THE IRISH TOBACCO CROP

New Zealand Tablet, 23 March 1911, Page 545

THE IRISH TOBACCO CROP

The grading and stripping of the Irish crop of tobacco having been now nearly completed (says the Freeman's Journal), we can judge more accurately what has been the yield, and what is the exact value of the quality. Taking an average per acre, it may be said that of the one hundred and twenty acres grown this year in Ireland, there has been about one thousand five hundred pounds’ weight of leaf to the acre, or roughly, between sixty and seventy tons of dried leaf, which shows a very handsome increased yield on this over last year’s crop. The last stages of curing the leaf, viz., packing, sweating. fermenting, and getting ready for transport, are now being entered on, and these processses are now being carried out under the supervision of Mr. Keller, the expert of the Department, who, during the past fortnight has visited each of the districts where the crop is grown, or where the curing barns are situated. It is thought this year Calohel Eyerard, who has been the great pioneer in this industry, will make an effort to secure all the Irish leaf grown, and also the leaf grown in England apd Scotland, which has been sent over to the Irish curing barns to be manipulated and cured, as there are no curing stations in England where the green leaf can be manipulated. However, that is a question of price. No doubt the other Irish tobacco manufacturers who have made ‘lrish cured and Irish grown tobacco’ a leading article in their trades, will also have a say in the matter, as the Irish grown and Irish cured article has had a phenomenal sale since last season’s leaf was put on the market. Colonel Everard has, however, now started a manufactory in Dublin, in which the produce of his own tobacco farms at Randalstown and the leaf grown in other places is now made up, and we are glad to hear the new industry is a most thriving one, in fact, it has grown to such an extent that new premises had to be secured. No one who is unacquainted with the business would for a moment imagine what a great amount of labor is employed in this industry, and more especially at a time of the year when agricultural labor required is at its slackest season. The planting, manuring, and weeding in the growing stages give great employment in the spring and early summer season, but it is when the tobacco leaf is being garnered in, and in the barns and curing stations that the chief source of employment is required. Every single leaf has to be picked, handled, sorted, and graded separately, and done with a delicacy and care which is a slow process. They have to be tied and bundled, and in fact the curing process is a tedious and most careful one which needs the most constant care and watchfulness on the part of employees. "We understand the Wexford-grown tobacco this year is considered to be the best yet raised, and to be the finest of the half-dozen tobacco farm lots grown in Ireland. The tobacco growers this year expect high prices for their produce, as the competition to get the Irish-grown leaf will be keen, now that an Irish manufactory in Dublin is started and in full swing, to use up the specially grown Irish weed. It is to be hoped the efforts of Mr. Wm. Redmond, M.P., and others to induce the Chancellor of the Exchequer to extend the bounty to those persons who at present are growing the leaf without getting the exceptional advantages which the experimental growers receive, may be successful in the coming session of Parliament. The few pence’ drawback allowed to these growers is too small to meet the trouble and expense of trying the experiment on a large scale. They should be encouraged, now that it is proved the quality of the leaf grown by those who have been experimenting for the last seven years bears the best of comparisons with the foreign leaf, by such a liberal reduction in the duty as would enable them to plant not two or three acres, but the twenty and thirty acres of tobacco farms which would lift the industry to be a national one, and give an enlarged amount of labor and cause a flow of capital into the country which would really benefit a large section of the trading and agricultural population.