Barley Growers Lose Much Money |
In Grading of Weed For Market j
BY GEO. O. BALLARD
Assistant Inspector Assigned to the
Boone Market.
The history of the tobacco indus
try is a romantic one and old as the
nation itself, embracing such per
sons as the Indian princess, Poca
hontas. John Rolfe, Captain John
Smith, Sir Walter Raleigh and on
down through the present age of
company presidents, buyers, ware
housemen, auctioneers, factory
workers, land-owners, share-crop
pers and tenant:; and last but not
least, the U. S. inspector.
When the history of tobacco is '
mentioned there comes to mind the J
Jamestown Colony of Virginia, es-j
tablished in 1607 by Captain John I
Smith. Tobacco being unknown on '
the continent of Europe at that time
? brings forth the story of Sir Wal
ter Raleigh. Being seen smoking
for the first time by his sonant,
who thinking him afire, doused him
with a bucket of water.
John Rolfe. who married the
Pocahontas, is believed to be the
first man to export tobacco from
this country, but it is a known fact
that tobacco was raised in Virginia
at that time and became a very im- :
portant crop, being used in lieu of '
money as a medium of exchange.
Of course this is all known to i
folic who read history, but in this
article I wish to take up something |
of the sorting or stripping as related j
to Burley tobacco, the type with 1
which I am more familier.
Tobacco being his principal money j
crop, the livelihood of he and his j
family depended largely upon its
success. Most farmers are very
careful through all stages of produc
tion even down to its cured state in
the barn, but after producing other
wise a good crop of tobacco more
fanne rs fail to get full value out of
their crop, by failing to properly
strip or sort according to group and
color Both piav a vecy important j
part in Burley tobacco.
Let's take up the subject of group j
first. We find the principal groups ;
to be X-C-B and sub-group T.
X group takes care of the ground ]
leaves, trash, flyings or spods, |
whichever you prefer to call them.
C group includes the next leaves on
the stalk that are more sound than
the X leaves, yet thin and light in
hotly. B group includes the balance
of the leaves on the stalk until the
length of less lhan 16 inches auto- j
maticallv places them in the sub
group T.
One of the greatest losses in dol- ;
lars and cents and the practice most !
commonly done is to mix the j-roups :
C and B. Let's see just what hap- ;
pens when this occur.- and it does j
occur too often. We see it on the'
sales floor every day. Now. assume ;
that you have a crop of just fair j
quality tobacco, yet it is of a tan
color, whereas the gradsv would use j
the letter F.
Now if you tie up C and B group
(lugs and leaf) together and place
them on the sales floor for sale, here
is what takes place: The grader
comes along to inspect the tobacco,
in order to place on the U. S. stand
ard grades, he takes a sample from
the lot and tries to decide on the
grade. Yes, he sees some C tobacco
in the sample, but he also sees some
B tobacco. He lays that sample
down and pulls another one from a
different part of the lot. with the
same results. Since the two groups
were pulled and tied together he
had C and B in the second sample.
Now hen" is what the farmer
probably did not know, C tobacco
being of a thinner, milder, lighter
body, is not harmful to B tobacco.
B tobacco being of a thicker, strong
er, heavier body tobacco, is harmful
to C tobacco: therefore, the only
choice the grader has is to place the
lot of tobacco in the B group. Since
we have already decided the quality
was only fair and the color tan, the
grader would be obliged to grade
the lot as B4FB. Under the present
sj-stem of selling tobacco, the ceiling
price would be S43.00 per hundred.
On the other hand, if the farmer had
not tied his leaf and lugs together,
but had kept his C tobacco separate,
the grade on that part of his crop
would be C4F. The ceiling price on
C-1F at the present time is S55.00
per hundred, a difference of 12 cents
per pound.
