Polynesian., 1844-11-23
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER %, 1914.

rion for Judging of the capability of the land,
as a rhole, than the corner Of u farmers
barn-yard sow to grain, would furnish of
the fertility Of his entire farm. Still it is lit
orally true, that the product Of wheat, in Ku-
la, in proportion to the seed sown, has been
bo"ntYM. 1.-THE people have =" reaped SPAR
ingly," it is because they have "sown SPAR
ingly." l do not wonder that so little atten-
ton has been paid to the raising of wheat
You are aware that the natives of the island
do not wish it for their own consumption
They might be taught to love it; and even
no" not a few would relish a biscuit Of their
own raised wheat, especially ifwell buttered.
This however is mere talk. They do not
need nor do they desire, the change from
their f%avoritc ".tsh and poi" to wheaton
bread. They raise the grain therefore for
the sake of gain; and they have found on
trial that the gain is small. They have no
means of threshing nor cleaning it. They
have hitherto, for the most part, rubbed the
grain out by hand, and blown off the chafr
with their mouth carried the wheat to La
haina or Waikiki, and received in return
one dollar per bushel. There is a great and
increasing demand for Irish potatoes. These
are more easily raised, and they afford a
greater profit. Can any one think it strange
that the natives of Maui raise so little wheat |?
In good time, l hope facilities for cleaning
tho nrosp ,,,;1l ho oh<:ooJ ~ .-I-lI
have a barn at Makawao in the course of the
next year, and that wheat will be more east
ly obtained than at present. The wheat, as
you will see. is fair, plump, and heavy. I
recently weighed a bushel, and its weight
was 63 lbs. Nothing like smutty grain have
| seen thus far; nor does cookie and the et-
cetera which spring up SO copiously in the
rich fields of our country, here disturb the
growth Of the precious wheat.
"DoEs 1T BEAR MORE THAN ONE CROP
ANNUALLY 81 answer no; and yet l am not
quite satisfied with the answer. l am not
farmer enough to tell the reason why t,uo or
more crops may not be produced in a year.
Let me tell you 'ohsm the wheat is sown. Per-
haps your Maryland correspondent can tell
US more than we know of wheat growing
August and February are the months for
sowing. The wheat in both cases ripens in
June or July. Is it spring wheat /! if so, why
does not the August sown ripen sooner ? Is
it winter wheat : why then does it come to
maturity in three months
els 1T EASY OF CULTIVATION :"-The
plough has not been used in Kula, nor could
it be used to much advantage where wheat
has hitherto been cultivated. Much of the up
per belt could be ploughed, and on the whole,
l should Judge that the cultivation would not
be difficult. In the valleys among the habi-
t%ations of men, the land can easily be cult
waited in native style.
els THERE WATER Power SUFFICIENT
FOR A MILL IN THE VICINITY H'-No, moth
ing of the kind, from Makawao to Hounau-
la. Scarcely water enough in Kula to save
the cattle, which would be needed to cultivate
the land, from dying. Water is the great
desideratum in this part of the islands; of
course, a mill for the manufacturing o fwhcat,
is out of the question. Waikiki is the near
est place where a mill could be erected for
the above purpose. This place is from is to
90 miles distant from Kula.
l have thus replied to your inquiries res
pecting the wheat lands on Fast Maui. /
have also read, carefully, the letter Of your
correspondent, and ] think my answers will