The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1871-02-25

ported from these islands to the value of $50 OOe
and moIasses to the value of SI7l3O. In the Ha
waiian Spectator for April. 1888 the late William
Ladd contributed an article The Resources oil
the Sandwich Islands, in which he speaks thus
prophetically of the manufacture of sugar. then IN
its Infancy:
1-"It is a very common opinion that sugar will
become leading article OF export. That this
| will become sugar country. is quite evident. II
| we may judge from the varieties OF sugar-eane
now existing here its adaptation to the SOIL the
/ price of labor, and ready market. From expert
mems hitherto made. it is believed that sugar of
| superior quality may be produced here. Ii
may not be amiss TO state. that there are now in
operation. or soon to beerected twenty mills for
crushing caue, propelled by animal power, and
two by water power" fssaF
The price of labor at that time, was indeed an
argument in favor of making the islands a sugar
producing country, which unfortunately does not
exist now. Abundance of native labor could then
be had, and the current rate of wages from
I2I to 574 cents per diem or 81 to s5 per month.
= In WyIIie,s Notes ,, on The islands, published
in the Friend December. 1914, the export of sugar
from the Island of Kanai estimated at about 200
TONS and 20 900 gallons of molasses. Hilo in the
same year exported $4,000 pounds of sugar Maui
at that time had two mills, but the amount of
sugar produced is not reported. s
That was twenty-six years ago. Since then, our
sugor growing business has passed through many
vicissitudes As is generally the case in pur-
suits, the pioneer have in many instances lost
their time and money in their struggles for sue
cess, and those who have come after have learned
to profit By their deaF-bougbt experience To-day.
the total number of plantations for the cultivation
of sugar is thirty -nine.-on Hawaii, twelve Maui.
thirteen; Oahu, ten; and Kauai, four. And dur
ing the year last past we have exported over
eighteen and half millions of pounds.
Several months since, we forwarded printed
blanks to the address of the manager of each of
the plantations throughout the islands, with re-
quest to fill them up and forward to this Office,
with a view to using the facts thus. afforded in
making up this annual review. A statement of
our actual and prospective products of sugar, etc.
complied from sueh sources. would have been of
little value to send abroad. But we regret that
only few of the planters have far responded
to request for information, and are COM
PEELED to defer for the present our intentions IN
this respect The long continued bad weather.
and the press of business has undoubtedly pre-
vented many from responding who would other
wise have done so. Those reports. however. which
have come to hand, are extremely favorable and
satisfactory as foreshadowing large iperease in
the sugar produce for 1871.
Coffee. n
But little attention was paid to the cultivation of
eonee previous to 1885 1t was first grown in Ho-
nolulu IN the garden Of Don Francisco de Marin and
was regarded as curiosity. Subsequently it was
extensively planted at Hanalei on Kauai but after
the lapse of some years the blight attacked the pants
to such degree that the plantation was abandoned
and afterwards the ground planted with sugar
cane. The plant does well in the district Of Hilo
Hawaii, the trees growing to very large size. But
the district of KOna, on the leeward side of Hawaii
to be the best adapted by soil and climate for
the cultivation of coffee Two years from setting out
the plants, from to one and half hounds ia the
yield. and increasing from year to year. until the
average of healthy ve-year old trees is from three u,
four pounds. On the same tree are seen q. o,o
time the clusters of snoW-whte flowers. the oraen
and the bright red berries Kona coffee is noted for
its superior favor, having been pronounced eopal
to the celebrated Mocha. There is no reason vbv
with proper in curing and preparing for market
our coffee should not bring equal if not a higher
price than sc Government Java The natives ar,
the principal producers, and they practice onl,
the Dost primitive modes of cleaning the husk tn.
coffee has not the clean appearance which is necessa
~ IN merehantaoie article. The produce of all
islands may be set down at SOC. 900 1bs twO-third.
of which Is exported The, districts of North anG
South Kona alone. are capable of producing two OIL
three millions of pounds. The blight-which is ,
species Of aphis, or pant-louse-has hitherto dis
lcouraged many from embarking extensively in tn
business of coffee planting. But with even thi
drawback, which it is believed win in time disappear
rs it has done in Ceylon, Kona must in the futur,
become the great coffee producing district of tn
Islands, the rocky character of the soil, with tn
exception Of but few localities forbiddng the use
the plOW.
The cotton plant succeeds remarkably well in mos
localities throughout the islands, though it thrive
best in dry and sheltered districts It was first cul
tivated somewhat extensively in Kona, Hawaii. b.
the late Governor John Adams Kuakini. Machiner-
was erected at Ksilua and cloth manufactured, bu
Il was found that cotton cloths could be importe.
cheaper, and the cultivation was abandoned. o
late years it has again been revived, and expermen
has satisfactorily proved that cotton can be gr vi !