Now let's take another lot of only
lair quality tobacco and let the coioi
be red, whereby we use the letter
R. Since the lugs and leaf were
stripped together it would be placed
ill the B group. Only fair quality in
red color, the grade could be none
other than B4RM. The ceiling price
on B4R is $33.00 per hundred. If
the lugs or C tobacco had been kept
out of this iot, the grade would be
C4R. The ceiling price on C4R is
$49.00 per hundred, a difference of
16 cents per pound.
Now, let's take up the Subject of
color. Tl.e spread in price range is
not quite as great, as the spread in
price range in groups; yet it is of
importance enough to wan-ant spe
cial attention. Some crops of to
bacco have nothing but red color,
while others have only tan, but a
large majority have both red and
tan colore, especially is this true in
the B group. For example, when
the grader comes to a lot of B group
tobacco in which there is red and
tan, or F color tied up together, he
goes through about Or- same pro
cedure of trying to decide the prop
er grade as he does with mixed
groups. He knows it is B tobacco.
Then he decides that it is fourth
quality. So he is that far along
witE his grade ? B4.
Now comes the question and the
farmer really pays and pays heavy
for the answer. Is it tan (or F) or
is it red? There is tan color in the
qprirwvvTrwTrr-rTiniTe^r*i^v^lciVVVVVVV^/VUVV%nAflAA/VUVVVVVUSAfV
|
ij Again this year <we "will
jj handle that good....
We are not expecting a shortage of fertilizer
material this season, but on account of labor
shortage there is some question whether the
manufacturer can make enough for all re
quirements, therefore there may be a short
age from this standpoint.
We want to suggest that you place your or
der and accept delivery early. To say the
least the farmer has nothing to loose by hav
ing his fertilizer at home ready to use when
he gets ready to plant. Transportation is a
big problem now and is not likely to get bet
ter thi$ spring; so we believe the wise farm
er will purchase early.
The farmer is required to make application
similar to what he did last year, and we are
hoping to be favored with your business
again this season. We like to do business
with you and hope you like do do business
with us. It is our endeavor to give you the
best goods possible at a reasonable price.
FARMERS HARDWARE and
SUPPLY COMPACT, Inc.
lot of tobacco allrighi; one-half or
maybe more, but there is also red.
The same rule or decree holds
good in the mixing of colors as it did
in the mixing of groups. F tobacco
is a thinner leaf and lighter in body,
while R is thicker leaf, heavy body
and stronger, and is known as a fil
ler or chewing tobacco; therefore,
F cannot harm R, but R is very
harmful to F, so the grader, know
ing this finishes the grade by using
B. making B4R. The ceiling price
on B4R is 33 00 per hundred.
If the farmer had kept the F color
tobacco separate, the grade on that
part would have been B4F. Since
the ceiling price on B4F is $4t>.00
per hundred, you will notice a dif
ference of 13 cents per pound.
Please notice that by separating
the C tobacco from the B group and
the F tobacco frum the R, you did
not decrease the grade or value of
eithei the B groups or the R to
bacco. Since all grades are bringing
ceiling prices they sold just as well
without the better tobaccos as they
could with them: therefore, the gain
is a net gain. Yes. it pays to strip
and sort them out according to
group and color.
If I were a grower I would insist
on the warehousemen furnishing me
with the proper amount of space and
baskets to take care of each grade
separately and also to have them
packed on baskets in a neat and or
derly manner. After all no ware
houseman wants to mix up a clean
and well-handled crop. If you bring
in a mixed and poorly handled crop,
which shows you don't care, then
why should he care? After all, his
floor space is valuable.
WHITES FROM IDAHO
Editor Watauga Democrat;
Enclosed you will find money or
der for $2.00 to pay for another
year's subscription to your good pa
per.
I would like to wish The Democrat
and all its readers a prosperous new
year .and I especially want to send
greetings to my sister, Mrs. J. C.
Munday, Ceres. Calif., my cousins,
Mis. Ora Ward, Reese. N. C., and
Mn>. J. C. Harbin. Shulls Mills, and
to my old Pal, Miss Jane Bingham,
Sugar Grove.
Sincerely,
MRS. F. E. BARNES.
Box 63, Kuna, Idaho.
