Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1898-09-20
He INVESTIGATED COFFEE.


went too far entirely in promises.
Coffee raising requires capital,
experience and energy. 1t is ex.
perience that is most needed in
this country. There is the great
est diversity of methods. The
questions of shade or no shade, of
tn distance between plants, ETC.,
are answered vsriously in prsc-
tlse by different planters.
"In the matter of distance the
rule varies from six feet to eight
feet between the plants. The best
coffee | saw was at eight feet
apart. Plants only six feet apart,
when they grow, will have their
branches meet and crowd each
o her. And 1 saw better coffee
without shade than with it.
"Now, the little book gives pro-
misses of profit in your coffee
which are extremely alluring but
they are quite delusive. 1t shows
S2l, 1915 to the credit of a coffee
plantation of rs acres at the end of
7 years. | have figured the ques-
ton down very carefully, and find
that before any returns appear
one must have expended 800, 900,
and then he will begin to real re
$4,000 to $4,000 year at The ut
most. The basis of my calculation
is planting eight feet apart, which
will give $50 trees to the acre, and
an average yield of one pound to
the tree. More trees will go below
that average than above it.
" Then you must count upon
some bad seasons, and il your
plantation is at all neglected you
are done. IL weeds come up n lie
Is An end to coffee"
Colonel Gorton, returning to
the subject of diverse methods,
said those planters had the best
results who did not burn the trees
cut down in clearing the land. By
laying them in straight winrows
hey made windb,eaks that pro
tected the tender young coffee
plants. In a few years, too, the
trunks of the tree ferns rotted |
clean away, adding richly to the
fertility of the soil. 1t was the ex.
perience in New Zealand that
brush was burned off the
land rank growth of thistles and
Ither noxious weeds was inevita-
Bile.
Col. Gorton believes that the
,offee planters will, sooner or lat.
ar, have to use fertilizers on their
land. He would not be surprised
If the opinion of some were cor
rect, that the coffee lands of Olaa
would yet be given up
% sugar cane. The soil
8 very rich and cane would flour
sh to an elevation of $50 feet.
The greater fertility and depth
If soil in Olaa. as com pared with
Puma was indicated to Colonel
iorton by the far larger size OF
he ohia trees in Olaa. There was
difference also between
he soil of the elder Mr.. Rycroft's
down by the coast and
lis sons up in the hills of Puma.
The young mans coffee was prov
ug more successful than his .
ather's.
Another thing the Colonel
ound demonstrated in Olas was
hat much the better results were
btained from planting the seed
irectly than transplanting from
eed beds. Three seeds are plant (
d in each hole, and instead of
ransplanting the two superhuous
boots they are thrown away. The
trongest one of the three of
curse remains.
Colonel Gorton found the vol. {
ano dead. Just a little smoke
vas emitted. 1t surprised him,
owever, to find that stick burn
d fiercely at a depth of four feet
u lava crack the instant it rest
d there, while at twice the depth
took fire much less readily aud
urned more slowly. His inter
st in the volcano is great from
be fact that New Zealand contains
ONE of the most wonderful VOL
auic phenomena in the world
mud flows, etc.
II m ust say" the Colonel en-
remarked when he had
iuished with coffee, "that l have
lever in any country seen such
ivility as that shown by the peo-