The Honolulu republican. [volume] (Honolulu, T.H.) 1900-1902, 1900-07-28
sIslL FIBER PLANT
SUCCESSFULLY GROWN.
Three Thousand Acre
Farm Near Pearl
City.
TALK or / FACTORY PLANT.
ANNUAL COST oF SUGAR BAGS
AN INCENTIVE TO MANU-
FEATURING
Rurnor That the Great Oakland, Cali
fornia, Jute Machinery May
Be Moved Over
Here.
TALK OF L FACTORY PLANT.

E4lAtsQl u0li2ES AUIu2lls kOE IGk- oS1@.,
all OF which ought TO be manufactured
here. The Republican IS pleased to be
able to say that the foundation has
been laid for the establishment OF
works for the manufacture OF sugar
sacks, coTdage and other products from
fiber. The firm to carry out this work
is the Hawaiian Fiber Company. Lin
tied. which has a 3000-aere farm two
miles west OF the Eva plantation. near
Pearl City The officers OF this COM
pany are: Cecil Drown, president; NJ.
r Robinson, viee-president; W. 9.
Weldon. secretary and treasurer, and
y G. Ashley auditor. b. f. billing
ham and other prominent business
men, as well as the Eva plantation
are largely interested in the company
which is experimenting with sisal, a
dbrous plant well adapted to this eli
mate and barren aud unproductiye
lands of the Islands.
The Hawaiian Fiber Company plated
1000 of its 5000 acres which it secured
from the railroad company. Six hun
,dred acres are fenced in with a stone
wall built from stone taken from the
land. Three hundred and two acres
are cleared; 10000 plants, or 2l5 acres,
have been planted, and managers
house and comfortable quarters for the
laborels have been built. A-well has
been sunk and good supply of water
has been obtained The work of clear
ing ground, laying out walks and
erecting permanent stone fences is be-
ing pushed. The farm, or plantation,
is called ''Sisal Farm after the name
of the plant
Sisal belongs to the aloes family. Ii
is desert plant and can be raised prof
itably on rough. rocky, coral fats,
where a pillow cannot be used-land I'M
suited and worthless for sugar growing
or anything else. Ii can be grown with
out irrigation, although the fronds of
the plant, from which the cordage is
made, might be larger and plumber if
the plants were irrigated. During the
late dry and hot weather the 215 acres
set TO the plants have grown surpris
ingiy we'll Scarcely plant was lost
1t takes from two and half TO three
years Tor the plants to mature from
the suckers From plants two and q
nall years old sisal fiber four feet IN
length has been obtained The fiber
was made by hand, and specimens of it
We're sent to experts on the mainland,
9hC. Pronounced it unSxceiled in quaf-
icy by any sisal fiber grown elsewhere.
Sisai is different from Manila hemp.
1t is superior to hemp for marine or
naval oordage. Two years ago prepared
fiber brought in the market from 20
ga cents; now it fetehes from GA TO
5 Z cents a pound. The cutting OF plants
after they reach their growth oecdrs
twice year. When the lower fronds
obtain horizontal position they are
ready for cutting. From sixteen to
thirty fronds are taken from each
plant. The process of polling continues
for five to seven years. Each frond
makes a separate fiber After the
fronds are cut the pulp is extracted and
the fiber is washed and baled for the
market Here plants are set from nine
to eleven feet apart. In Bermuda they
are set much closer. The fronds OF the
plants must not touch each other.
There IS hard, horn spike. sharp as
nee lie. on the end of each frond. and
if they come in contact they scar and
bruise and materially ana injuriously
affect the fiber. The company believes
that this industry will become one of
the most profitable industries of the
Islands. Land yalueless for any pur-
pose can be utilized IN growing sisai;
the cost of production is nominal and
no ,Tri cation is necessary in its euitiya-
ton. There are many thousands of
acras of land in the group that will
grow sisai and nothing else.
The Hawaiian Fiber Company has
nov reached a better than the expert
mental stage The ability to grow sisal
has been fully demonstrated, and the
company is now considering the adj
visibility of erecting a plant for the
of the fiber. Persons who
have given the subject study predict
great things from this industry.
The Hawaiian Agricultural Depart
ment has also experimental with sisal
and other fibers. Sisal grows readily
in almost any kind OF soil. said Wray
Taylor. Commissioner OF Agriculture
and Forestry. yesterday. Some time
ago we stuck some roots in the ground
on the slope of Punchbowl. and they
grew timely. Sisal comes from the Ba-
harIas and will grow here on any old
worthless lands. Mr. Taylor said the
department had also received jute seed.
which it would be pleased TO give to
anyone interested in growing that
plant. Also seed of the cowpea- :
On the Island of Hawaii the fiber
saEseyiera has been successfully ex-
peFimented with. and there is said to be
A native fiber plant on that Island
which promises To be valuable
A local company is said to have a
years bond on the magnificent plant
Of the Oakland california; Jute Com
pany. which has been shut down for
three or four years The idea is TO
transfer the machinery to Hawaii and
adapt il to the manufacture OF basgfng.
cordage and so on from local fiber
plants
The Importance of this Industry IS
shown by the fact tina, the sugar in
siusfry alone consumes 4 .Ssa.tsso bags
at s cost OF not less than 1884 Ge5- II is
estimated that the crop for this year
will reach 900 go tons. requiring six
teen bags 10 ton. al q cost OF cents