Appalachian High
School News Items
STATESVILLE INVADES
MOUNTAINEERS' DEN
On Friday night of this week at 8
o'clock the Appalachian High Blue
Devils will meet one of the strong
est opponents of the year when the
Statesville High undefeated five
come to Boone to play. Statesville
boasts one of the strongest teams in
Western North Carolina and is
coached by Ray Sills, former Appa
lachian State boy. The Statesville
High five upset Salisbury last week
by a 20-point margin and from all
reports received in Boone, the team
is the best that the high school has
| had in several years.
Tlx* Boone boys have: been prac-l
ticii'K daily for the past two weeks
and have scrimmaged twice against
the college to get ready -for the
Statesville invader;;. The game will
get under way at 8 o'clock in the
high school gym and the admission
will be 40c for adults and 25c for
students and children. We hope
the Boone patrons will turn out to
support their high school team
which again boasts one of the best
fives in North Carolina.
PLAYS TO BE PBESENTED
SATURDAY NIGHT
On Saturday night of this week,
the dramatics class of Appalachian
High School, under the direction of
Mr. Williams, will present three one
act plays at the college auditorium.
These plays will be "Frank arid
Erna," under the student direction of
Charles Boone, starring Finley Pen
ick. Opal Phillips, Phil Vance, Helen
Caudill, Marbeth Winkler. Margaret
Eggers and Rachel Ann Vance:
"Hillbilly Sue," under the student
direction of Gordon Phillips, star
ring Joan Lovill, Norma Kerley,
Ralph Moretz, Fred Hodges, Jimmie
Marilyn Johnson, Jean Wilson,
McConnell and Mary Kathryn Wil
son The third play to be present
ed will be a melodrama, "Her Fatal
Beauty," which is under the student
direction of Blanton Miller and this
one stars Ted Hagaman, Mary Alice
Moretz, Blanton Miller, Kenneth
Clay, Ruth Tatum, Louise Miller,
Mary Bingham and Mary Lois
Howell.
So far this y<jar the dramatics
class has presented several one-act
plays before the high school student
body and these plays have been met
with decided approval on the part
of the students. One of these plays
was put cn last Friday and was un
der the student direction of Gordon
Phillips We wish to congratulate
Gordon on the fine play he stirred
out. The students were so impress
ed by it that they had to take two
curtain calls before they would quit
applauding. The plays to be given
at the college this Saturday night
will be the first opportunity for tne
parents to see their children per
form and we wish to encourage
them to take advantage of this op
portunity to see the dramatics class
present these one- act plays and we
insure them an evening of good
wholesome entertainment. The first
play will begin about 7:30. There
will be no admission charge.
FOURTH WAR LOAN DRIVE
So far in the Fourth War Loan j
drive, the students and teachers of
Appalachian High School have sold
and bo'ight $4,139.3C worth of bonds |
I
Dont COUGH
kskfor mintho-'muisich
I TF IT FAIIS.TD STOP YCU R
ccfuGM owt ii cribs'. A$'?trc!'5
r~ut> won j" - :a.7? ?
and stamps. The students are wadt
ing hard tc make the Fourth War
Loan drive a success. Any person
wishing to buy a bond may do ao
by contacting any one of the high
school students.
EGGS
Dried egg production during De
cember totaled JIVj million pounds
? an increase of 64 per cent ova:
December, 1942.
BOONE DRUG CO.
Vulcanizing and Recapping
We maintain a modern and complete Vulcanizing, anil Recap
ping Department, and are rendering the best of service.
COMPLETE ESSO LUBRICATION SERVICE
MADDUX ESSO SERVICE
Phone 9103 M. R. Maddux. Prop.
iV wvwwwv
New Hampshire ? Rock-Hampshire Cross ? Barred Rock
Place Order Now for Tested Quality Chicks
Watauga Farmers Cooperative
e could
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for the
TO PAY ? j
PURCHASE
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WHERE AMERICA FIRST TASTED VICTORY (
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