The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-08-16
MEXICAN PLANTER
COMES FOR A MILL.
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Continued from Page II
this at once to 1000 acres, and event
ually plan to have a plantation OF
about 10000 acres.
sugar planting on modern methods
| is practically unknown in Mexico.
/ There are only two 6-roller mills in
the whole republic. They don't plow
! the ground as You do in Hawaii and
| the plows we have sent there have
never before been seen by the people.
The methods are primitive. Conditions
down there now are about the same as
here thirty years ago, SO I am told
But our plantation is to be pat
termed after those of Hawaii We will
| plow the land properly and fertilize
and lime it, although the soil there is
! rich and of great depth. 1t is not of
volcanic origin as that of Hawaii.
THE labor question is practically
solved for US and we will have either
Japanese or Chinese working under
contract that is TO say, they will be
contract laborers. The government of
Mexico is anxious to develop her re-
sources and needs laborers and there
fore has opened the way for japanese
and Chinese to enter.
The question of water is solved also
We will cultivate cane by rainfall We
have an average rainfall of about $50
inches a year, we'll distributed. Then
there is a lake of about 1000 acres in
extent right in the center of the prop
erty. Besides we are right on a river
and have sixteen miles of the plan
tation along the river front. That river
is navigable for eight months of the
year. It is a trip of 115 miles by the
river to Coatzacoalcos on the Atlantic
Mil h.
eight miles off the line of the Tehuan-
tepec railway and within a year we
will put in a switch to connect with |
the main road.
THE Honolulu Iron Works are our
consulting engineers. The mill pro-
posed for our plantation is of the g. I
roller kind, something like that at |
Olaa, and arranged SO that it can be
enlarged, if necessary. We will take |
off about 600 or 500 tons of cane this |
year and will make alcohol from it, in
stead of sugar. The first crop of sugar
Will be taken off in January, 1908, from
about 1000 acres. We will not need the !
mill for about a year. Therefore we can
afford to see what the freight rate will /
be before the mill is ordered built in
Honolulu or elsewhere.
I'VE have not made use of steam
plowS yet, owing to the lack of roads
to get them to the plantation, but they
viii come in time.
About the only cane now grown
there is Rose Bamboo. I am going to
take tn matter up of having some of
the Hawaiian varieties of cane expepi-
mented with, with view to cultivating
them.
Il have visited the sugar mills, or
rather many of them, on Hawaii Maui
and Oahu. and made an automobile !.
trip with Mr.. Hedemann to Oahu plan
tation today. 1 have met a fine lot
of men on the plantations, and I really
have never seen such open hearted hos
pitality as L have found all over the
Islands,
Mr.. Davis is Vermonter and has re-
sided in Mexico for about ten years.
His residence is at Santa Lucrecia
State of Vera Cruz. He will remain in
Honolulu about two weeks longer.
The Tabasco plantation is also Gull
tivating rubber trees and has cattle
ranches as well. While on Maui Mr..
Davis visited the Nahiku rubber COM
pany's estate. He was surprised at the
growth of the trees and believes the
enterprise will be successful. 4