The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-10-27
FARMERS
MEET At
WAH|AWA
A Good Institute
Session at the
Colony.
PAPERS READ BY
AGRICULTURIsTS
Several important Papers by Men
Who Want to Build Up
Small Farming.

A very successful meeting of the
Farmers Institute was held on Sat
urday evening last, at the Wahiawa
Colony. Oahu. This meeting closes
the years work of the society, it being
the last of a series of similar meet
ings held tri-monthly during the past
year The object of the institute work
was we'll carried out; that is, meet
ing of the scientist and the practical
farmer in order that mutual relations
may be established, and each gain the
point of view of the other.
Since its organization the society has
ghad steady growth. Several new
names were added to the list of active
members. A large delegation from
Honolulu attended the meeting, and
the interest shown indicates that the
future success of the institute is as
sured.
In the absence of Jared G. Smith,
who is at the head of this effort to
help the farmers, the vice president
presided at the meeting. During the
usual business session Mr. Krauss ex-
tended, through the courtesy of Prin-
cipal Dyke of the Kamehameha Scools,
an invitation to hold the next institute
at that place The invitation was cor
daily accepted by the members. Mr..
Sedgwick then preceded the regular
program of the evening with the fol-
lowing remarks:
Mr.. SEDGWICK'S SPEECH
Societies for the promotion of agri-
culture have been in existence in Ha-
waii for the past half century. A
movement was made in 1898 to organize
society on the plan of the Farmers
Institute, but it failed. In each year
following similar efforts were made
with like results The year 1902 how
ever marks the establishment of a per-
manent Farmers Institute in Hawaii.
It's first year of existence, of which this
is the closing meeting, is the beginning
of a life in which we of this generation
can MSpe to be only small factor in
it's growth. Neither petty differences,
financial reverses nor political difficult
ties can destroy the influence this So
ciety may have and may exert not only
over Hawaii but the tropical world at
large. Whatever influences Hawaii
agriculturally, will influence Porto Rico
and the Philippines, and whatever in
fiuences the tropical possessions of 9TH
er countries will influence those of the
United States. The tropical possessions
of some of the other countries may have
the start of us owing to their early as
sociation with the mother country but
our growth will be the more rapid be-
cause of the valuable literature they
give US recording their experiences, and
because tropical agriculture no longer
holds second place. Mr.. o. P. Austin
of the Treasury Department, Bureau of
Statistics, has the following to say con-
corning the growing importance of
tropical agriculture as abstracted from
the Planters Monthly;
This is especially the case in the
United States, which now imports over
$1,000000 of tropical products every
day. The total value of :, all tropical
imports was in 1870. s144,GOO 600: 1876,
s207, ,o0O, 600; 1880, s246, ,OO0, ,OO6. 1890. $685.
900, ,O00 1885, sS25, ,0O0 600; 1901 s4O5 OOO, 600.
In the light of these figures is it not
possible we have builded better than we
know in cur recent unsought tropical
acquisitions? The products of Hawaii
have increased over twenty fold since
the reciprocity treaty of 1876, and eX-
ports to the United States twenty-five
times. Porto Rico shows over three
time the average before the new re-
lationship. Our exports to Hawaii have
multiplied twenty times, and to Porto
Rico five times. In 1901 the Philippines
supplied over twice the total of 1899;
their nearest neighbors, the Dutch In
dies, supply us with more sugar than
any other country save Cuba. With the
Philippines twenty times as large as