The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1922-09-08
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES


weather crop. If the weather contin-
ues dry during the next weeks the
proper curing of the leaf will depend
upon the condition of the shed. If given
too much air the leaves will dry but not
go through that process of curing so
desirable in order TO turn ont fine
leaf. All tobacco growers know that a
certain process of chemical changes
takes place in the leaf during the cur
ing progress. II this does not take
place the leaf gets lifeless and leathery
when going into case. The sap in the
stalk as the curing changes take place
is converted into certain amount of
life for the leaf. Tobacco grown in
dry weather has the sap in lesser de-
gree than tobacco pushed by an abun-
dance of moisture and driving growing
weather. To conserve the moisture in
the stalk of dry weather crop the
drying out should not be hastened, but
rather retarded. 1t is customary in
dry weather curing seasons to dampen
the floor in the shed in order that. con-
tinual evaporation from the damp
ground may rise through the shed. It..
of course, depends upon the location of
the shed as to the amount of moisture
held by the ground, but until ample
rains fall, and even after, the keeping
of the sheds closed will assist proper
curing.
An article by P. V. Hoyle in the To-
bacco Leaf last week gives sympa-
thetic and broad consideration to the
cooperative marketing organization of
the growers in Connecticut. The Con-
necticut pool is organized on the same
general lines followed by the Wisconsin
growers in their pooling program, and
the end sought is the same in Con-
necticut as it is in Wisconsin. What
Mr.. Hoyle says is therefore per-
tinent to the pool situation as whole.
The writer in the Leaf has endeavored
to learn the point of view of the grow
ers as we'll as of the packers, brokers
and manufacturers in the New England
tobacco areas affected. His investiga-
tions are summed up in two paragraphs
which in general way characterize
the policies and principles of the pool
when in operation. He says:
/. Every effort will be made to util-
ize, so far as it is considered consistent
with the integrity of the pool itself.
the existing avenues OF distribution and
the current customs of trade.
2 The pool managers will not at
tempt to exploit or capitalize unduly
the power which automatically comes
to them through their control Of the
sale of Is per cent of the tobacco
grown in New England.
In discussing these points he SAYS:
The directorate of the association,
already elected, constitutes character,
breadth of business experience and
knowledge of how to achieve things, an
aggregation of talent that would grace
the management of many of the lead
ing banks. Many of them are bank
directors and officials of we'll managed
corporations. [ believe they may be
d
tiers and to take advantage of every
thing poss BILE to make this effort a
success. They are neighbors, and in
some instances, business associates of
the packers of Connecticut tobaccos.
The attittde of the packers them
selves toward the new association has
been admirable. They one and all ad-
nit that the old style of handling to-
honona hor pn% olxx,ax,C haax, fo,~ - ho
farmer, and that in the past few years
the farmer has had hard time of it.
1t is the best thing that ever hap
pened,'' said packer. ssFor long
time the feeling has been growing
among the farmers that we packers
were bunch of parasites that were
bleeding the industry to death. The
association will demonstrate whether
this is so or not. If it succeeds, and
does this work more advantag to
the trade than we have been able to do
it, it will establish the fact If it does
not succeed, then our value to the in
dustry will have been established. In
either event the air will be cleared, and
things will be better than they ever
have BEEN
| found among the people who have
interested themselves in promoting the
pooling scheme very serious apprecia-
tion of the responsibilities that this
power gives them. They are emphatic
in their realization of the fact that the
genuine success of their movement will
depend upon its being an Improvement
over the old system which it is frankly
intended to supplant. They believe,
rightly or wrongly, that functioning
along the lines they have laid out. they
will benefit not only their members. the.
farmers who grow the tobacco, but the
cigar industry at large; and they frank
ly admit that unless they can furnish
tobacco at price that will enable the
manufacturer to prosper, as we'll as the
farmer, they will have failed. They
realize that they must have customers
not only this year and next year, but
permanently, if they are to endure.
What they insist is that they can mar
ket the tobacco of the farmer at a
profit to him, and at prices that are
satisfactory to the man who makes it |