelligent care of
soil and the plant from the seed bed
till it hangs in the she'd The high
prices paid during the last years have
tempted many to grow tobacco on soils
not we'll adapted for it; others have eX-
panded the acreage beyond their ability
to keep up its proper fertility. These
have suffered corresponding reverses,
especially in seasons like last summer
AMhen protracted droughts prevailed.
Tobacco raising should not be gone into
to any considerable extent, except
where the quality of the soil and the
ability to furnish proper fertilizers are
present, otherwise disappointments are
likely to follow. And there is ample
acreage both in the southern and north
ern areas Of the state where conditions
are right for successful tobacco cul-
ture. Here thu farmers can go into it,
and reap fair returns for their labors.
Really intensive tobacco farming has
not been done in this state as yet; the
best results in size and quality of leaf
have not been reached, except where
conditions naturally favored the pro-
duction of such crop, and then acci-
dent rather than design brought the de-
sired harvest. Barring hail storms,
| grasshoppers, frosts and unusually
heavy winds, the grower should grad
ually be able to produce the kind of
leaf he sets out to plant, and be rela-
| lively certain of the results. The Wis
| consin binder fills place in the manu-
| facture of cigars that other leaf has
not been able to fill, and the effort on
| the part of the growers should be to
produce leaf that the manufactures
| must have to give him the cigar that
| the discerning smoker wants. AS 1T is
with the grower in Wisconsin, thus it
| is with the labor who handles the crop
in the warehouses; there is in the to-
| bacco growing sections now stock of
| experienced men and women who are
| proficient in the work, and they can be
| depended upon to turn out product
that is serviceable for the cigar manu-
| facturer. These facts should not be
forgotten, though Encouragement has
| sprung up because certain portion of
the 1920 crop has not as yet found a
| market Tobacco culture has made
| good in Wisconsin,; it has come, and
come to stay. 1t may have to take its
| reverses now and then, but the intelli-
gent and progressive grower and han
dler of tobacco leaf will find way
around these difficulties and make the
tobacco crop, as a binder proposition,
as safe and as dependable as any other
crop suited to the climate and soil of
the state.
The Agricultural Appropriation bill
has been reported to the House of Rep
resentatives, carrying items of $50, 900
| under the Bureau of Plant Industry for
investig and Improvement OF to-
bacco and the methods of tobacco pro-
duction and handling, and $3.50, 900
under the Bureau of Entomology, of