Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1904-03-07
DESTINY Of PINEAPPLE
INDUSTRY PROMISES one
OF BEST FOX The ISLANDS
REPORT OF HiLo INVESTIGATING
CoMMiTTEE-sPLENDiD oP.
PoRTuNiTiEs FOR
PROFIT.

Hilo. March AT the meeting Of
urday, the committee appointed to re.
port on pineapple cannery for .Hilo
submitted the following:
Your committee appointed for the
purpose. prepared and to a certain ex.
tent circulated the following paper, to-
wit:
I'VE the undersigned, pineapple
planters and others. desiring to make
! the pineapple industry a success In
Hiio, and feeling that united action is
necessary to accomplish It, do hereby
signify our willingness to unite. and
form company to establish and OPP
aate a pineapple cannery at Hilo, Ha-
wall"
! Though not many signatures were
obtained II was clearly demonstrated
that capital for the purpose is ready
when a sufficient supply Of pines Is at
hand. But we found 1t 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 profit, has 100000 plants, and no
profit has been realized until this year
The Tropic Fruit Co has 4iO acres
available for pines. and 81 acres plant
ed, but they have not yet erected a
cannery. We do net know the area OF
the Hawaiian Pineapple Co.. whose
cannery was erected the past season,
but II is probably larger than tn Of
the Tropic Fruit Co. Their leasehold
is $50 acres.
I Ia natl t,tn tod hx. ,E x,,t
ence now In the business on Oahu
that cannery can be run on the prod.
uct of 100 to 200 acres. We doubt II
the product OF % acres would be avail.
able In Hilo this season. We there.
fore recommend delay in the estab.
Nshment of cannery until at least 100
have abundant evidence that pineapple
raising and canning will both be very
profitable 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
7.500.000 pines are raised annually (see
report of Com. of Agriculture for
1922 hundreds of acres have been
covered with protecting sheds at an
expense OF from 1925 to $500 per acre.
From $50 to $3.50 per acre is required
! for fertilizer (see Farmers Bulletin
No. 400. Cultivation Is expensive on
account of the price of labor (S2 to
$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, "these pines
which are canned extensively In the
vicinity of Baltimore, have greatly
inferior flavor as compared with ours. y
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 can.
ming combine In the world. admitted
this fact In the presence OF this socie
ty. What then Is there to prevent Ha.
wall from becoming paramount in this
industry? II Is promised that the Tro
pical Fruit Packing Company at Waia
kea, which already has building
erected adjoining the railroad shops
Will use for jam. etc, the surplus pines
of this year and next, therefore moi
even present loss will be occasiOned
growers while preparing support fol
a cannery.
AS this industry Is destined to he
come great at Hllo growers should
be awake to the danger of placing
themselves at the mercy OF an out
side corporation. They should contro
the cannery when established and
should now make every effort to extend
the pineapple area rear Hilo.
Respectfully submitted,
II. L. KELSEY,
! +. s. LYMAN,
T. o. MITCHELL.
Committee.