The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1905-09-05


monv and then not more than n dozen
in several months Women never
drink ba.si.
THE COFFEE INDUSTRY.
According 20 q bulletin issued by the
Department of Commerce and Labor
the Queensland department; of agricul-
ture has put out n circular TO the cof.
fee growers of the north offering con
siderable aid TO stimulate and enlarge
the industry. Difficulties have arisen
in the uuevenness of the quality of
the berries produced and in the dis
posal o the crops The department has
obtained from England a complete
plant for hulling, winnowing, separat-
ing and grading berries. The machin-
cry has been erected at the kamerunga
state nursery, where coffee in the dry
parchment state. will be received and
hulled, graded and packed in bags for
the southern markets. The department
will not roast or grind coffee nor in
terfcre with private enterprise, but will
assist the growers to put upon the
market properly graded article and
will dispatch it for sale so as to secure
the best prices. The cost of freight
age to the nursery, packing and other
incidentals will be borne by the grow
ers and will be deducted from the pro-
ceeds of sales. This proffered assist.
ance will give a fresh impetus to the
cultivation of coffee.
About 1000 sacks of canary seed
were reaped on the Darling Downs
this season, and the area growing it is
steadily increasing. The product met
with ready sale at between a. and So
per IL pounds. The lands under this
crop at present are chiefly near Clifton
and Toowoomba. The seeding grass
(Phalaris canariensis) is indigenous in
the Canary Islands. as its name sug-
gests,, but it has become naturalized
here and in many parts of Europe.
There is a considerable trade in canary
seed in Australia and the European
markets are not overstockeh. 1t is not
only in demand as food for birds, but
in some manufacturing countries fine
flour made from it is used in dressing
cotton in weaving and for finishing off
some silkcn stuffs. In the Canary
Islands the -four is used in making
bread.
Consul General Winslow writes from
Guatemala about the coffee crop in
that country to the effect that some
time after 1860 coffee raising began
to take the place there of the cultiva
tion of indigo and cochineal plants,
which had been grown for many years
previous to the discovery of the chemi- |
cal dyes that are now the colors known |
to the commercial world. From that
time until recently the business grad
ually grew, until in 1902 the coffee
crop of the republic, which is about |
the size Of the state of Ohio, exceeded |
74,000,000 pounds of clean coffee.
"Only small portion of the area |
of the country is adapted to the culti- |
walton of coffee" the Consul adds. |
&c At present good government coffee
land is very scarce, but when found |
can be had for about 80 to 40 cents |
per acre, and when brought under cul |
tivation, with good stand of trees Is
worth from 800 to $500 United States |
gold or more. The coffee of commerce |
grows in attitudes of 1000 to 5000 fee.; !
the best and most prolific trees at 1000 |
to 1000 feet. The labor is cheap, from
3 to 20 cents day (gold), hence
profitable, planters or capitalists get
ting as profit 80 to 60 per cent. of the
market value, usually from 6 to 20
cents per pound, hulled.
'The industry as vet has not been |
brought to very high state. Only |
in a few cases has an effort been made |
to crowd the coffee tree to see what |
it could be made to do, and that was
one of the cases above mentioned, !
where one tree produced % pounds.
This tree stood alone in a garden and |
had special attention and was fertI-
lized. 1t is thought that if the tree |
was brought to high state of cultiva
tion it could be made to double its |
yield
"Guatemalan coffee is rated very
high in the markets of the world, and |
is the principal industry of the coun-
try, it giving employment to more than
one-half of the population for about |
half of the year, during the harvesting
time.
Consul. General Steinhart, writing !
from Habana, Cuba, calls attention to
the fact that the island exported only |
7O5,O00 tons of sugar up to June 80,
compared with s96,073 tons for the
corresponding period of 1904. There
was on hand June 80, 1905, 351 $40 |
tons, and l61,Sl9 tons on June 80, 1904. |
Six months local consumption, he says, |
amounted to 1,790 tons in 1905, and to |
10000 tons in 1904.
ERNEST G. WALKER.