Evening star., 1946-05-26
All About
The Farm

Maryland tobacco growers, who
protested low prices paid for Mary
land leaf at the opening of the
Southern Maryland market last
week, should have been prepared
to receive a slightly lower average
this year than during the war years.
Prior to the opening of the
markets, tobacco men had pointed
out that last years crop, that &hich
is being sold this year, was in
ferior to the previous years bumper
harvest. 1t was anticipated by some
observers that prices paid for the
inferior grades would pull down the
crop average
Some observers believe last weeks
protests over lower prices resulted
from two false lines of reasoning
followed by many growers. First,
the lifting of ceiling prices on the
Maryland sales led many to be-
heve that prices would soar I'M
restricted. And second, the fact
that during the war buyers had
dipped into the lower grades paying
cigarette tobacco" prices for much
inferior tobacco, led growers to be-
lieve this practice would be con-
tinued
Tobacco experts who attended the
opening sales at Waldorf, La Plata
and at Upper Marlboro pointed out
that good tobacco brought good
prices, as indicated by bids as high
as 81 cents pound, while inferior
grades sold for as low as 16 cents
pound. The first few days of the
market set an average of about
So cents. just 312 cents below the
average for the Maryland crop last
year.
Furthermore, it was pointed out
that the averages paid for Mary
land tobacco have increased steadily
since an l8 per cent average was
set at the opening of the Southern
Maryland market in 1939 BY 1941
the average had climbed to 33 cents,
and by 1943 to $3.50 cents. An in
ferior crop brought the 1914 average
down to 45.3 cents, but in 1945, with
a 57-cent ceiling price, the average
climbed again to $3.50 cents.
In June, 1940 it was recalled, a
top was set on the Southern Mary
land market when one lot of to-
bacco brought 42 cents a pound at
Upper Marlboro. At the time this
was the highest price received for
more than four years.
Experts said that much of this
years inferior tobacco was caused
by late planting and lack of matur-
ity Of the leaf. While damage was
reported last summer because of
heavy rains, this was confined
mostly to cutting the size of the
crop, it was said
Farm Cash Receipts Down.
According to a Bureau of Agri-
cultural Economics report, total
farm cash receipts in States in the
South Atlantic region declined an
average of II per cent last Febru-
ary from the same period in 1945.
Making up this average, the re-
port said, cash receipts from crops
declined 9 per cent, while receipts
from livestock and livestock prod
ucts declined Is per cent.
Experiment Success.
An experiment., started at the
University of Maryland. was carried
to successful conclusion last week
with the shipment of a planeload
of eggs for Matching purposes to
Poland. The $1,000 eggs, to be used
in rebuilding Poland's focks, were
landed at an airfield without an
egg being broken.
This recalls that more than
year ago shipment of Matching
eggs was sent by air express from
the University of Maryland to CAL
ifornia and was returned by air
to the university. The eggs were
then incubated to determine if the
air fight had adversely affected
their Matching ability. 1t was thus
discovered that fertile eggs could be
transported long distances by air
without injury to their Matching
o,1olif,