The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-09-04
0LAA PLANTATION
Timber Lands Now Being
Cleared.
Eleven Hundred Acres to be Plant
ed This Season-Many Contracts
for Clearing Made

It is hard to conceive of the
| changes made during the past month
| IN the lower sections of the Olaa Su-
| gar COmpany's lands, says the Hawaii
| Herald. The several thousand acres of
| land which has in the past been en-
| tirely given over to the growth of
ferns and tropical growth of similar
nature is rapidly being cleared and the
| entire section is quickly approaching
well-tilled garden in appearance.
Several hundred Japanese coolies
are busily engaged in the work of
clearing the ground and getting it in
condition ready for the pillow, while
the planting of the seed cane is being
forwarded just as fast as the ground
is prepared. A tract of 100 acres is
now already cleared fit for blowing and
considerable part of this is at pres
ent both cleared and planted AS the
land is cleared it is proving to be a
much more fertile and productive
country than the most sanguine of the
hopeful ones had looked for, and the
verdict of experienced cane men is
that they have never seen land better
adapted for the growth of cane than is
the land now being planted by the
company. The old idea that Keaau
was but a stone quarry of IA and pa
hoehOe has been dispelled, and as far
as the clearing has now progressed no
IA land has been encountered that can
not be plowed.
The first planting will be done with
out fertilizing and by the time this
crop has matured, experience will have
demonstrated the most desirable sys-
tenn for the future use of fertilizer. The
work pursued SO far has not been con-
fined to the lower section of the dis |
trict, but in the forest lands mauka the |
clearing and planting of cane for seed |
is being pushed in most energetic |
way. Already over 800 acres of land |
in the forest have been cleared. plowed |
and planted, and the work of clearing |
500 acres of virgin forest has COM
menced at eighteen and half miles on |
the Volcano road. Several contracts
for clearing large areas of this land |
are now being figured on and will pro-
badly be awarded in the near future,
while sufficient contracts for the clear
ing of land ready for the plot now as
sure the planting of at least 1 900 acres
of the wood lands by the first day of
March. 1t is expected that 500 acres of
seed Will be in the ground near nine
miles by the end of September. The
shortage of labor is being rapidly Ov-
ercome and the recent arrival of about
200 contract coolies has now increased
the field help to nearly five hundred
hands. Arrangements have been made
for large number of Japanese to be
and contracts for fifteen hum
dred are now made, to be here by No
vember so. The work of investigating
and hunting for water to be used for
fluming is meeting with success and
is progressing very satisfactorily.
Streams and water heads with capac-
ity of fiuming 1000 tons Of cane have
been discovered and but little of the
territory where water is most expect
ed to be found has been thoroughly in
vestigated. So far the streams discOv
cred have been near enough together |
so that the work Of bringing them in
one will be of but little labor or eX-
pense, and the manager of the COM
pany expresses himself as being per-
fectly satisfied and confident as to hav
ing an abundance Of water for all |
plantation purposes and uses. Large |
stables and labOrers' quarters have |
been built at nine miles and the Puma |
road corner is becoming a village of |
no mean size, while all along the Vol |
cano road new buildings are being |
rapidly built for the accommodation Of |
the different gangs of field laborers and |
plantation lunas. a building to be |
used for hospital purposes has been |
put up at seventeen miles and labor |
ers suffering from accident or illness |
will be taken care of by the regular |
plantation physician. The site for the I
mill has virtually been decided on |
and the work Of construction will be |
started in time to have it completed |
when the first cane for grinding is ma
tured. The mill will be located makai |
of the Volcano road and probably we'll |
toward the Keaau beach. 1t is to be |
OF the most modern type and in capac- |
ity will be sufficient to grind all the |
cane produced on the larger part of |
the entire plantation. The work so |
far has certainly been pushed in a |
most energetic way and to the kamaai- |
ma or malihini who has not been |
through the Olaa district for the past |
two months, changes will be seen which |
for the short time work has been IN |
progress seem we'll nigh incredible.