The Hawaiian gazette., 1901-12-17

HOME, FROM
HAWAII ISLE
Jared Smith Sees
the Coffee
Lands.

Jared G. smith. chief of the Hawaii
an Agricultural Experimental station,
returned Saturday on the Kinau after
a ten-days' tour of inspection on the
island Of Hawaii.
The greater part of his time was
sIcnt Ia Hilo and nearby territory, in
visiting the coffee plantations, and he
was given cordial reception by the
farmers in that neighborhood.
Mr.. Smith was highly pleased with
thr coffee plantations in Hamakua and
Laupahoehoe, and will no doubt make
a report favorable to that industry to
Washington on the next mail. The Wis
it was made with special reference to
the coffee industry on Hawaii, Mr..
Smith acting on Geographic instruc-
tons from II. G. True. who is in charge
of all the Experiment Stations.
Mr.. Smith also spent some time with
the chicken raisers and gave them
sound advice in order that they might
remedy the prevailing chicken pox.
Just prior to his return on the Kin
au. Mr.. Smith visited Puma plantation.
Speaking of this visit afterwards he
said
Puma is the only real tropical region
] have seen in Hawaii. One cannot have
had a perfect view OF perfect field OF
cane until he has seen Puma. There il
the great expanse of blooming cane,
decked here and there with groups OF
tall cocoanut and breadfruit trees. 1t Is
characteristic tropical vegetation. 1t Is
exactly what we used to see in the pic
lures in the old grograuhies ut school.
1t Is what we now see in modern scien.
tifc works on plant geography.
at struck me that Il benefice ut ffoyi-
dence has always had that place IN mind
as a sugar country. Manager Campbell
told me that it never rains in the day
time but that rainfall comes in plenty.
in quiet showers at night. This is re-
markable and Il feature of great value.
The daytime Is the working period of
plants as well of men, and beasts of
burden. 80
plants do their eating all the day 'ong
and in the shadows of the nigh time
they digest their food and rest. The
plant differs from the animal only In
the number of stomachs with which it
handles the food. Instead of one or two
or three. IL has "A million or so. Each in
dvidual cell does its work on transform
ing the elements of the air and the earth
into various valuable compounds. The
process is simple and wonderful A green
plant takes carbonic acid gas from the
air and pumps up hydrogen through its
roots from the water in the soil These
elements are converted first into glucose.
then into sucrose. then into starch.
The starch is stored up in the leaves
of the cane stain long as the sunshine
lasts At shutdown in Puma. the millions
Of cane leaves are stored and packed fun
of starch. When the sun sinks the subtle
and delicate machinery of the cane stalk
begins it's work of digestion. The starch
is transferred from the leaves to other
portions of the cane stalk. 1t Is convert
ed into sugar. some of which goes to
make new shoots, some to repair dam
ages and much of 1t Is stored In the stalk
as a reserve food supply. Some of it
goes at once into the formation Of new
leaves to make more starch to make more
sugar to make more leaves to make more
starch.
THE agency in all these operations Is
the living matter in the plant cells. 1t
is the plant soul as Hacckel, the Ger
man philosopher. would say. 1t is di-
rectly comparable to the living matter in
animals. and is the vital force in all life
The reserve supply of sugar in the cane
stalk, which is the secret of nature upon
which the great sugar industry rests, has
for its purpose the sustenance of the new
plant. Ii is an economy OF nature. de
signed for the propagation and perpetua.
ton of Species