The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1897-09-08
COTTON WILL GROW HERE
THE PEARL CITY EXPERIMENT \
SUCCESS.
Flourishcd in Spite of the Dry Wealth.
er Without Drop of Artificial Mois.
ture-Will be Tested.

"Nes, sir: cotton i'm the Hawaiian
Islands is an assured success. and
there is every reason to hope that its
cultivation on large and prontablc
scale will be one of the events of the
near future"
That is the conclusion of l.. ID. Tim
mons with respect to the product
mentioned after having thoroughly
developed an extensive experiment
near Pearl City on this island, for
Honolulu parties.
4 month ago the cotton in the bolls
down there began to bulge out, and,
in few days the whole plot was ov-
erspread with the beautiful white
shroud so familiar in the Southerh
States in the early Autumn. The
green bushes were filed with the
snowy bulbs, along with immature
pods, blooms and forms, which win
be along in time to carry out Natures
plan. in this climate, of a continuous
crop.
When the field became thoroughly
white. a basketful of the down was
harvested and submitted to a test to
determine its quality and market
grade. Mr.. Timmons, who is a cot
ton expert, pronounced the staple and
fiber to be the finest he had ever
seen, eNcelling in point of length and
strength of staple and freedom from
dust the best specimens of cotton
grown on the low islands off the coast
of Carolina and Georgia. \ sample
will be submitted to a noted expert
at Amsterdam. Holland, where, it is
believed. the identical conclusion will
be reached. Straight through, the
cotton grades" middling fair" which
it may be added is a quality seldom
realized by the best growers in the
most favored localities.
The experiment at Pearl City was
started in February last. The seeds
were deposited in the dry, red soil on
the high lands above the station. 1t
was the most uninviting spot imagin-
able for practical results. but the idea
of the promoter was to determine the
! possibilities under the worst average
conditions. 1t was assumed that il
the product would grow at all in the
soil selected. its future under better
conditions was assured.
During almost the whole life of the
plants, no considerable amount of rain
has fallen in that locality. The earth
has been continually as dry as ashes.
When the plants were quite young
they were allowed little water from
the artesian well on the place once Il
week This was soon abandoned.
however. and the then hardy stalks
were left to hustle for themselves. The
idea of this was the general one of
a dry land" experiment. 1t was, in
a measure, a mistake, however, for
this reason. The lack of sufficient
moisture retarded the growth of the
plant, and set the harvest back a full
month. Besides the yield the first
year will not be so great as it would
have been had the plants attained a
1 sturdier growth at first. The eXpe-
riment proved. however, that in many
! (if not most) sections of the islands,
cotton will flourish without a drop Of
artificial moisture.
"There is no doubt" said Mr.. Tim
mons, that in cotton is found the
great supplementary industry for
(which the Hawaiian Islands have so
long been in search. The experiment
made by myself, and by others, proves
conclusively that the industry is one
deserving the highest consideration at
the hands of the community. I sup
post almost anyone will now concede
that Hawaii is better adapted to cot
ton that large part of the world in
which it figures most prominently as
an industrial factor We have mum
erous advantages over the most fa'
vored localities of the South. Cotton
communities down there consider the
industry the most profitable to which
they can apply themselves. 1t is q
clear possibility that it may prove sc
here.