The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-04-01
IARED'S MISSION.

A friend of Jared Smith whose an
ticipated coming awakes a pleasurablt
feeling among untutored farmers from
Hawaii TO Niihau, writes the following
letter:
honolulu, Oahu Territory of Hawaii.
/ March 30. 1901.
Editor Advertiser: Mr.. Jared G. Smith
whom you have given considerable "a
tention in your columns recently, IS moi
as entirely ignorant of conditions here rs
YOU seem 10 imagine. He has passed
through Honolulu four times in going &c
and returning from Australia. This
should give him at least glimpse Of Il 's
country and show him that we are not
all savages Besides, he has frequently
read copies of the Advertiser which nave
been sent by friends living here. So he
he must know we have newspaper.
FurtheI more. he has been employed IN
responsible positions by the Department
of Agriculture for the past eight years
and certainly would not be sent to di-
rect an experiment station on these ISL
ands unless he was considered a compe-
tent man. TO fill such position.
E. FARMER.
The genesis of Jared, SO far as this
paper is concerned, rests in the follow
ing Associated Press dispatch:
WASHINGTON, March II. - Jared
Smith who has been in charge Of the Of
fees of seed and plant Introduction in the
Department of Agriculture, has been d.
rected to start in few days for Homo
lulu to start an agricultural experiment
station there. AS director, his first work
will be to teach the Hawaiian people how
to grow garden truck. Most of the vege-
tables now consumed in the Islands are
4 Nov will
be taught also the value of dairy cows
among poor families and butter and
cheesenaking; the forage plants most
economically produced for Hawaiian con-
sumption. and the value of poor families
raising chickens and pigs.
This agricultural missionary work in
the interest of the common people of
the Islands will be essayed before other
agricultural problems will be considered.
There are 200 acres, running from the
coast to the top of a mountain, set apart
by the Hawaiian Legislature for this
purpose. These matters will be given at
tentfon near the coast; coffee raising will
be studied on the higher elevations, and
forestry work will be done on the noun
tain tops.
We had suspected that If Jared had
ever been in Hawaii he merely passed
through Had he paused here very long
he would perhaps have found out that
the people particularly the Chinese
people of these Islands. can teach him
more about growing vegetables in Ha-
wall and combating the various bugs
that prey upon them than the whole
Department of Agriculture collectively
knows. AS for the value of dairy cows
among poor families. no advices from
Washington are needed on that sub
tect. 1t was we'll understood here be-
fore Jared was born: but poor families
cannot buy imported feed for cows. and
much of the grass that grows here has
little nutriment In it but yet Is strong
enough to run out better grasses. Fur
thermore, it costs greater sum to hire
land for pasturage or to grow sorghum
or other forage plants for cows than 1t
does to buy milk. So where do the
poor families and the COW come in?
Mr.. Smith also imagines that the peo-
pie need data about the value of rails
ing chickens. But right here he falls
into the error of the man who knows
nothing about the Islands. The wal
ue" of hens that sell at s1.S7 per head
at auction and the eggs of which mar
ket at five cents apiece needs no bush"
What people want to know is how to
cure certain hen diseases peculiar to
this soil and climate. If Jared were a
hen doctor, now, the chicken-raising
public would receive him with enthusi-
asm. But alas Jared is one of those
teachers we used to read about who
went back to the old homestead to
show his grandmother how to suck
eggs.