The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-12-14

tire of starch but the farmers who
| have undertaken contracts to supply
the roots have been more or less dis
satisfied with the prices offered. In
provements in methods of manufac-
ture, methods of cuitiva ton. improved
digging tools for harvesting the crop
and especially the finding of a good
market for the factory wastes are al
, working 10 give the contract grower
better prices for his crop.
Cassava IS a crop that can be grown
with little labor Where grown on an
extensive scale practically the only
hand labor required is that of plant
ing the canes and digging the roots,
and already somewhat crude macnin-
cry has been devised for both of these
operations. The land is plowed rather
swallow $50 as to keep the roots of the
plant near the surfacel, furrowed and
s-furrowed with rows four feet
apart. The canes or old stalks of the
plant are cut into joints from 4 to s
inches long and man drops two joints
at each check-row. The seed" is COW
cred with hoe Or is plowed under. A
isc-harrow is run between the rows
two or three times to loosen the soil,
keep down weeds and give the plants
d good start. When the plants are two
feet high there is no further cultiva-
ton. December and January are the
best months to plant cassava in Ha-
wall. The crop is ready to harvest in
frcm ten TO twelve months. In Flo
rida a digger of simple construction
is III use. The cost of digging is there
estimated at $1.50 per ton. Digging
the roots has always been considered
r. to,
in Hawaii. It is possible that We are
behind the times in this regard. One
man and team ought to care for 40
or so acres of cassava except at plant
ing and harvesting time.
There are a good many points to be
worked out if cassava is to be grown
here. These cannot be touched on in
a paper of this length
Starch is like sugar in that it takes
almost nothing from the soil. Hawaii
disposes of some thirty million dollars
worth of sunshine. air and water in
the shape of sugar every year. While
there may not be much water that is
not required for the sugar crop it has
always seemed to me that there is a
good deal of air and sunshine going
to waste for want of some one to en-
does not require irrigation and makes |
good crops with a fair amount of rain |
fall. I have said nothing about its |
value as a forage plant The |
forage value of cassava is well known. |
It ought to be more widely cultivated |
oy stockmen on that account alone.
There is, it seems to me an oppor-
Eunity here for the development of a i
profitable manufacturing industry. |
There is room for starch factories in
l good many localities in the islands |
provided there is a good supply of |
water for the mill. Or a glucose fac
-ory could be erected in Honolulu, |
where there is already an acid manu-
factory with a capacity much greater
han its present output to work up |
eassava meal which latter could be |
manufactured at comparatively slight |
cost on the plantations where the crop
IS grown. This is a matter which |
ought to prove of interest to those who |
own or control large bodies of land |
rom which they at present receive but |
very small returns.
JARED G. SMITH.