The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1898-09-24
THE FORGOTTEN ISLANDS
ALTON ABOUT THE NEW
HEBRIDES.


The following information about
the New llebrides is furnished by
| United States Commercial Agent
| Wolff, who is stationed at Noumea.
! lie says.
| The native population for the whole
archipelago is estimated at about co.
600 Kanakas, widely scattered. They
are savage and treacherous i'm charact-
er, but will not attack foreigners if
! they see that they are armed or capa-
| BILE of defending themselves. Upon
these natives the European planters
mostly French and English. and num-
| boring about 2O0-must depend for
their worllmen. There are few real
European settlements. except i'm the
Island Waite. where, at Port villa,
there is French colony of about 100
inhabitants, including women and
children. At Undine Bay. in the same
island, there is a small English colo
ny. Here, also. is found the most inn
portant station of the French society,
| comprising a large coffee plantation.
a cocoa plantation with 10000 trees.
a banana plantation of 10000 plants.
and fields of maize and tobacco. There
is coffee factory comp etely equipped
and an immense reserve dock. with
storehouses and salesrooms. The So
ciety also possesses an important sta
ton at Port Havannah, in Nate, and
others at Port Sandwich. Api, and on
the canal of SECOND. TO every immi-
grant possessing a capital of 1000
francs (S712), the society gives %
hectares (61.S acres) of land.
The New Hebrides can undoubtedly
be developed. Spices and all tropical
fruits yield abundantly. as well as
egetables-beans. turnps, carrots,
cabbage, eggplant. pumpkins, aspara-
gus, radishes, satisfy, water cress-
the only exceptions are caulihower,
|artichokes and potatoes. Vans, which
| yield well. are substituted for the lat
ter. The tobacco is excellent i'm quail
| ity. 1t is Sown in rows like turnips,
but before sowing a good fire of fine
brushwood is made. to rid the soil of
the parasitic enemies of the plant. At
the end of three or four weeks the
seedlings are transplanted. In a good
year two or three harvests can be OBJ
tanned. The yield is from 1900 to
| $500 pounds to the hectare can ac-
RESI-. and the price is from 60 to -
centimes the kilogram az to Is cents
per 2.20l9 pounds. according to the
/ quality. The Sumatra tobacco sue
ceeds the best, but American seeds
| Virginia and ConnecticuD and ORR
entail tobaccoes have been tried.
The cultivation of coffee is remun-
erative, though not as advantageous
as that of tobacco, on account of the
/ expense of manual labor.
The coffee Of the New Hebrides is
very like that of Caledonia: the kerr
nels are smaller but have Il very fine
! aroma. The price at Sydney varies
! from $50 to 21O francs (S3I.i4 to
| Sl0.j3) the quintal (22O.4G pounds. \
coffee plantation commences to yield
the third year, but is not i'm full pro-
| duction until the end of five years. In
/ 1895, 100 tons of coffee were exported:
] in 1896. more than $50 tons.
| Many planters manufacture copra
with the cocoanuts, which they buy
| from the natives 1t takes about
| 5000 cocoanuts to make a ton of cop
ra. The price varies from 200 to 22j
| francs ($3S.6O to $i3.42) the ton at
! Sydney. The planters, to avoid the
risk and expense of transportation,
| sell them i'm the islands for $50 to 1I5
| francs (S2S.96 to S33.7S). About 16O
cocoa trees can be planted to the hec-
| tare (2.471 acres).
The cultivation of the banana Is
very easy, and it has assumed large
proportions in the last few years;
! from 10000 to $4,000 punches a month
are exported to Sydney, where they
sell readily at from 1856 to 3.75 francs
! (36 to ~ cents) the bunch.