The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-06-04
SMALL FARMING NEAR DIAMOND HEAD
intelligent E fort all that
is Necessary to
Success.

down through Waialae Cap sweeps
around the shoulder of Diamond Head,
Percy Pond is giving a demonstration
of what may be done in Hawaii by the
man who goes back to the land. 1t was
a work that began in a small way
~I could not do office work." he said,
nand so I had TO get out of door occu-
patton. And I thought that I would
try and see whether the land right here
close to town would not yield results.
Mr.. Pond has made the land give re-
suits, too in produce, in eggs, IN
chickens. in taro, in small fruits, in all
those things that the people who Will
frankly admit possibilities know can be
made to come from the soil here. Al
his farm under Diamond Head, within
sight of Honolulu almost and wlthlh
easy walking distance of the terminus
of the Rapid Transit, Mr.. Pond mas
demonstrated the possibilities of the
soil when appealed to on sclentlnc
principles by man who knew nothlng
of practical farming, but who was
willing to learn. The man. in any eli
mate, who goes back to the land, hnds
that it is stubborn. He must fight MS
way to success. So he must In Ha-
wall, but nature lays no climatic
blockade here. The fight can be waged
all the year around, and though there
is no snow fertilizer, there are compen-
sating advantages. And though there |
be many bugs, there are many days to |
fight them. Mr.. Pond, at all events, |
has fought them with success, and al |
though the cut worms played hob with |
one growth of his alfalfa, he conquered /
them.
Naturally, in going back to the land, |
the farmer who means to make his liv-
ing from the soil must look primarily |
for the product that will give the |
quickest returns. He may experiment |
and do better later, but results are the |
first thing.
Percy Pond studied the situation |
here, and thought that his first show |
for profit was to devote the major por-
ton of his attention to dairy farming. /
the name of his place, is a dairy con-
Quoted on strictly scientific principles. !
There are, in the first place, about |
twenty acres of land, which is all under |
irrigation-or which can all be put |
under irrigation. The system of irriga- |
ton is of itself unique. The COWS, there p!
are about 45 head in the dairy, are fed |
upon a mixture of sorghum and al |
falfa, mixed with little molasse5 for
the tonic effect and for tastiness. and /
some middlings. Each COW is studied /
separately, and the mixture of food |
under which she thrives best and gives !
the most and the best milk is given to |
her.
But as to the system of irrigation.
The water, raised from wells by steam
pumps operated by gasoline engines, is
run to the fields by a system of fumes
and zinc pipes by which it is delivered .
exactly where it is wanted, and so
there is no wash of the soil as would be
the case were bitches used. The alfal- /
ia planted in small patches with raised
entertainments between, yields twelve
tons to the acre, the crops coming to
maturity in about three weeks. The
sorghum is less rapid in growth, and
does not yield so we'll, giving on an
average ten tons.
1t should be borne in mind in all this
previous experience in farming or dairy I,
ing. has had to meet and solve his own
problems.
II have had plenty of trouble with
cut worms and insect pests of divers
kinds" he said, land have had to meet /,
and conquer them myself. 1 think I
have got the better of them, but it has
been a hard battle"
The cows on the farm, they are
mostly Jerseys and one of these was
brought from the Channel Islands fiji
teen years ago, and still gives eight +
quarts of milk daily, have learned /.
their places in the milking shed, and it
is a remarka bic thing to see them :,
going each to her place at milking !
time. The dairy apparatus is of the
most modern kind, the milk being chill
ed and separated as it comes from the |
cows, and a record is kept also of
what each COW on the ranch is doing. l.
In addition to his dairying, Mr.. Pond
has a taro patch, and he grows ali
kinds of vegetables and many fruits
successfully.
II have not gone largely into butter
making as yet Mr. Pond said, but I
shall do so, and I will have no diff |