The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1891-08-11
COFFEE.
It's Halue to Small Farmers.
From the Hno Record

| tfrom the dllO kecoru.o
Coffee is destined, we believe, be-
fore many years to become one of
our most important exports. second
only to sugar. What we want is TO
get as many persons as, possible in
terested in the planting of coffee, in
all parts of the islands where coffee
will grow. II the raising of coffee
the small grower can be as well sit
uated as the large company growers.
The curing of coffee needs no great
outlay for machinery to get the same
ready for the market, and in this re-
spect puts the small grower on as
good footing as the large one. A
man raising twenty bags of coffee
stands just as good a show to put
his coffee into the market as the one
who raises one thousand. And this
is just where the raising of coffee
will be of greater benefit to the peo-
pie generally than sugar raising.
The money thus received will be
spread among a large number, while
that now received from sugar goes
only into the pockets of a few al
ready rich from the proceeds of
sugar-raising on these islands, and
but little good comes of that money
to the public. But if people inter
ested will only try and get our small
farmers to plant few hundred
trees each, the gains from that coffee
will go directly into the pockets of
the many, and thus enrich the gen
eral public. 1t is by this means that
we can make coffee-raising profit
able thing for the islands. If all in
terested in the welfare of our islands
will only take hold and try to induce
our Portuguese, natives and other
people residing in our midst, to plant
few coffee trees each year, in few
years the aggregate of coffee raised
would amount to large figure. and
the money would be placed in the
hands of those most to be benefited
thereby.
A notable instance of what one
man can do, alone and unaided by
anyone, is that of Mr.. Sumter, who
three years ago started to raise
coffee in the Panaewa woods. He
has now cleared and planted in the
neighborhood of fifteen acres of cof-
fee. This year a few of the trees
have commenced bearing, and in two
years he will be in the receipt of
handsome income from his coffee
plantation, even though he should
plant no more, and only take care of
what he has now growing. And
what Sumter has done others can as
easily do. How many of our foreign
population there are who might go
and do likewise.
The Catholic mission and some
other parties are now planting coffee
IN Puma, and the trees are growing
finely. DR.. Rufus Lyman will soon
be at work on the land of Kapoho.
If our slow-moving Government ever
get good carriage road built
through the district of Puma, on the
line now laid out, there will be thous-
ands of acres of the finest coffee
land, now belonging to the Govern
ment, and at present almost worth
less, brought into the market and
made available for coffee and fruit
raising. When we once get hun
dreds of these small coffee planta-
tions in full bearing, then we shall see
an era of prosperity on these islands
which we have never dreamed of be
fore. We learn that the coffee crop
of Kona bids fair to be heavy this
year, and the natives, Cinnamon,
Portuguese, and others there are
busy in planting more trees. Let
everyone, therefore, try his best to
induce everyone he can to take hold
and plant lew coffee trees.