Polynesian. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu], Hawaii) 1844-1864, 1852-08-21

jwnedt cultlvatOrS IN kuIa with single eX
Iception, and this one deem worthy Of par
lticular notice.
An old gentleman by the name of Kupan
ihi, an uncle Of Mrs. Nc Lane, man o
indomltable industry. formerly head maj
on the land now owned by the Rev. D. Bald
win of Lahaina. became famous for the cuI
tivation Of wheat. His place being in sigh
OF my house, | used frequently to visit him
and feast my eyes with the sight of his beau
tifuI patches of grain. The cultivation o
wheat was admirably adapted to The declin
ing strength nf this old man. He had youth
ful hands about him Ia aid in breaking ~
his ''falow ground" which he planted in fur.
rows. His wife aided him in keeping il clean
, from weeds, the remainder of the labor he
could himself perform And such wheat
. have seldom seen. When ready for market
it was well nigh as free from foreign mix
ture as Grnesee wheat descending in:o the
hopper of some Rochester Touring mill after
having ascended five stories, and having
been through many sitting and cleaning
Operations as Yanlsee ingenuity ever devils
ed His patience ard perseverance were
above all praise. Well, after the old man
had cleaned awhile, he would fill Il couple oi
small calabashes, measuring Il peck each,
and staff in hand, would make his way for Mr..
McLane's or my house to dispose of his load.
| always purchased whether had supply
or not. giving him three reals per peck. Thus
Kupanihi toiled till about lS49, when the in
creasing difficulty of obtaining aid to pre-
pare his grounds, and his increasing debility
of body and mind caused the 90 TO drop
lrem his feeble hand. scarcely need add,
that this Hawaiian hero oi so years did not
long survive his useful abors as an agricul-
turist. He went down to the grave like one
of his own shocks of wheat, fully ripe
Honor to the memory of good old Kupanihi
the interchangeable agricuturist and wheat
grower OF Kukuiaeo. | may as well add
here that this man raised sugar cane, and had
manufactured at his own door the first molas-
ses made on Maui
Excuse this long story. / continued to
raise wheat in small quantities, but | found
much difficulty in thre>hing and cleaning it.
Messrs. McLane and Cover, Mr.. Miner also
have raised excellent wheat, but neither of
them, presume, have realized much profit,
having neither ihreshing machine, barn-floor,
nor tanning mill. Hitherto, after the wheat
has been cleaned, it has cost more than lis
value in dollars and cents to grind it. think
! may safely say that up to this date, no for
eiener has raised bushel of wheat at less
cost than 81 90. trust this will not be
true IN time to come.
Mr. Edrs introduced the cradle in 1913,
and assisted me in harvesting my wheat in the
summer of that year. Ere the season of SOW
ing returned he was off fnr California. Dur
ing lS49 and 1850 | raised but little mnre
than we needed for seed In the autumn OF
the latter year, farmer from New Hamp-
shire came down from the coast and took
up his residence at Makawao. He wished
10 purchase land but as there remained
none unsold in our neighborhood, he con-
cluded to occupy portion of my land for
raising sugar cane, Syrup and Sugar at that
time commanding great price. He put in
some twenty acres of cane, and eight or ten
OF oaiS, of which we had large crop in
1851. Fi.dng that sugar and syrup were not
likely TO command high price as he had
expected, the farmer commenced last No.
vember sowing wheat, and continued to sow
and plant up to March. He thus put in
some D acres of this grain, 5 or 6 of which
are harvested, a specimen of which present.
ted you Yesterday. think there will be 400
bushels of the wheat, perhaps more. But
Tor some circumstances over which had no
control, and in consequence ofthe destruc-I
ton of sone portion by the pelua, we shall
not probably realize so much by 100 bushels
As we otherwise should have done. Much Of
IT Is of large growth, and some portions are
what a western farmer would call Stout
Indeed so heavy is the grain in spots that it
has fallen down. and we shall obtain only 20
of the 40 bushels which an acre would
probably produce.
One of my neighbors, Dane, has about
two acres nf the same grain from seed which
we furnished him, and he will have re-
spcriable crop. He has also patch, say
one eighth of an acre, Of barley which prnn-
ses far, and from which we all hope to obtain
this useful grain Another neighbnr has
about one halt an acre pfwhcat, which, though
once eaten down by the peIua, is now nearly
ripe, and is as even aud beautiful as any half
acre in the place. Mr.. Miner also has two
or three acres pIarfed in drills principally.
viii looked well when ! last saw IT. /
know Of no other wheat in Makawao at pre-
sent.
OF oats cannot speak so favorably as
did last year, though the partial failure has
no connection with the soil or climate. On
blowing the field where the last
year we raised heavy crop, the farmer found
that the land was well seeded. and he conclu-
ded to try the experiment of raising second
crop without re-sowing. The result was
we had heavy body of oats. but conpara-
lively small crop of the grain. Ofthese oats
| gave you specimen yesterday. This
grain can be produced in our region Of coun-
try in any quantity.
In the raising Of corn | have been less
the difficulty, however. is not in
the soil. The season proper for planting is
so uncertain, and the ravages of the Pelua
so great, that sometimes well-nigh despair