The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-09-21
TEA WILL CROW
So Says an Experienced CUl-
tiVatOP.
JAMES HUTCHINS' OPINION
Climate of Hilo Better
Than That of Ceylon.
High-Priced Labor May be an OBJ
stacIe Mr.. Forests
Success.

'I consider the climate of Hawai-
superior to that of Ceylon" said James
Hutchins last night, land for that rea-
son. coupled of course with the fact
that the soil and conditions are right,
I believe a superior quality OF tea can
he raised on the island of Hawaii than
can be produced in any part of India,
CevIon included, 1 say Ceylon included,
because the tea of Ceylon, owing to
difference in the climate, is of superior
flavor"
Mr.. Hutchins was engaged in the
cultivation of tea in Cochar, Province
of Assam, on the Bengal coast He Is
familiar with every detail of the work
and after a careful investigation of the
conditions in the Hilo district, he ex-
presses himself favorably of the pros
pect for tea cultivation on that part OF
the island.
81 did not go to Kona, so [ can give
no opinion of the conditions which ex-
ist there. In the Hilo district the soil,
climate and rain fall are all that tea
grower could wish for. l saw at the
ranch of Mr.. Forest at Kaumanu small
match of tea only 10 months old that
is really better than any tea plants IN
India three or four months older.
saw no reason why the coffee planters
on Hawaii should not add tea to their
products.
'Of course there's the difficulty or
labor to contend with; with tea as
with coffee and sugar, three OF the
most important OF the worlds staples,
cheap labor is essential. Coolie labor,
I mean Indian coolie labor, is available
and should be employed in the work.
During my 18 months residence on Ha-
wall | had ample opportunity to study
the labor problem for | saw working
every day in the same field Portuguese,
young and old, Chinese and Japanese
The grown Portuguese are paid about
$40 per month, boys average S11 per
month and do about Is per cent. work
less in a day than the men. Asiat1cs
get SIS or less per month and are as
far behind the Portuguese boys as the
BOYS are behind their elders. An Indian
coolie will get 81 per month, will work
steadily and keep ahead of the Asiat1cs
every day of the year.
"In India we give the laborer GER
tain task to perform in a day; if he
fails he does not get his full wage, If
he does more than his task he gets
extra pay Those who do not care to
work overtime in the field, repair to
their homes and make baskets and
nick-nacks which they dispose OF to
the merchants in the nearest town.
There is no Sinking work, because
they want all the money they can
earn. Their morals? Why, far above
the Asiatics in every respect, and the
chastity of the wife is respected if for
no other reason than that the husband
very promptly and effectually resents
an insult offered her. From my expert
ence in India and from what 1 have
seen here am satisfied that better re-
suits may be obtained by setting tasks
for the laborers and making the task
a long one, if necessary, than under
the present system. A luna or man
ager could take as a sample the days
work of half a dozen of the ableSt men
on the plantation, and establishing that
as a task, the other laborers would
have to keep up to it, and if they failed
their pay should be decreased.
Having been interested in tea Gull
tivation, / 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-pTiced for tea, and
is not, take it, just what is needed as
employees on coffee plantations. Fam
lilies are required for the latter, and
determined effort should be made to
secure them.
''You understand, of course, that the
little patches of tea on Hawaii, as far
as 1 have seen, are grown by novices.
They have much to learn regarding
the trimming and cultivation of the
plants. If left alone, they will grow
too tall, and without being of any bene-
fit or 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-
duction of tea is the firing; that is an
art in itself, and must be learned The
entire crop could be ruined by poor
firing"