The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1894-05-17
A Big Increase in the Cultivation
of Tea Looked For.
RAPID GROWTH OF COFFEE PLANTS.
An Advance That Is Greater Than Could
be Made in Any Other Country
Greater Possibilities OF the Indus
tries Here-Nurseries for the Plants.

The tea industry is comparatively
new one in Hawaii. few years ago
| there was hardly plant of this much
used article of commerce raised in the
! islands. Now there is regularly or
ganized company for its cultivation
that has gone beyond the exp rimen-
| tai stage, and tea cultivation can be
looked upon as an assured fact.
From q recent report made 10y Chas.
ID. Miller, the manager of the Hawai-
ian Coffee aud Tea Company, the fol-
lowing facts regarding the cultivation
of those two staples are gathered.
The company's plantation is situat-
ed i'm Kona, Hawaii. It was started
in 1891, aud is now In a most flourish
ing condition. The tea has been test
ed and has been pronounced by com
petent judges to be of frst-class quail,
ity. The matter of extending the
cultivation of the plant will be. ccn-
sidered at the next meeting OF the
company, and it is more than likely
that it will be gone into extensively.
The following letter, written by Will
liam G. Wait of Kailua, IN regard tn
extending the tea fields, will be read
with interest:
- LAALoA,. April %, 1894.
C.. d. MILLER, ESQ. DEAR SIR:
AS requested beg to snbmit TO you
the subjoined estimates for planting
and carrying IN the cultivation of
twenty five acres of tea. You will
@I~ IL
to the conditions that the land select
ed adjoins the mauka coffee fields, Is
within existing fences, and that Il e
work is done as an extension Of
present operations with the advan
tage of all existing improvements. -
The first estimate is based on past |
operations aud the returns shown are |
those given in Ceyion. You will |
note that the principal expense is III |
wedding. Contingencies represent
spraying for blight, pruning, tea
house repairs, baskets, etc, etc. You |
will also note that If the expenditure
is left as outstanding capital interest
accrues at the end of the third season,
otherwise the field clears Itself at the
end of the seventh season. r This, of
course, is docking at the matter under
the conditions before specifed.1a sEte
The, second, estimate is based on
different system of operations. Here
it is proposed to spend more in the
preparation of the land, not burning
it off as in the first case, but, having
eradicated all the Hito grass that may
be growing among the ferns, it is pro-
posed to cut these down and utilize
them for muiching the ground. Tnis
will entail greater expense in all the
works, but as you will see it soon
pays for itself.
In neither case is any provision
made for nurseries, the planting being
done at stake.
+ The cultivation Of tea in this coun-
try is merely matter of planting it
and keeping down weeds. We want
none of the heavy expenditure neces-
sary in Ceylon for roads, rains, etc,
and their up keep, not meution
everlasting fertilizing. If an efficient
means can be devised to keep down |
weeds / feel assured, that with the
better crops that are ALREADY prom
ised we can make as good thing out |
of tea IA they are doing in Ceylon, |
and that is pretty well. If our labor |
costs three times as much, L know |
that Jap if he wants to can do twice |
as much work in ten hours as Cey-
lon coolie is physically capable of.
/ beg to hand you drawings for COM |
pletion of tea drier. In this shape its |
capacity will be about from six to |
nine pounds of dry tea per hour. |
When necessary this can be doubled |
at small further outlay, and it can be |
still further increased by system of
hues.
am, yours obediently,
WILLIAM q. WAIT.
One of the great enemies of both |
the tea and coffee industries, is the !
weeds. These pests are very destruc
tive TO both plants. but more especial
iy the former, and their extinction is
not the least expense of the planta-
ton, by any means.
On the lands of the company above
alluded To, there are over 100 acres in
coffee and about five in tea Accord
ing TO Mr.. MilleT's report, the coffee
on the upper lands is looking exec IL
ingly well and healthy and is making
a most vigorous growth now that the
winter season is over. There are por-
tions of the plantation, however, in
which the trees are not 80 far ad-
vanced, and where a number of vacan-
cies are to he noticed. In some cases !
this is due to defect in the quality of
the soil while in others it ia from the !
fact that the plants themselves were
not 80 vigorous a their neighbors Z
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