The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1922-03-10
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES

on a commercial scale, keeps on i'm |
| pressing itself upon the attention of
| the grower and manufacturer alike. |
| Some prominent eastern packers of this |
| leaf go SO far as to predict that this
particular leaf will be the coming wrap
per tobacco, and there are packers and
manufacturers in the west who have
kept watch of the Round Tip and claim
| for it an abundance of virtues. Among
these are members of the Mehl Tobacco
Co., Peoria, ILL., A member of the firm
wrote recently to the Wisconsin Tobac-
co Reporter offering free seed to grow
ers who would like to experiment with
the growing of it during the coming
| season. 1t was tried in small way by
| the horticultural department of the u.
w agricultural school last season; and
the old seed man, w. T. Pomeroy of
Edgerton, will try patch in one of the
best sections of the southern tobacco
area during the coming season. 1t
would not be bad idea for growers in
different sections of the state to try it
out. A few patches in each of the
northern counties might be tried.
| Growers who would care TO make an
honest experiment may communicate
with The Reporter and state how much
seed they need. The plant is grown in
the open, is very tall, has from 20 to 80
leaves to the stalk, and is cultivated
very much like other open field types.
1t is primed. This Is one of the serious
objections to any extensive growing in
this state, at least for time, as the
construction of the barn for Wisconsin
leaf would have to be much altered for
the curing of the Round Tip How
ever, the Wisconsin grower should have
an open mind in the matter and give it |
trial in the different localities, as the
| u. w. experiment station undoubtedly
will go on with its experiments to as
certain what this leaf will do under
climatic. soil and fertility conditions
presented by this state. 1t is but fair
| to add that not all tobacco men are
equally we'll impressed by the excel
lence of this leaf.
The. Wisconsin Tobacco Reporter is
not urging sudden stampede for any
new type of leaf to be grown in this
state. There is so much room for i'm
provement in the best types cultivated
that intelligent and conscientious seed
men and growers can be busy for few
years to come in developing better
qualities in the Spanish strains which
have been planted in the state for
years. The growers naturally are in
tensely interested in the profit side of
any field crop that they put in. They
want as quick and as good returns as
possible for the least possible outlay in
money and time. They grow tobacco
to sell and to make money on it. Any
scientific effort to secure type of to-
bacco that by excellence of quality,
size of leaf and body to go through the
fermentation process safely, takes
somebody's time and somebody's money
before it can reach high state of ex-
cellence This, however, is the only
road to take for the tobacco grower in
this state, if he it to stay in the game
and make it pay, There is every rea-
son to believe that by sticking to the
best types of cigar leaf hitherto devel-
oped in the state, and through selec-
tion and soil improvement this leaf can
be trained in the habits which are most
desired, and on it's merit as cigar leaf
hold it's own in competition with other
leaf for the purposes for which it is
best adapted, binder leaf. The eco
nomic results of such campaign can
not be guaranteed, but the probabili-
ties are that they would not be disap-
pointing. The last two years have
seemed exceedingly dark to the tobacco
grower who had to sell for less than it
cost to produce the crop. One of the
reasons for this feeling of dependency
is the fact that 1918 and 1919 and the
first bloom of 1920 brought prices so
inflated that cent or even Is cent
price seems like nothing The last two
years crops taken together will hardly
bring the state an income equal to the
income of one previous high priced
crop. The reality becomes more dark
because it stands against the blazing
background of the boom years, now re-
membered as wonderful dream, but
) from which so many awoke with the
sensation that we awake from the
most beautiful dreams. Another.
reason for the loss of courage on the
part of many is that the shrinkage in
the income of the money CROP came
on top of the collapse of prices for ev-
cry thing that the farmer had to SELL
Tobacco was the last peg the farmer
pinned his financial hope to; when that
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