The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1905-10-24

manager or the toDacco larm ~ hama
kua under the Federal Experiment sta
ton, has an interview in the HAWAII
Herald relative to the work in his
charge. He had just returned from
Kau, where he had visited the expert
ment station on the lands of the Ha- I;
waiian Agricultural Co., by instructions
from Director Jared g. Smith, of the
main station at Honolulu.
81 can not help saying that the
plants look well,'' Mr.. Blacow re-
marked. "They have about a meas
ured half acre over there that was
planted on May 2s, that is, the seed /,
was planted at that time, and in six
weeks the plants were developed suffi-
GENTLY to set out on July 20, and now
the leaves are ready for harvesting
"Out at our station we have two
and quarter acres planted and about
three -fourths of that is ready to har-
vest. We grow Cuban, that gives us
leaves 10 inches long; sumatra with
leaves varying from to 20 inches in
length; Vuelta bajo with its leaves
branching to a length of 80 inches and
| let me say that the seed from which
these plants were grown came from the
section of Cuba growing the most ex-
pensive tobacco in the world; Havana
seed plants put out leaves not less than
16 inches long but oftener they grow
| to length of "a inches, while in Cuba
the leaves of the same grade average
but IL inches and the plants have about
| l6 each. We have the Pennsylvania
seed, the Comstock Spanish, and the
Jimmie Spanish, all standard grades
and they all do well. L say all stand
ard grades, 1 should say the standard
of each variety, for the Cuban is the
standard of all qualities and the grow
ers over the world aim to bring their
plants to the same degree of excel
lence. Our tobaccos are cigar grades
and not of the pipe or chewing varie-
ties. Experiments and tests prove tina
a., domestic tobacco that will grow on
the mainland will do infinitely better
in our soil for the reason that it is bet
ter adapted to the cultivation of the
weed. Ordinary Hawaiian tobacco
grows in some parts of the Territory to
a height of ten feet, we have the
Vuelta bajo plants at our station that
have reached a height of ~ feet and
thev bear leaves 16 inches wide and 80
inches long.
"We have the Sumatra plants with
90 leaves to each and they will do well
at 10000 to the acre. Sumatra is the
selected leaf for wrappers on account
of its elasticity. Here in Hawaii the
leaves have, not only elasticity, but a
strength that makes them more valua-
BILE. A wrapper that is without
strength will break in stretching after
drying in the package shipped to mar
ket, but ours is above that and, conse-
quently, should command higher price
and while the Cuban, much on account
of the label, will bring two dollars and
half pound, we will be satisfied to
let ours go at lower price.
cup at the Volcano House the other
night / met tobacco man from Seat
tie, gentleman who knows tobacco
from seed to consumer, and / gave him
the samples of the different varieties
we have for his opinion. He pro-
nounced them equal to anything he had
ever seen and said our Sumatra leaf
should be worth four dollars and half
pound in Seattle He made cigars
out of some of the raw leaves I had
with me and what is more he smoked
} them to the end and pronounced the
flavor and the burn excellent.
'Out our way we plant at fifteen
hundred feet elevation, in Pahala the
tobacco is growing well at eighteen
hundred and fifty feet. 1 have seen il
, growing close to the bluff in Hamakua
so there is wide range of elevation
l want to say this, also: Tobacco does
not have to be grown under cover in
this country; in Cuba they grow it that
; way in order to get thin leaf, bu,
{ our leaves are thin without any artifi
cial means being adopted to make then
so. Tobacco should not be planted In 9
location exposed to the wind for tn,
= plants would be uprooted. Out al
5 Papaaloa they planted small area, but
it failed because of the exposure.
"In my opinion the industry will
grow, but l can not say that it is tn,
industry for the small farmer, takeI
= alone. In the States, particularly il
! Pennsylvania and Connecticut, most o.
the crops are grown from small area
by farmers who make tobacco side in
dustry; the same could be done here, o.
a man working piece of land could
increase the tobacco area little eaci
year and in time he could have what
would make him independent.
OKLA WOOD INDUSTRY.
Ten years ago or more, George
MUMMY, manager of the Enterprise
Planning Mill of this city, while in the
Hopper planning mill in Honolulu, wa;
given job to turn down some oal
telephone pins that were too large, ano
as he did so he discovered that just
under the coating of metallic paint the
pins were rotting and in some instances
worm-eaten; they looked to him as il
they were made of material that woult
not stand the weather of this country
Shortly afterward he came to Hilo ant
established himself down on From
street near Minch's place and begal
business getting out woodwork for tn
carpenters and contractors.
Among the debris around the mil
was piece or two of wood which Oh
examination appeared to be suitabl
for the pins. The wood proved to b.
ohia and he soon had his lathe in posi-
ton and made few pins as an expert
ment. These were turned over to tn
local telephone company and put int