The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-11-28
ON CULTIVATION
Report of Geo. r. Ewart to
Planters Association.
Conditions In Kauai - Methods Ct
Handling Cane Facts
and Figures.

The following is the second part o
the report Of the Committee on Cultiva
ton read at the meeting of the Plant
ers Association, November goth, AM
written by manager Geo. R. Ewart o
Kilauea Plantation, Kauai:
MAXWELL Kauai
Hugh Morrison, Esq,
Chairman of the Committee on Cul
tiyation.
Our system of cultivation is quite
different to most places on the weather
side of the Islands, as we have to irri-
gate, and we have little more bad
weather than anywhere else Being
the most northerly point we are expos
ed to the North and Northwest winds
as well as the usual trade winds; the
| former we dread the worst, as they
have a blighting effect on growing
cane. A "a hours wind from the
north or northwest will make cane ap-
pear as though it were drying up for
want of moisture. 1t causes the change
whether it is dry or wet weather For
tunately such winds come only in the
winter time. We have to irrigate in
spite of the fact that we have an aver
age yearly rainfall for the last IA years
of TIT. Most of our rains fall during
the winter months when the tempera-
ture is low and does us no good.
We store water, have three reservoirs
of an area of over 60 acres, and an
average depth of 81 feet. Our soils are
of the yellow and light red" varieties
and an average depth of about 81. And
while here, let us ask does it pay to
cultivate deep on thin soils? We are
told that yellow and light red soils do
not retain moisture well; that being SO
the subsoils retain less and besides
having no capillary power will allow
the water to run through and it is lost
to the plant. We have any amount of
evidence that that is SO, for all depres-
sions and gulches commence to run
water as soon as we begin to irrigate
and drain bitches nave to be cut in all
such places In dry summer weather
land that means hot weather with us
as wet weather means cOlO we cannot
get water fast enough on our cane to
get out all there is in the land. What
with the drainage through the soil and
evaporation, both through the cane
and ground, there is no fear or DONG
any harm by water. We find that with
deep cultivation Chat is using the
steam plow cultivators to a depth OF
saw twenty inches and cross cultiEat- |
ing IT'D the land will take in more
water. but as it runs through it, it is |
wasted. |
If we could regulate the amouat OF
water to a nicely, as Chey do at the eX-
detrimental station, it would be all
right, but you cannot do that, AS you
cannot depend on the watermen to put |
on just so much water, they will FIJI |
the furrow, the only way to prevent it |
is not to furrow deep, and we are doing |
it for two reasons: one, to reduce the |
quantity of water, put on at one time, |
and the other to give the seed as deep /
a soil bed as We can so that some OF
the roots will be underneath the seed; |
we find that none of them penetrate the |
subsoil, they are all lateral from the
seed, so where does deep cultivation |
come in, when the subsoil will neither |
hold the moisture nor the roots go into
it? The more you loosen the subsoil, |
the more water it takes to fill the fur !
row and the more runs to waste. [
may state I know of no plant growing |
here that has roots growing in the SUBJ
soil. We always pillow to take up a |
little of the subsoil so as to increase |
the quantity of soil by each blowing. |
We commence blowing in the fall and |
harrow each field Immediately after
wards so that when we come to plow
il the second time before planting we
find that the land we'll broken up and
the second blowing and narrowing
leaves the land clean and well pulver
lied With new land we cultivate we'll
before second narrowing. Land having
maniania bermuda grass growing
cannot be narrowed clean, we have to
hoe it out after we furrow. Our fur
rows are from feet to 5 feet 6 inches
apart.
Before planting we put in the fur
rows 500 pounds to the acre Of pulver
lied mudpress cake and ashes. 1t ana
lyses, Phos. acid, 316 per cent; Potash,
ASS per cent; Nitrogen, 1.53 per cent.
Analysed by DR.. Averdam of Honolulu.
We then run a single tined cultivator
or subsoiler through the furrow mixing
up the mudpress cake and ashes with
the soil. Seed we place lengthwise in
the furrow and overlapping little but
care being taken that the seeds do not
touch each other, in case one seed
spoils and affects the other. Cover