The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1898-04-16
A MONTEREY MAN
Friend Of Islands Sends Down
Poppy Seeds.
SUPPLY OF MANY VARIETIES
Free BY Mr.. Mars
den - Interesting Letter From
Greene-Talks of Sugar Beets.

A good many people here will re-
member very well Mr.. H. A. Greene,
the Monterey, Cal, capitalist who
spent several months in Hawaii, last
year. Mr.. Greene is a very wealthy and
a very pleasant gentleman who deyel-
oped a great fondness for the Islands,
and the people here. He has sent to
J. Narsden a quantity of poppy seed.
Mr.. Narsden will distribute or issue
these seeds to all corners until the sup
ply is exhausted. In the letter Mr.
Greene says:
Il still take as much interest in Ha-
wall as if I owned the Islands.
ct occurred to me to send you some
seeds which may result in giving pleas
ure to those who plant them. I gath
cred poppy seeds from many countries
and grew then in a field. I obtained II
different blooms and gathered about
200 pounds of seed, most Of which l
have given away. I am not familiar
with all the names given to the flowers
of sleep Of different kinds, but among
the seeds sent to you are the shirley,
peony, carnation, mikadO, elder down,
lady in white and Japanese pompones.
81 gathered a pound of opium, which
proved to be equal to the Persian arti-
Gle. I figured that opium could be rails
ed here at a cost of SIS a pound, which
of course makes it impossible as an
industry.
st have scattered broadcast along the
roads each year, a quantity of seeds,
and in June and July the effect is
beautiful, surprising those who do not
know how they came to grow in I'M
expected places.
81 thought that at least there would
be a few new ones to your country,
and they might add somewhat to your
MANY attractions in the way of plant
life
'"There is no danger, in my belief, of
peoples becoming nuisance If soWn
broadcast, for they are easily killed.
81 send seed of a hardy and most
satisfactory shrub which 1 think is the
acaci bealbata--called here the golden
shower. (The species is new here, but
the name is not correct). 1 can fur
n:sh YOU any reasonable quantity of
this seed if it is of any value to you.
T. blooms continuously and may be
pruned at any time. While l. may be
common to you / do not remember
seeing it in the Islands. l have other
seeds I would be glad to send YOU and
| would wish no other return for any OF
them than the satisfaction that they
might be grown successfully there. l
could give you the names of some, and
then YOU might let me know if they
would be wanted. Your friends might
like to have them. I see that you are
trying our Monterey cypress.
eve have had such dry season that
notice has been given to farmers not to
plant sugar beets unless we have three
of four more inches of rain during the
next month. The outlook is very dis
couraging. In growing the beets at 81
a ton the cultivator takes all the
chances of short crops. etc. A grower
told me yesterday that he lost dol
lar a ton on his beets last year. In
my opinion it would be wise for the
factory to pay So ton at least to in
sure quantity. I am informed that the
mill could pay So a ton and still have
a profit of 100 per cent. Many large
owners refuse to attempt to grow beets
at the present price, and 1 doubt very
much if the big factory will ever run
full capacity at 81. Mr.. Spreckels has
prepared his land for planting, but is
waiting for sufficient rain to justify
nutting in seed. He bought large
tract at Kings city and was prepared
to irrigate, but there is no water this
wear. Mr.. SpreckeIs will not grow beets
if he can induce others to grow then
at 81 a. ton. I may be wrong, but
fear his Salvation Army colony vii
have a hard time Of it.
L might say to you that I am still
confident Monterey is the place for the
Hawaiian planters to build big re
inery."
Mr.. Greene says that he hopes t.
soon again visit Hawaii.
| N1e<Ixr Smoke