The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1904-03-08
HILO'S PLANS FOR
PINEAPPLES
TO BUILD A CANNERY
WHEN 100 ACRES OF PINE
APPLES ARE IN SIGHT.

HILO, March AT the meeting of
the Hilo Agricultural Society, on
Saturday, the committee appointed to
report on a pine apple 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:
1--WE the undersigned pine apple
planters and others, desiring to make
the pineapple industry a success in
Hilo, and feeling that united action
| is necessary to accomplish it, do here
by signify our willingness to unite,
and form a company to establish and
| operate a pineapple cannery at Hilo,
Hawaii"
Though not many signatures were
| 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 opinion
of wise business men that establishing
plant to can the fey pines now grown
would be very unwise.
The only Haawiian cannery that has
paid a profit has 100000 plants, and
no profit has been realized until this
year. The Tropic Fruit Co. has 44O
acres available for pines, and 81 acres
planted 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 leasehold
is $50 acres.
1t is estimated by a man of experience
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 20 acres would be available
in Hilo this season. We therefore re-
commend 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 pro-
ftable as soon as enough are raised to
supply a canenry of reasonably large
size. The advantages possessed by
these islands for the raising of this
fruit are superlative. No sheds are
required, whereas in Florida where
over 100000 pines are raised annually
(see report of Commission of Agrlcul-
ture for 19O1-2) hundreds of acres have
been covered with protecting sheds at
an expense of from 1925 to $500 per
acre. From 500 to $3.50 per acre is re-
quired for fertilizer (see Farmers ul-
letin No. 14O). Cultivation is expensive
on account of the price of labor s.
to $3.50 per day of 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
1.-THE vicinity of Baltimore, have a great.
lily inferior flavor as compared with
ours" The flavor of our pines is un'
eXcelled in the world. The canned
pines from Oahu are admitted to bC
the finest in flavor of any on the mar
ket Mr.. Bentley, representing the
largest canning combine in the world
admitted this fact in the presence Of
this society. What then is there t
prevent Hawaii from becoming para
mount in this industry? 1t is promised
that the Tropical Fruit Packing Com,
pany at Waiakea which already has {
building erected adjoining the railroad
shops will use for jam, etc, the sur
bAN9 PAAAS9 u NiAAS yNeil anu llGAlS luGlt
fore not even present loss viii be oc
casioned growers while preparing sup
port for a cannerY.
AS this industry in destined to be
come great at Hilo growers should b.
awake to the danger of placing them
selves at the mercy of an outside
corporation. They should control tn,
cannery when established and SHOULD
now make every effort to extend tn
pineapple area near Hilo,
Respectively submitted, H. E. Kelse!
f. S. Lyman, T. O. Mitchell, committee
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