The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-09-20

crop for years to come is safe
bet.
It can, not be successfully dis
puted that this summer tobacco Of
even medium quality, properly
graded, cleaned of sand, and prop
erly tied brought profit-making
prices, and that the better grades
on both the Independent markets
and cooperative association mar
kets brought what farmers called
fancy prices, and much more
than. the average prices for years
past, medium grades bringing from
sixteen to twenyt-three cents and
the better, well cured and well
graded qualities selling from thirty
to fifty cents a pound. Even the
trashy" or sand lugs" and
.scorched and green tobacco sold
for-one to two hundred percent
more this year than the average
prices for several years on both in-
dependent and cooperative markets.
Ina conference with several lead
ing business men and farmers Of
Sumter. few days ago was told
of an important movement to get
our Sumter county banks and
merchants, large land owners ant
other business and professional
men and women to join together to
raise money with which to sen1p1cy
practical and experienced tobac-
co demonstration to come to Sum-
ter county in December 1922, to
show our farmers how to prepare
tobacco beds, prepare tobacco
lands, set out plants, cultivate,
harvest ard cure tobacco. 11r. r.
E. Belser is the leader IN this very
sensible movement and I will not
dwell further on the details Of this
plan to secure a tobacco expert,
leaying further information to him,
except to say that it looks like a
very wise thing to do.
Thousands of acres of splendid
bright leaf tobacco producing lands
are available in every part of Sum
ter county, some lands being adapt
ed to one variety and some lands
to other varieties Of tobacco. This
has been said by many experienced
tobacco producers and warehouse
managers and by numerous tobac-
co buyers representing tobacco eX-
porting and domestic tobacco com A
panies. About all that is necessary
to find out what lands are suitable
for certain varieties is to get one
or more experienced tobacco dem
onstrators who know something
about tobacco to put in all OF his
time in the country districts for
eight months, investigating, visit
ing our farmers, and talking with
the farmers and then staying .'1n
the stix" until tobacco selling time
showing the farmers what to do to
produce a tobacco crop that viii
sell next su inner. This tobacco
demonstrator in addition to visiting
individual farms can hold num-
Der of community meetings in ev-
cry township and school district
and backed up by the presence Of
leading land owners and experience
ed Sumter county farmers who pro-
duce tobacco; and by numbers Of
Sumter's merchants and bankers
and by numbers of country mer-
hants also, he can reach thousands
Of tenant farmers and other kinds
of farmers who need information
regarding the production and cur
ing and marketing of tobacco and
we can make splendid start to-
wards creating in Sumter county, a
profitable tobacco industry and
building up a large tobacco mar
kee in Sumter to take the place OF
cotton.
It has been also suggested that
a special expert. practical demon
strator be employed who viii de
vote his entire time and attention
to instructing such farmers as
may need instruction, and there are
thousands who do need such infor-
nation, how to diversity their farm
productions. Mr.. Belser also has
this movement in hand for presen-
tation to Sumter and Sumter cou::-
tvs business men. As Mr. beiser
is a very busy man trying to solve
his own boil weevil and otaer
troubles, and i1fasmuch as Sam
ter county has always granted me
the privilege of "butting in when
ever and wherever / think it we'll
to butt in. I am merely trying 10
give preliminary sketch of his
plans for everybody to think about
when he gest ready to start NOV
ing the movement. T also haze in
direct, but serious boil weevil
troubles and so has every other
man, and every other woman in
Sumter county, but many don't
know it yet. but they will fully
realize it before long. Many think
ing citizens are OF the opinion thu.
these whose opinions are to the eff
feet that cotton can be continued
as the chief money crop Of Sumter
county are 1aboring under serious
misapprehensions. We may or may
not make half crop Of cotton, bat.
with intelligent work and good sea-
SONS we do stand a chance of max