The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1898-09-19
HOMESTEADS ON HAWAII
ENTHUSIASTIC DESCRIPTION OF
THEIR BEAUTY.
John \. Moore Writes of a Vacation
on the Big Island-The Homes He
Saw There.

The following letter from John \.
Moore gives suggestions of conditions
and impressions from a point of view
which has not often been presented
of late, since utility alone became the
standard by which everything i'm these
Islands are to be measures. Mr..
Moore saw something besides utility
and evidently enjoyed a vacation on
Hawaii, with some other idea i'm mind
than the prospective dollars the soil
was capable of producing. In the
course of an interesting letter he
says:
About 10 o'clock / left for Kukaiau
in care of one who knows exactly how
to manage those fine horses from Hor-
| ner's. During the afternoon | went
out with John VI. Horner and saw
the cane passing by gravitation from
the fields to the mill on the wire. I
presume you are too familiar with this
work to need any explanation. 1t is
far better than huming or railroading
when the cane is raised above the mill.
| think it must require at least per
cent fall; | am not authority on this,
| however.
On Friday | rode with Mr.. Horner
over his coffee. He has about 1870 ac-
res i'm good shape. The oldest is six,
some five, years old, and of this he
has 20 acres. From this he has had
three crops. The first yielded tons,
the second "a tons, and the third 30
tons, ready for the market. 1t was
difficult for me. at first, to distinguish
between the Guatemala and the native
coffee. 1t is said that the Guatemala
| is stronger and bears earlier than the
native. Mr.. Horner is of the opinion
| that rolling land is better than level,
| but that it matters not which way it
rolls, north or south, east or west He
is also of the opinion that the native
coffee is about as well favored as the
Guatemala.
| | must admit that the coffee on
John NJ. Horner's place is the finest to
| be found in my travels. bat when YOU
know how it is cared for you can un-
! derstand it. 1t is like everything
about the Horners-nothing is neg
lected
With regard to the homesteads in
! Hamakua, | do not feel at liberty to
| speak as | would were | better in
formed. | have lost my notes on this
part of my sightseeing and ! can tell
you of only one place especially. Miss
Annie Horner has 20 acres of the fin
est land that | have seen in all my
travels. 1t is said that several other
homesteads are just as good, but did
not examine them closely. The cof-
fee in this 20 acres is not bearing. |
was so delighted with the soil and the
| growth of the vegetation generally.
that | did not see how much was of
the first planting, second planting etc.
| did see that the whole place was in
a lovely state of cultivation, though
not all planted in coffee yet. | saw
about twenty acres of fine corn on the
place ready for market. and | was led
to understand that the crop would
reach thirty sacks to the acre. and
that a plantation had bargained for
the entire yield at one and fourth
cents a pound, or $l.25 sack. The
luna told me that they could reap
two crops a year easily. They had
grown one crop in ninety days.
1t is a lovely drive after leaving the
plantations and passing along the
new government road. which has a
grade of less than ) per cent. There
are lovely cottages nesting along the
roadside. inviting the traveller to call
and give them a visit. When such
men rs Luuisson. Lvdgate, Motley and
the Horners. and Wight. president of
/ the Wilder's Steamship Company, buy
/ homesteads, you may expect to see
/ lovely places.