The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1922-02-17
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES

That the Wisconsin cigar leaf at
present is holding the center of the
stage is admitted also in the markets
of the East. The fact that the manu-
facturers have been slow in coming in
to the market to raplenish their dimin-
ishing stock has been no indie alton of
their actual need of Wisconsin leaf.
The last year. of course, brought with
1t a curtailment of cigar consumption,
and the manufacturers did not need as
much leaf as they would have had to have
if demand had oeen as brisk as during
the boom period preceding the slump;
bat ii has been known that sooner or
later they would have to come to it in
order to meet even the reduced demand
for cigars.
The 1920 Wisconsin harvest was short
in cigar leaf sizes. The hope in the
1921 to produce large amount of bind
ers is now pretty well dissipated, and
the activity in recent weeks of the Ros-
enwald Co. and other large manufac-
turing concerns to secure large stock
of northern 1921 leaf confirms the opin-
ion which The Reporter has voiced
right along that the manufacturing in
dustry would wake up some day to the
realization that the two years of yield
Of Wisconsin, tobacco would prove a
comparatively limited amount of fancy
binder types.
/ The buyers who have been riding this
fall all report plenty of large tobacco,
but limited amount of the quality"
type, so limited in fact that the stem
ming concerns have been browsing in
the abundance of tobacco ready to fall
into their very arms, at their own fig
ures, 5 to cents.
/ While the situation has its bitter ex-
periences for the grower who did not
have the quality type, it has it's re-
aeeming features also. The lowgrade
stuff is being cleaned up, both the 1920
and the 1921. The tobacco of the 1920
harvest is not fully taken, but it is safe
TO say that what is LETT is bare rem
nant of the crop, and with the present
activity of the large stemming COM
panies in operation during another
month, the amount left in first hands
will not be sufficient to worry the to-
bacco producers.
There is nothing to philosophize about
in this situation. Conditions have con-
tributed to make the slide possible The
stemmers have realized that at the
prices for which the tobacco could be
bought they did not run risk in stock
ing up; and the growers finding them
selves in possession of an abundance of
common tobacco, and having been
forced by the dehation process, which
struck agriculture quicker and harder
than any other industry, to adjust
themselves to new conditions, they de-
cided to unload at a sacrifice as quickly
as possible, knowing that it had to be
made anyway.
Here is where the silver lining comes
in The 1920 and 1921 crops Of tobacco
are going TO be out of the way before
another harvest is on. The unexpected
has happened. At least that is the way
it looks now. If someone made guess
that fully one-half of the 1921 crop has
been contracted for already, no one
needs be surprised if the facts would
verify the guess. If the country could
be cleaned up of it's present stock, or
nearly so, this would have a tendency
to clear the boards for action for an
other year.
Supposing that by the first of May so
much of the tobacco has moved away
from the farms that it is evident to
everybody that only small remnant is
| left in the hands of the growers what
tendency would this have upon the
| acreage of 1922?
Under normal conditions of cost of
labor and fertilizer, tobacco can be
grown for 10 to Is cents at profit
| which, though small, is safe. The
| farmer who has sheds and equipment
| to grow tobacco, and has acquired the
habit of growing it, may be tempted to
go at 1t again, even though he sold at
cents and lost money this year Human
nature is an incalculable quantity. A
| grower who sold for 123 and last week
made the statement that he would in
crease the acreage on his farm next
year, because he did SO we'll this year.
The man who sold for sc may feel that
he ought to gamble on the 123c yield In
1922 and retrieve his losses of this year.
Who can tell? It is at all events a
point in favor of acreage if the grow
ers have sold their old tobacco That
fact may block the best arguments
which reason would put up against a
large acreage next year. We shall see.
| But whatever is done this year, every
| grower should make it point not to
grow any more than he can give the
best soil, the best fertility, the best
| care both in the field and after it has
been harvested. Furthermore, his
choice of seed should be made with the
greatest discrimination. Breed for
quality, work soil for quality, cultivate
plant for quality and handle for quality
for quality and price, not for weight
and bulk. If that spirit seizes the Wis
consin grower, the acreage will take
care of itself Tobacco growing will
not be attempted on unfit soils, and