The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-05-07
Jared Smith Talks
Of Work to Be
Done.
BUILDINGS WILL
BE ERECTED
New Fruits and Forage Plants to
Be introduced Local Prod.
ucts improved.

4
fred G. Smith, the newly appointed agri3
cultural agent at his offices in the Capt.
| toll building yesterday afternoon by an
Advertiser reporter.
| The conversation largely concerned the
future agricultural experiment station of
bryo
| An appropriation of $1,000 has been
voted by the United States Government
| for the year of 1901, in which to erect
| buildings and carry out such work as
| properly belongs to the uses of an ex-
pertinent station.
| ASIDE from first Impressions said
Mr. Smith, there are many erroneous
| ideas in circulation concerning an ex-
pertinent station. 1 was asked the other
/ day if the school 1 was going to con-
duct would admit Cinnamon to the
| classes. I have been asked if a China
mans crops were going wrong whether
would look into the matter or if it
was necessary to be a citizen of the
United States to secure my services.
| There seems to be a general impression
/ q
blackboard lecture on how to grow them
| has only to apply TO me to get all the
seeds he wants.
1.-The uses of this, as of all experiment
stations, will be the Introduction of new
forage plants, fruits and trees likely to
| flourish in this climate and the consery-
| ing and Improvement of local growths
with regard to the highest development
of their economic values. The scope is
Il vii
/ entomology and a knowledge of many of
| the sister sciences.
| 1T will take a good deal of time to
| get the first step in the work accom-
plished. l am erecting house and 9TH
| er buildings on our reservation, and
there is. beside, lovely lot of lantana
| that has had full sway over a great
deal of the go acres allotted. This has
4 to be eliminated before we shall have
any amount of room for actual growing
| experiments. I expect to replace the
| lantana with some leguminous crop ca
pabIe of enriching the land on which it
is grown.
| 'Ieguminous crops are natural manu-
| factors of nitrogen, they being fitted
| by the tubercles on their roots to absorb
nitrogen from the air. while the cereals,
grasses, sorghum and sugar cane need
| nitrogen supplied to them. In all prob
ability the velvet bean will be used or
some legume TO keep down the weeds,
the crop being ploughed under next au-
tumn.
"The velvet bean is an exceedingly
| valuable forage plant only discovered.
and then accidentally, some ten years
ago. It is a native Of the tropics and
has occasionally been used as human
food It's fertilizer value, while large,
is not so great as its feed value. Cattle,
sheep, hogs and poultry are all very
fond of the velvet bean, though horses
do not seem to relish them.
1.-The seed is readily obtainable from
all seed merchants. In ali cases where
seed is easily procurable from the usual
channels. it has been the policy of ex-
pertinent stations not to interfere with
the seed trade. In the case of new
growth it is, of course, different, and In
certain cases where by expert expert
mentaIzing common growths, as wheat
for example, have been raised to high
state of perfection, seeds have been SOLD
10 neighboring agriculturists at cost
sufficient to pay the cost of the expert
ments. With new fruits or plants, cut
tings and seeds to limited extent would
be distributed from the experiment sta
ton"
| While the buildings are being erected
Mr. Smith will probably take trip TO
the big Island, the whole group being
| VISITED taIeT On
Suggestions will be considered by the
lstation, complaints OF crop failures from
poor soil, poor selection OF variety, OF
from ravages of insects will be looked
Into and results issued from time 70
time in printed reports. These reports
are indeed the principal and most val
| liable work of the station. among otn-
Ter matters to be taken up, the GROWTH
OF tobacco viii be looked into; the Sc
Election of varieties of cofee; Jute ano
hemp should, thinks Mr.. Smith, be sat
tisfactorily grown here and produce hoers
| to be used in the manufacture OF sugar
bags for the plantations. New Farleues
OF uangoes are coming from Mania
the local alligator pear VIII De crossee
!, TO a higher favor: the failure OF ns'
10 do their best will also De taken up
Grapes, again, do not, in the agricut
/ tural agents opinion, taste as they
should under the climatic condit1ons, ths
fault lying probably in a PAD seie ,s
, of variety. Vegetables and 1erthiZsi'
viii constitute a part or the program
| Mr. Smiths speciality In agrlcuitura
matters is that of agrostology, or ln'
, study of grass and forage plants. Ih'
reservation on which the practical ex'
periments viii be conducted starts OF
the Waikiki slope of Punchoowl ah'
runs I'D the same side of the Tantaiu'
Il ridge running from an elevation OF
to LBS feet ..
| The results of all requests Tor lnVesu
cations viii be published in the bulletins
to be printed by the station. com