The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1904-11-11

the receipt of the folIoeine sub. aci
letter from Mr e.. % Wells - the Wat
iuku sugar Company
once ~ he Wailuku sugar company
walluku. Maui, ~. r. Nov, g. 1901
Edit0r Advert eefi--f have read "
your paper ~ the 2n1 Inst. Mr. Fam
! Athcrton'e letter on Kula farming nnt
| h. Is 10 be commended for the fan
statements he has made. IL II well
known fact that farming In Kula dis.
trict has been q failure and that as a
whole Kula is practically busted
community through failure OF crops.
In your editorial you imply that the
small farmer has not intelligently till-
ed the soil. I have been interested In
seeing corn raised In this country for
stock purposes-have made several
trips to Kua and have been surprised
TO see the amount of cultivation the
tiller OF the soil had put on his corn
held-being better cared for than many
farms you will see in the States. The
farmers of Kula have had n hard row
to hoe-they have worked hard, have
shown a remarkable degree OF patience,
living on the hope that next year
been failure.
II japanese or Portuguese who can
subsist on nothing but rice and boiled
cabbage, at a low cost of living per
month, and be content to live in an
eight by ten shack with family can
not get enough out of the soil to make
a living, how, in the name of common
sense, do you expect the white farmer
to make a go
In your editorial you cite Southern
California as a rich agricultural do
main. Yes, on paper, but in reality the
majority have to scratch to make a
living. I have a fruit ranch in South
ern California which has cost me many
thousands of dollars-it Is so profitable
that | am quite willing to sell out at
seventy-five per cent of my invest
ment.
l have visited the above section of
country every year for the past twelve
years; during those visits / have found
that the small farmer with but few ex-
ceptions, has barely made a living
They all pin their faith on the one
hope that the Eastern sucker will come
along and buy.
Now, Mr.. Editor, think I am safe
in saying that the majority of your
readers who have lived in the country
for years, think you are wasting valu-
able space in your paper and doing
wrong, by your continual blowing of
hot air to encourage the small farmer
(sucke) to come here with the idea
that he is going to make money.
If you are sincere in your belief that
small farming will pay, why not, in
stead of wasting printers ink, come up
to Maui and start in farming. taking
as partner the Editor of the Maui
News, and give practical demonstra-
ton that there are millions in it. TO
encourage the enterprise I will contrib
ute one hundred dollars for your tools
and overalls-no doubt some other
resident of Maui, for the good of the
cause, would chip in pair of mules
there would be no trouble in getting
n twenty acre lot for your experiment,
gratis. I presume there are many of
your readers who would gladly sign
n subscription list to keep you in rice,
hard tack and tobacco, while you are
raising your crop, so that you could
run your farm on no capital-all that
you and your brother editor would
have to furnish would be the sweat OF
your brow.
What small farmer ever started with |
a better proposition!
Come up and demonstrate what you
preach and you will have the applause
and everlasting gratitude of all good
citizens of this country.
Yours truly,
C. b. WELLS
Mr.. Wells conveys the impression
hattie way to intelligently till the soil
IS to keep cultivating it and this, he
says, the Kula farmer has done. Now
is all very well in its way
but it will not bring good crops from
soil which has been overworked and
not intelligently fertilized. If Mr..
Wells raised cane as he thinks pota-
.oes and corn should be raised he
would soon be in a hole. People tried
t In the early days and got left; final
y their successors came along with
science as well as capital and industry
md cane became the great staple of
he islands and a wonderful wealth.
producer. All we ask for small farm
ng is part OF the intelligence which
has been given to large farming; and
n that event We shall look for as good
'esults here as obtain in many other
PARTS Of the tropical world.
For example when the land of Kula
armer gets sour, what does he do?
Cultivate It? Anything else? Does he
'end some of the soil to the Expert
nent Station here to be analysed and
hen follow the advice given him about
he use of the special fertilizer requir-
ed? Is it not true that the Kula
farmer simply plants the same crop in
the same place. over and over again.
living on the hope that next year
Will pan out better" as Mr.. Wells |
says? If 80 We need no further justl- |
iication OF our statement that the trou-
BILE with Kula is adherence to the |
worst principles OF farming.
Mr., Wells denies that Southern
is rich farming district |
and says that his own farm there IL
for sale nj 70 per cent OF the cost.
Most absentee landlords would sell for
less, there or anywhere else Else |
" here iu tho So columns ua rive nhatn- /