The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1897-08-14

REPORTED CROP FAILURE IN
KONA DISCUSSED.
EX-Manager c. ID. Miller Tells What
He Knows of the Hawaiian Tea and
Coffee Company's Plantation.

Charles ID. Miller, former manager
of the Hawaiian Tea and Coffee Com
pany's plantation, writes to The Star
from Kalahilli, under date of August
| End:
In your issue of July &c | notice an
article with reference to the crop to
be harvested on the lands of the Ha-
waiian Coffee and Tea Company. One
of the reasons suggested to account
for the shortage in this years crop
being an unsuitable altitude. AS for
mer manager and one who laid out
plantation, l trust you will grant me
the space to offer few remarks.
You state that the older portion of
the plantation is situated at an ele-
vation of from 1900 to 1000 feet. Now.
with the exception of a few hundred
trees planted at the top of Tea Clear
ing (about 21OO feet there is, or was.
no coffee planted as high as 2OOO feet.
The top of the Kahaluu clearing is
| dpOuI loou leel, anu lne DOtIOln De-
tween 1900 and 1000 feet above sea
level. The lower portion of the Lalou
clearing was at an altitude of 100
feet / am speaking from memory,
but | think the above figures are
pretty near the mark. The older por-
ton of the plantation, therefore, may
be said to be situated at an elevation
between 1900 and 1900 feet above sea
level.
Whether the failure of this years
crop can be attributed to mismanage-
ment, as claimed, on the one hand, |
will not venture an opinion, as it is
over eighteen months since | left the
company's service, and l have not
seen the upper fields since. l would
state, therefore, that once coffee trees
have been topped, in addition to keep
ing them free from weeds, it is essen
tial that they should be properly
handled and pruned, and particularly
after trees have borne a maiden crop
If these works have been neglected
or imperfectly carried out, then it is
the height of folly to expect uniform
or regular crops from trees under
cultivation.
| Whether such is the fact in the
present case | am not prepared to say
although report had it so; but the
Commissioner of Agriculture who
visited the plantation in 1895 told me
he considered | had committed at
least two grave errors, viz: in the
height at which the trees had been
topped, and the style of handling
which had been practiced, and added
that had the trees been properly prun-
ed the crop would have been much
larger that year.
The only handling | ever superin-
tended on the plantation was on the
lower coffee, and consisted in the sup
preston of suckers and the removal
of a few superfious secondaries. The
handling the Commissioner refers to
was not done by me or in my time.
AS to pruning J wish clearly to
state that ! handed over charge of
the plantation 10 Mr.. Wait on the
first day of January. 1895, and that
Immediately previous to that time
picking operations were in progress
W
Wait. There remained something like
three or four thousand pounds of cof.
fee to be harvested. Now, as the prop
: er time to prune IA coffee plantation is
after the crop is completed, it is oh
, vious that the pruning, or want OF
pruning, if such were the case, did
not occur in my time. The entire
responsibility, therefore, lies with
= Mr. Wait.
( The question of the most suitable
altitude for coffee, not only in the
district of Kona, but likewise In
Olaa, Puma, and Hamakua, is one
, which thus far cannot be decided by
anyone. We may all have opinions
, some of which, no doubt, will subse
: quently prove to be correct; but i
. will require at least three years NOR,
: of experimenting before this poin
: will be definitely settled.
| am of tha opinion that coffee cal
- be successfully cultivated in the dis
. trict of Kona at an elevation of from
: 1000 to 5000 feet above sea level. anC
!, | firmly believe it will eventually b,
! profitably planted as high as 250
- feet.
The coffee fields of DR.. McWayn,
8 and Mr.. Bartels, situated above Kai
. lua, at an elevation of about 100 feet
= are looking magnificent and from al
appearances indicate they will yiel'
good crops.
On visit to the plantation of tn
a former gentleman last year. | notice,
Il trees. which | supposed had been en-
= down and allowed to grow mp again
loaded with berries. I fail to see
e therefore, at this stage of the indus
try, how anyone can state just wha
the proper altitude for coffee in thi
& district.