The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-03-07
MONEY FOR
4 CANNERY
Pineapple Business
to Boom in
Hilo.
A Greater Acreage Must
Be Planted
First.
HiIo Agricultural Society Finds
That There Is Money in
the industry.

HILO, March S.-Just now the Hilo
Agricultural Society is a live institu-
ton and the members propose to work
for the benefit of Hilo in a general
wav while helping themselves. Some
months ago the matter OF a cannery
was discussed and Mr.. Lille was sent
to the mainland for the purpose OF
! investigating the industry there and
ascertaining the cost of a plant suit
able for the produce OF this district
! He returned with representative OF
! TIE largest canning combine in the
world but, unfortunately, they came
via Honolulu and were held up by the
enterprising fruit men of the capital
When they reached Hilo Mr.. Bentley
saw the industry through the specta-
| cles of the Honoluluites and decided
| that the only thing Hilo was entitled
| m was a branch of a Honolulu can
merry. The members of the society
baked at this and decided to pursue
their Investigations further on their
own account. Quiet work has been
done in the mean time and now it Is
stated that enough money is pledged
to enable the promoters to start can
merry here that viii be independent OF
aD1y other. on the islands.
At the meeting of the society last
Saturday the following report was pre-
sented:
REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON PINE
APPLE CANNERY, FEB. 27TH,
1904
To the Hilo Agricultural Society:
Your committee appointed for the
purpose, prepared and to a certain ex-
tent circulated, the following paper.
| to witt:
I'VE the undersigned, pineapple plan
ters and others, desiring to make the
pineapple industry a success in Hilo,
and feeling that united action is neces-
sary to accomplish it, do hereby sig
Nifty our willingness to unite, and form
company, to establish and operate a
pineapple cannery at HiIo, Hawaii
Though not many signatures We're
obtained it was clearly demonstrated
| that capital for the purpose is ready
when a sufficient supply of pines is at
hand. But we found it to be the opin-
| ion of wise business men that estab-
| fishing plant to can the few pines
| now grown, would be very unwise.
The only Hawaiian cannery that has
| paid a profit has 100000 plants. and no
profit has been realized until this year.
| The Tropic Fruit Co. has 440 acres
available for pines, and 81 acres plant
| ed, but they have not yet erected a
| cannery. We do not know the area of
| the Hawaiian Pineapple Co. whose
cannery was erected the past season,
| but It is probably larger than that of
| the Tropic Fruit Co. Their Ieasehold
| is $50 acres
1t is estimated by a man of expert
| ence now in the business on Oahu, that
a cannery can be run on the product
of 100 to 200 acres. We doubt if the
product of 25 acres would be available
| in Hilo this season. We therefore rec
| ommend delay in the establishment of
cannery until at least 100 acres in
| pines shall be available. We have
| abundant evidence that pineapple rails
ing and canning will both be very prof
| liable as soon as enough are raised
/ to supply cannery of reasonably large
size. The advantages possessed by
| these islands for the raising of this
| fruit are superlative, no sheds are re-
| quired, whereas in Florida. where over
100000 pines are raised annually. (see
report of Com. of Agriculture for 1901
| p, hundreds of acres have been Gov
cred with protecting sheds at an ex-
| pense of from S325.0O TO $500. 90 per acre.
From $4,000 to $4,000 per acre is re-
quired for fertilizer (see Farmers Bull
letin, No. 140). Cultivation is expen-
sive on account of the price of labor
(S2 and $3.50 per day of six hours) and
the myriads of mosquitoes that infest
that pineapple region. And yet. Jared
Smith remarked to this society that
these pines, which are canned extern
sively in the vicinity of Baltimore.
pared with ours" The flavor as COM
pared with ours" The flavor of our
pines is unexcelled in the world. The
canned pines from Oahu are admitted
to be the finest in flavor of any on the
market. Mr.. Bentley, representing the
largest canning combine in the world,
admitted this fact in the presence of
this society. What then, is there to
prevent Hawaii from becoming para
mount in this industry? 1t is promised
that the Tropical Fruit Packing Co.
at Waiakea, which already has a build
ing erected adjoining the r. r. shops,
will use. for jam. etc, the surplus pines
of this year and next, therefore not
even present loss will be occasioned
growers while preparing support for a
cannery.
As this industry is destined to be- |