Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-02-22

which would be necessary for sugar sui
ture, and only smah portions enjoy enough
moisture for coffee-our two great staples
for export. 1t is, however, well adapted
for miscellaneous farming and dairying
The rainfall during six months, from No
vember to May. is usually ample for the
production of all crops, such as corn DO
tatoes, vegetables and hay. which would
be needed for feed of cows in dry weather
Hay would also be an important crop for
the market. With deep ploughing alfalfa
would grow the Year round. also sorghum.
SuWmer rains average two inches a month
Soil of the Plateau,
The soil of this beautiful plateau Is mod
erately good. 1t needs the addition of lime.
Abundance of this fertilizer is near at hand
on the shores below. The chief drawback
to such farming has been the prevalence of
an army worm, which appears soon after
the fall rains have Matched out the millers
ne imported birds have greatly reduced
the numbers of the millers and proba bly
our great insecticide, Prof Koebele. will
soon discover abroad the parasite or fungus
Whlch Will prove fatal to the caterpillars.
he mas nearly every other insect pest here
IN process OF determination. The near vi
entity OF this fine farming district to Pearl
Haroor Will AFFORD the farmers a good mar
ket Tor produce whenever the opening of
the harbor creates the prospective town
there. This plateau ought to support one
thousand white families in the most de-
Hghtful of climates
L have recountad these objects in s,pbt
from my morning outlook westward in or
der TO illustrate both the present and the
prospective resources of these islands gen
orally This group is beyond question ca
paDie OF supporting in comfort popuia-
ton of half million, as it once fed that
number OF people. With the added re-
sources of the immense commerce of the
faci'lc centar'ng here a population of at
ieast one million is to be expected. The cof-
fee culture is in its incpient stage The
moist upland regions of Hawaii and Maui
SO admirably adapted to coffee are only
beginning to be opened to it's culture The
production of sugar, now 25O,GOO TONS may
POSSIBLY yet be increased 30 per cent by the
use of wells end pumps. The Evening Star
very lately contained an estimate of a
possible 100000 tons yet to be produced
mere This seems rather beyond possibility.
1 know of very few possibly available sugar
tracts OF any siza remaining. Something
may still be done by improved application
OF fertilizers. Improved extraction of sugar
mas nearly reached its possible maximum
a Big Land Sale.
This is a good place to mention an i'm
p0rtant land sale this week, of what has
teen one of the most valuable cattle
ranches in the islands. II was offered at
auction at the upset price of $4,000. but
unexpectedly sold for $25l,OOO, under a
sharp competition, going to a Boston syn
o1cate. For cattle, The upset price was
about its full value. The enhanced price
was in hope of finding room for a large
sugar Plantation among its 10000 acres,
Including much excellent but arid soil.
1t mas lately been found on Maui that arte-
sian wells produced abundant water at
sea level, and some thousands of acres
there are already being irrigated by means
OF pumps. 1t is quite certain that like or
better conditions exist on Mookai. There
are probably three or four thousand acres
OF the tract sold not too high up for the
pumps TO reach: and five or ten thou
sand ton plantation is not unlikely to be
created there. This Will be the south
side of the island, and eight miles from
the leper settlement, from which the ranch
is separated b. a lofty and difficult preci-
pice, the one Miss Kate Field climbed
Hawaii is so prominently before the
American public suddenly to thrust a
rush OF tourists and business visitors upon
us. There is an outcry made about our
lack of hotel accommodations. Enlarge
ment of size and increase of number OF
hotels had already been planned and some
thing begun to be done toward accom-
plishment. At the same time our city pop
ulation has been feeling the lack of habi-
tations We have been sensible of no
great influx; but somehow. no dwellings
are unoccupied for hire. although several
hundred have been erected the past year,
and very large number are now going
up. With such active city growth now,
what may we expect when annexation be-
gins to get in its work, and when the flood
tide of trans-Pacific commerce rolls in?
A very few years more Will see here a
splendid body of active. intelligent Ameri-
cans at home in this already Americanized
land.
To be much maligned is the common lot
of all VINO do good work. But it is COM
forting to get appreciative words. The
last paragraph of General Schoheld's earn
est letter lately found in The Star columns
is pleasant to us TO read, and justly char
acterizes us:
"A colony of intelligent, virtuous and
patriotic Americans have rescued coun-
try from barbdrism and raised 1t to a
high state OF civilization and prosperity,
until in the natural course of events the
government of that country has fallen en-
tirely into their hands
Some good men who ought to guard
against injustice, incautiously lend ear to
ISLANDERS against us proceeding from cor
Iupt motives, or simply from malignant
dispositions. We are deeply grateful for
sympathetic words like those OF General
Schofeld. We have long and patiently
cherished American interests and exercised
teneficent American enterprise in this key
point of the Pacific. We have earned a
place in the hearts of true Americans. and
a share in the great union OF American
states. KAMEHAMEHA.