The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1897-09-21
TEA WILL CROW
81 SAYS an Experienced CIl-
tiTatUT.
LANES HUTCHINS' OPINION
Climate of Hilo Better
Than That of Ceylon.
ziFh-Priced Labor May be an OBJ
s1acle-Mr. Forests
Success.
JAMES HUTCHINS' OPINION

Il consider the climate Of Hawaii
SuYs-io- TO that Of Ceylon" said James
Huehins last night. and for that rea-
Eor- coupled OF course with the fact
rhs- The soil and conditions are right,
believe . superior quality Of tea can
E.s raised on the island Of Hawaii than
ezn be produced in any part Of India,
CevIgn included. I say Ceylon included,
because The tea Of Ceylon, owing TO
difference in the climate, is Of superior
favor
" Hutchins was engaged in the
cultivation OF tea in Cochar, Province
q assam. on the Bengal coast He is
familiar with every detail of the work
and after careful investigation of the
san6icIons in the Hlo district, he ex-
presses himself fayorably Of the pros
aec- for tea cultivation on that part of
ne island.
Il did not 60 to Kona, so can give
No orinion Of the conditions which ex-
Isl there. In the Hilo district the soil,
rIina1e and rain fan are all that tea
rrcEer could wish for. ! saw at the
rzneh OF M. Forest at Kaumanu a small
r.ztrh OF tea only Is months old that
Is really better than any tea plants IN
India three or four months older
szw 10 reason why the coffee planters
q Hawaii should not add tea to their
products
cot. course there's the difficulty of
ERho- To contend with; with tea as
E-i-h coffee and sugar. three Of the
uust important of the worlds staples,
sheap labor is essential. CoOlie labor,
I mean Indian coolie labor, is available
zrE should be employed in the work.
During my IS months residence on Ha-
val had ample opportunity TO study
-hz labor problem for I saw working
ever day in the same field Portuguese,
young and old Chinese and japanese
he grown Portuguese are paid about
So per month. boys average S11 per
month and do about i per cent work
less liz a DAY than the men. Asiatics
cei SIS OF less per month and are as
far behind the Portuguese boys as the
hcys are behind their elders. An Indian
cn0Iis viii get s. per month, will work
steadily and keep ahead of the Asiatics
ever day Of the year.
In India we give the laborer a GER
zil task 10 perform in a day; if he
fails he does not get his full wage, if
he Goes more than his task he gets
extra pay Those who do not care TO
E1rk overtime in the field. repair to
uicb-lacEs which they dispose of to
the merchants in the nearest town.
There is no Sinking work. because
they want an the money they can
szEl- Their mOrals2 Why. far above
The AsiariCs in every respect, and the
chastity OF The wife Is respected if for
no other reason than that the husband
TE-g promptly and effecually resents
H ilsult offered her. From my expert
Eue5 in India and from what l have
seen here I am satisfied that better re-
suits may be obtained by setting tasks
for The lzborers and making the task
. long one. If necessary. than under
lhe present system. 4 luna or a man
zEer could take as a sample the days
Wc-k 81 half dozen of the ablest men
O. The plantation. and establishing that
rs task. the other laborers would
have 20 keep up TO il, and if they failed
1heir pay should be decreased.
Having been interested in tea cul-
ovation. I would like TO see it more
generally taken up on these Islands.
provided the labor problem can be
solved The class of labor now on the
Islands is too high-priced for tea. and
is not take IT, just what is needed as
employees on coffee plantations. Fam
lies are required for the latter. and a
determined effort should be made to
secure them.
You understand. OF course. that the
hrtle patches Of tea on Hawaii. as far
as have seen. are grown by novices
hey have much to learn regarding
The trimming and cultivation of the
plants. II left alone. they will grow
TO TAI, and without being of any bene-
Et OF advantage over the lower plant.
they outgrOw their strength. so to
speak And when the leaves are picked
one most important factor in the pro-
cncuon OF tea is the firing: that is an
at In Itself, and must be learned. The
entire crop could be ruined by moor
firing" 0-