The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1900-07-27
Hemp Crops Profitable


D time Cuu1tiuu r. ehrhtie. Tho harvest
irg ID chiefly done On the shhrtf. tn'
I hrrteturs rrtfN nH half The crop
The hands work i1 couples. two men
roItu together into tho plantation 20 cut
down the p'afta ana prepare the stun fof
tho market TfrV d. th in fNe .'''
and simplest way one man cuts down
T the stalk. chcrs IN the top and str D.
ne outer lraV,s, lie has now white poe
i've or siN juthfs tti,h and frofr elk Oh
I ton feet long This is mndp " "a s1f, Ccn-
Z trrl core and number ~ white leaves
] witch run Tire fu lcrrth - Tho stalf
Tlcse leaves curtnln the nhcr known as
hemp. The man str'rs the leaves OF one
~ one from tie core, and throwing them
over his shoulder. carries them 10 he
rrrtrcr. who docs what we call the strip
ping.
THE abcr s on the outside OF the leaf,
TIE inside rcinr made UP ~ "a pulo WIN
t,rrt lo eouCCzcd cut before the hemp ia
rcrdv for use. This f. done by drawing
the leaves orc ~ ore under lnfn wh'c'
rests upon n leg IN such wnv that nc
twice ard uuIn are sCrppcd out and onl''
tho frcr g left Tho knife is fastened t.
n tree9le uron which ITO r'o0 p"ts VI
foot, forcing It down tight upon the leaf
ard pressing Il ara INST the log. As u"
rulls II he wraps the fiher about stcp
In order that ,rore may We no dnng"" o.
rrepfinp H. when II has teen drawn
under the kn'fo 1t locks irst IRE n ske'n
of fine silk and needs only dry'rF to be
ready for tho market. The drying is
dore IN the sun.
After tn s TIE stuff is put I'M in hu"dlee
or twists much like hank OF yarn and
carried 20 the stores for sale. The pant
er usually buvs the hemp gathered from
hts own plantation paying his workmen
for their hn'f Of I THE price Mt times
ranges all the way from 81 to $25 picu',
or 40 pounds. Ow ng to the war, hemp
is now very high, selling Mt s25 IN silver
for 40 porrds. 1t sometimes brings az
much as $3.50 or $500 ton in Amer can
,-oney and there Is one grade known as
Iupiz whioh has bro-rht in Iordcn pc
much as 500 a ton This. however. can
re raised II but snail quantities. ana II
should rot he regarded as a criterion in
cons derirg the hemp possibilities.
THE GROWTH OF THE INDUSTRY.
= Feup has been steadily going up in
price since It was first exported, and TINS
notwitf star ding the size of the crop mas
trehled n the last twenty years. Abo,,,
fifty wears ayo the price was between 81
ard s. per picul In the neyt decade II
rose to 80, Prd in the SOS the average
price was ST. Ten wears later 1t had
risen to ST., and 1t is now, as have sa d,
,,p to $685. These HI h prices are caused
hy the war, and there will probably be a
fall within the near future. At present
quarter of a billion pounds year, enough
to give every familv n the United states
enough for clothes ire and to supply
all the children with tur'p'n" rnpes. arc
st'll leave much to snare " would y
fact, give three pounds OF hemp 10 every
man, woman and child In our country.
end rot exhaust the supply by 25.ooo,ooo
pounds.
OF this amount the United States takes
rrcre than ore-th'rd. We use more Ma
Mia hemp than all Europe, excep Ing Eng
land Great Britain coming next to u.s.
hrt she acts rather as m'ddleman tor
Europe than as an actual user herself
IN THE WAREHOUSES;.
During my stav in Manila / spent some
time in the great hemp warehouses
There are perhaps a dozen of them where
the most of the product is sent to be
sorted and classified before II is shipped
/ to the markets of the world 1t Is taken
to Manila from the islands In sailing yes
sells and small steamers, and 1t Is brought
IN from the interior of Luaon In cascoes
or great harges, which are pushed along
through the river with poles.
/ Some of the warehouses are enormous
The one ! visited had more than S1,0OoOO
worth Of produce of one kind or another
stored away in II. 1t was great white
two-story hui ding, covering almost an
acre. situated on the banks of the Pas
river, not far from the bay, and at the
lower er d of that section of Manila call
ed Binendo. Cascoes and ships loaded
with tobacco and hemp lay before t. and
bales of hemp were being carried out OF
and into il by half-naSed Chinese coolies.
The coolies We're labor.ng in pairs each
pair carrying a bale in rattan sling up
on pole which rested upon their shoui-
ders In front of the warehouse guam
tty of hemp was spread out under the
sun to dry, and inside of 4 were stacks
and bales of this stuff, half filing the
great room from floor to ceiling.
STRANGE METHODS FOR THE NINE
| TENTH CENTURY.
| I went inside and watched the kalng
and sor' ing of the hemp for shipment. 1t
was inLeed a Gtrange sight for the end OF
this century of invention and progress,
Everything was done by hand. Ahout tif-
! ty Filipinos were at work tearing the
bales apart and sorting the stuff, which
looked Ike strands and twists OF slvery
white hair, but which was really great
hanks of hemp. From time TO time the
men would carry great bundle OF these
hanks and pile II up on platform until
they had as much as an ordinary mule
cart would hold. They would weigh
this upon immense steelyards which hung
from the roof, adding or subtracting In
order to get the $50 pounds, the amount
comprised In bale ready for shipment.
| Next would come the pressing. The
hemp is first packed in a framework of
boxes which rest one upon >the other. so
! that n press operated just like a letter
press can he forced down upon them. The
queerest thing was the working OF the
screw. This was done by Chinese. Upon
platform high above the press thirty
two half-naked, yellow-slSinned mortals
trotted about, pusn.ng the spokes OF
wheel. Four grasped each of the eight
/ pra
round as fast as they could go. turning
the screw which formed the axle OF the
wheel thereby pressing the hemp tight
in the bale. a bell rung below was the
signal for their starting and stopping,
and when they moved II was on the dead
run. pushing. straining and sweating as
they did so.
The bales are put up In the most eco
nomical way. They are wrapped In has
network mats of palm leaves and are ted