The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1866-05-26
THE PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
SATURDAY Y, 4 81.
Maui. May. lS6t

SATURDAY, MA %.
MAUI, May, 1866.
Mr.. EDroR-AprI has left us and taken its
place in the circle that makes up the dial OF the
passing year. No. not passing. The years do not
90 from Us. but we from them, stepping from April
into May. and from May into June, and from the
old year into the new. and always leaving behind
Us some baggage. no longer serviceable on our
march. Our childhood. our youth, our opinions
cast away. hopes that went no farther, cares that
have had successors. joys that have faded from
memory, they are all held fast by some month and
some wear. never to he given up and 50 We have
gone away from the pleasant month of April. with
lis young green and its buds. and its balmy days:
and have lett in its safe keeping. our admiration Of
it, beauty and some of our purest and hottest joys.
The sun of May reminds us now by sending some
of its hottest rays upon our many hilled isle of
the ocean. that spring i gone and summer time
i coming We have had some s%corching days.
that have changed the green of mountain sides and
plains into lighter tintS. Notwithstanding there have
been many cloudy days and frequent showers, so
beneficial to vegetation in general and 10 the young
cane. the planters hope. in particular. Some peo-
plepredict a summer replete with many substan-
SEal showers.
The Caterpillars,
That annual curse of our islands. have committed
their usual depredations. and on some plantations
stripped the young cane of It's leaves. At Maka-
wac. from out of the small quantity of wheat that
has been sewn. some fields have suffered severely
and but few fields look promising. Wheat culture
becomes less with every year. 1t Is to be regret
ted that in the industry OF wheat. farmers find 50 lit
tie encouragement. Sugar is and Will always re-
main the only crop for export. till the rich lands
of the Haleakala are in possession of "A more indus
trious and numerous population. There Is room
tor many thousands of small farmers. and a climate
and soil genial for a variety of products. or
The Plantations.
Ilearn chat The Hama plantation is still grinding
and will continue some six or eight weeks longer.
The high winds that swept some months ago over
the islands. did much damage. but the crop turns
out nevertheless t~olerably fair. \ larger mill and
better facilities for taking off the crop more rapidly
would greatly benefit this plantation. At the East
Maui plantation ten natives are at work to plant
each ten acres of cane. 10 be ground on shares at
the plantation mill. The Hebron plantation. which
had stopped grinding for a short time. to reset the
train. is mt work again. The mill of Eugene Hal X
Co. is grinding still, and may continue for some
time. The Waikiki plantation mill has stopped,
and are adding to the hight of their chimney. The
Waihee plantation has discontinued grinding. hav-
ing finished the present crop. At Waikapu, the
mill keeps steadily ut work. Mr.. James LouZada,
the pioneer of the Wailuku mountains and its valu-
able sugar enterprises, has returned from a tour TO
the United States. having renewed a long lease of
life and bids fair to see Wailuku. which owes to
him its present and prospective prosperity, rise
into a town of Importance. At Ulupalakua. the
mill has taken a resting spell and may not start
again for some six or eight weeks. Some time age
there happened one OF the most singular and per-
haps unique instances of
Spontaneous Combustion,
That would puzzle Il cOnclaVe of the most learned
chemists. 1t appears that part of the molasses
leaking out of the underground cistern had been
absorbed by the surrounding ground, composed. as
the soil of the lialeakala is in general, of volcanic
cinders, earth and lava stones. From some I'M
known cause the iutcrmiXture of the different ele-
mcuts created a combustion, Il kind of infantile
volcano. under the sugar house. y great degree
of heat had been observed a long time previous,
but when the clstern was opened and the wall
broken down. Il dense column of smoke issued.
stones were found to be burning hot, the earth
to be considerable. A plentiful supply Of water
thrown into the place of danger by IL line of labor
eTS passing baskets from hand TO hand soon quench-
ed this novel sort of cOntagratiOn in the bowels of
the earth. Could any means be devised to safely
pack this little monster right side up, it might have
been worth the while to have sent it to the care of
the Minister of the Interior to be forwarded to the
French exhibition. Hawaii nei would have been
certain of a gold medal. a new source of veXa-
ton to sugar planters, and every body else has
arisen from the
r Scarcity Of Food
For their labOrers. \ bundle of pdiui that usually
sells for twenty-five cents is at present valued at
fifty cents. and scarce at that. Beef also has gone
up very rapidly in price, and costs eight cents a
pound. \ crisis i'll poi is not to be wondered at,
and might have been expected. while the young
men are at work on the plantations and the old are
dying. and while kalO-patchcS that have yielded a
crop run waste for want of labor, or are planted
with sugar cane to be ground on shares. 1t will
not be long before natives will have to learn to
live like the " haoles, = Il change that | think will
be beneficial in the long run TO both parties. laborer
aSwell as planter. SO mote ii be.
Yours, OCCASIONAL.