The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-06-03
THE GARDEN ON HAWAII.
PROGRESS OF AN IMPORTANT
EXPERIMENT.
Good Prospects for Success of the Vege-
table-Raising Enterprise at Wal
mea-Prosperous Homesteaders.

WAIMEA, Hawaii, May 3l.-The
market garden experiment begun here
little over three months ago by II.
II. Long and William Giberson is pro-
crossing most interestingly and it is
believed, successfully. Messrs. Long
and Giberson have several acres of land
in actual cultivation and are preparing
more than as much more for immediate
and continuous planting. Up to the
present the only vegetables marketed
have been green peas and string beans.
There have been two shipments of
these to the Honolulu market, the green
peas being a good deal of novelty
there and finding a very ready sale at
prices which Mr.. Long says are salts
factory 1t is expected that regular
shipments will be made hereafter by
every kinau.
But though green peas and string
beans are the only vegetables so far
marketed, a large variety of vegetables
are growing and number of varieties
will soon be ready for shipment. Among
these are cucumbers, cabbage, cauli-
flower, squash, pumpkins, celery beets,
Brussels sprouts and many others.
Mr.. Longs garden is located about
mile and a half from the center of the
life and activity of Waimea-Akona'
and Kokis stores. The old government
KaWaihae, the first point touched by
the Kinau on this island on the voyage
from Honolulu, winds up through the
Parker ranch to Waimea and thence to
the Hamakua coast at Kukuihaele and
Honokaa, and by extension is the new
overland road to Hilo. 1t is the star
route over which the United States
mails pass, after being delivered by the
Kinau at Kawaihae for distribution
n
of Hamakua as far as Laupahoehoe.
The mail contract requires that the
mail shall be delivered at Honokaa
within eight hours after it is delivered
at Kawaihae, and the distance is over
forty miles. So that this is an indica-
ton that the road is fairly good. Most
of the way it is very excellent
After this road passes Akona's and
Koki's stores it leads, half a mile away
through what are known locally as
The Homesteads.' These Home
steads" comprise approximately 1000
acres ,aken up in tracts AVERAGING
about twenty acres each, as home
steads" under the land act of which
Governor Dole is the author. These
homesteads have all beer taken up
within the last three or four years, and
certainly no man could ask for a more
beautiful monument to his endeavor
than these homesteads present. They
vary in the degree of improvement the
different homesteaders have put upon
them, in the taste displayed in making
the improvements and in the proDor-
ton of each homestead under cultiva-
ton. But trees have been planted on
all. Fences have been erected, crops
of some kind including bananas and
fruit trees have been planted, cottages
have been erected and everywhere
there are flowers. Not single home
steader, it would seem, has failed to
plant flowers 1t is the almost univer-
sal rule that the driveway leading from
the main highway to each cottage shall
be bordered with blossoming gerani-
ums and rose bushes, for the Japanese
beetle has not yet become destructive
in this region. The drive of a mile and
half through these homesteads is a
continuing delight. There is every
where the evidence of comfort, indus
try and the enjoyment of life.
At the end of THE Homesteads'
farthest from Waimea and nearest Ku-
kuihaele and HOnokaa is Messrs Long
and Giberson's market garden. 1t is
rioht at the foot of the Kohala noun
tains where they sink into the wide
plain that stretches to Mauna Kea It
is a beautiful location. The climate
is that of the temperate zone with the
equableness of Hawaii. Right at this
very season the thermometer &c often
as low as 81 i'm the early morning and
seldom goes for into the seventies
while there is a crispness and bracing
quality in the air that seems born of
the snow that still fingers on Mauna
Kea and Mauna Loa.
Whether all other conditions are as
favorable or not remains to be seen and
can only be demonstrated by eXDeri-
ment. The market garden embraces
two tracts little distance apart. Each
is fenced in securely. This part of Ha-
wall is blest with showers throughout
the year, so that irrigation has not
been provided for or attempted. Every
thing grown so far has been without
irrigation and doubtless will continue to
be so i'm the main. Mr.. Long however
hopes to secure a water supply that
Will enable him to keep the Garden in
prime condition in intervals between
showers which sometimes are pro-
longed. Most of the rain of this re-
giOn comes from the northeast from
the direction of Honokaa.. But this
season, the showers have of late come
from the other direction and have
seldom reached as far as this market
garden. SO it has happened this year
that the location selected by Mr. Long
has had less rain than almost anV other
he could have selected near Waimea.
At the same time nothing in the gar
dVIl as YET SHOWS the erect or drought.
These hopeful market gardeners like
every one else, have had their labor
troubles. japanese laborers employed
nave worked when they felt like n
rather than when their services were
most needed The garden has found a
small yet surprisingly active market
for it's products right here in Waimea.
and besides that has stimulated private
gardening to an appreciate degree.
We haven't gone far enouoh yet"
said Mr.. Long, ito say anything more
about the project than we could say
when we began. We believed here was
the place where a successful vegetable
garden to supply the Honolulu market
could be established. We had the
courage of our convictions and have
been putting i'm hard work and hard
money on the faith of our opinions.
Whether we are right or wrong has not
yet been demonstrated-cann be for a
year or So But our eXperience so far
has confirmed our belief. We are still
in the honeful period with thinps GO
ing as well as could reasonably be ex-
pected.