The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-03-06
POTATOES AND
/. CASTOR BEANS
Matters Of Interest
to Farmers on
Islands.
Blight That Ruins Crop
of Tubers in the
Ground.
Agricultural Experiment Station
Making Attempt to Battle
With II.

The agricultural experiment station
has issued two bulletins that will be OF
interest to farmers on all the Islands.
The first of these deals with the pre-
Iiminary experiments made by Special
Agent J. G. Smith with the quick
blight of the potato. In this the
agent says:
Irish potato growing was once an
important agricultural industry in Ha-
wall During one year, 1900 barrels
were shipped from the country; but for
various reasons the industry became of
minor Importance and of late years
the local demand mas been largely sup
piled by importations, The latest
source of encouragement to the grower
is a disease which often wipes out
whole fields of potatoes in short time.
Nearly every island of the group has
it's infected districts Kula, Kohala,
Kona, Waimea and sections on Oahu
This disease of the potato has been
COMPOUNDED with the potato rot. but
they are entirely different both in the
cause and in their effect upon the plant.
Until better name is given we shall
call it the quick blight
In March, 1902, experiments were be-
gun at Kula. Maui. to study
the disease with the hope of
finding a remedy. The land chosen
was under the control of Mrs. Randall
Won Tempsky, and was situated at an
elevation of between $500 and 1000 feet.
THE plan of the experiment was to
test comparatively the resisting pow
er to the disease of As imported varie-
f;ac of rofataaS Those wPra tn be
planted under varied conditions-on
good soil partly protected from the
wind. on average soil dug to the depth
of u inches, and on average soil dug
to the depth in common practice in that
locality. The 45 varieties of potatoes
used in the experiment were: Northern
Beauty, Gem of Aroostook, Early Har-
vest, Early Northern, New Queen, The
Minister, Carman No. 1, Green Noun
tain Beauty of Hebron, Pearl of Savoy,
Black Christy, White Elephant. Dako-
ia Red, Early Rose. Early Fortune,
Early Six Weeks, /. x. L., Pride of the
South, The June, Acme, Bovee, Breck's
Chance, Burpee's Extra Early. Cam
bridge Russet, Early Ohio. Early Mich
igan. FiIlbasket. Honeoye Rose, Ham
mond's Wonderful. Irish Cobbler. Long
Keeper, Carman No. 8, Mills Banner.
Mills Prize, Maurs Thoroughbred.
Manun's Enormous. Motifs Peach. Pro-
life Rose. Rural New Yorker No 2, Sir
Walter Raleigh. Stephens. Steuben.
Twentieth Century, Uncle Sam, and
Wonderful Clay Rose.
THE potatoes apparently grew well
until the early part of June when the
quick Blight made it's appearance in
the leaves and stems. The crop was
harvested June 81.
1.-THE varieties that best withstood
the Quick Blight were The June. Hone
oye Rose, Maul's Thoroughbred and
Uncle Sam, and of these The June re-
manned green after the others had sue
cumbed.."
The second bulletin deals at length
with the growing of castor beans for
market Concerning this crop the
special agent says:
1.-The castor bean plant feeds most
heavily upon phosphoric acid and pot
ash. In sterile soils, or in soils def
cient in these elements low grade fer
tilizers containing them can be profit
ably used.
I'm Kona g crop of beans can be har-
vested every thirty days. after the
plants commence to bear.
THE commercial life of the crop, |
that is the period during which it can !
be profitably cultivated without re-
planting. on a good field. ranges from |
five to seven years, but during this per-
iod it must receives frequent cultivation |
and an occasional dressing of fertilizer |
to obtain the best results.
From data obtainable in these ISL |
ands, the average crop from sea level, |
up TO an altitude of from twelve to fif- |
teen hundred feet. ranges from twenty
five hundred to three thousand pounds |
per acre per annum. Individual trees
in the most favored localities, with |
good soil and cultivation, and a fair |
of rainfall, have been known !
to yield as high as one hundred pounds |
Of clean seed. However, from twenty |
to twenty-five pounds per plant is the |
average yield of clean seed
The process OF manufacture of the |
oil is quite complicated, and it does not |
pay the cultivator to attempt, by him |
self, to extract the oil.
The current prices for castor beans
of good quality range from 5000 to |
$4,000 per ton in the Honolulu market:
a price sufficient to yield a margin of
profit both to the cultivator and to the
of the oil.
The residue remaining after extrac-
non OF the oil from the castor bean is
Itself a product of some value for fer
-iizer Analyses of this substance
show that the castor pomace contains
IN an average about 5 per cent nitro
gen, 2 per cent phosphoric acid and 1
per cent potash. The seed pods and
BOD stems contain about 2.5 per cent
On =