Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1902-10-27
Farmers Institute At
wAHIA<NA COLONY
Closes Up Years Work

perience, during which time | have
seen long list of vegetables success
fully grown here. | do not remember
seeing finer string beans. table beets,
collards. sweet corn. endive, cucum-
bers, egg plants, leeks, lettuce, musk
and watermelons, okra. onions. pep
pers. pumpkins. radishes and todod
pers, pumpkins. radishes. satisfy, Swiss
chard. squash and tomatoes, than we
exhibited at our recent Territorial fair
and elsewhere in the vicinity Of Homo
lulu, not emitting Wahiawa. But no
systematic effort seems to have been
made to supply our home wants by any.
one excepting perhaps, the Chinese
gardeners. and variety, with them, Is
woefully lacking. II requires judg.
ment and skill, this intensive farming
which secures continuous succession
of first class vegetables In great variety.
But cannot Wahiawa colony become
equal to the fullest requirements.
think SO most decidedly. and your good
beginnings under difficulties are our
best promise for the future. shall
watch your development along this
particular line with special interest-it
has become a hobby with me.
Experience Tells.
shall not attempt to tell you how to
make a fortune on half an acre in halt
as many years because none of you
would follow my directions. nor shall
follow the old time monthly garden
calendar idea which gave the minutest
instruction to every detail in gardening
operations; happily the day is passing
when the chief aim of books Is to save
one the trouble of thinking. In no
other calling as in ours, with its con-
stantly varying conditions, are there
better teachers than the personal OBJ
servations and deductions obtained in
practical experience harnessed to the
suggestive helps from our National De-
partment OF Agriculture, the agricul-
tural colleges, and experimental sta
lions, the agricultural press and. last
but not least, from Farmers Institutes
like ours, which give mutual strength
and inspiration for further work.
Science and Practice.
Science and practice are each year
becoming better friends. We are no
longer satisfied In knowing how to hoe,
irrigate or fertilize our crops, but We
must know the why as well. And |
cannot do better than to touch upon
some of the broad underlying princi-
pies Of agriculture, as they must equal
ly apply to vegetable gardening. and
perhaps suggest factors that may apply
to your conditions.
Soil is the foundation and climate
the roof of the farm. and vegetable
gardening Is farming intensified. But
10 the market gardener the selection
of favorable location Is as important
as the sol More mighty than Art
In Nature,r yet much can be done 10
improve deficient soil Great Is is the
value OF deep, rich, sandy loan for
gardening purposes, no one doubts the
greater value of Wahiawa here than II
II were on any of the other islands. We
cannot lose sight of market opportun-
tiles and shipping facilities, ITO pro-
duce Is one thing, to sell another"
Soil and Location.
Both soil and location must to a great
extent determine the kind OF produce
to be grown. II near a local market
then variety rather than quantity
counts. and one often becomes his own
direct salesman. which calls for the
rare combination of business ability
and gardening skill, business of small
but important detail. On the other
hand, the extensive trucker at dis
lance is confronted by other problems.
No matter how plentiful and how ex-
ce'lent his crop, II his market be glut-
ted, even the low resulting profits are
too often swallowed up by commission
rates and freight charges. Again, the
perishable nature of truck crops makes
them especially susceptible to loss,
thus compelling the more costly rapid
transit methods to insure safe arrival
ut destination. II has been estimated
that the producer often receives less
than 80 per cent OF the price paid by
consumers, strong intimation that oul
methods OF marketing IRE still ex'
tremely crude. To remedy so gross q
defect is surely worthy of careful study
since every percent OF increase in the
farmers returns is clear profit. Per,
haps you have worked out the problem
to your own satisfaction, but | dare
say there is room for improvement,
everywhere. My own thought in tn,
matter is that specialization must grad
J ually be developed in ones crops. AM
only by careful organization and co
operation can you obtain the benefits
to be derived from the combined know
ledge, influence and resulting strength
; go essential to large operations. Wa
hlawa Colony is destined to become {
. large and influential institution If yol
, so will it.
Gardening a Science.