Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1907-04-08

Is swept about ON the beach. I'm these
places 1t is practically impossible fDf
vegetation tu survive What grass has
been planted stands out iu tufts and
burrows, the soil having been blown
away from all around the TUFTS which
were planted. II ia literally true that
In these parts the island b. blowing
away This Is illustrated by ouOrm-
Gus boudcrs which are often seen
there standing foot or two above tho
general level. supported only by "A
small neck" Of dirt The rest Of the
soil all about them has been blown
away and the stone remains In its old
position while Its surroundings grow
lower and lower. Lated on the neck
THE PALAWAl BASIN
The most desirable part Is the one
generally known as the basin of pala.
wal. This is highland plain of which
1886 acres belong to the government
and 1880 to Gay, and is certainly one
OF the most beautiful pieces Of land
on the islands II is covered with
thick maniania and would be- an alto
together ideal pasture, did not the
| presence Of saliva, a weed which causes
abortion In cattle. dctract somewhat
| from its value as such. Nevertheless
the Palawai basin is a splendid piece
| OF grazing land.
What dctraCts enormously from the
| value of an the Lanai lands Is the
scarcity Of water. The rainfall is very
| small, and what falls Is Immediately
| absorbed In the porous soil. As con-
| sequence there Is only one running
/ stream, namely In the Maunalci val
| ley, and this Is so small that II reaches
| the sea only IN time Of freshcts. Gay
has built 2ia inch pipe line from the
! lead Of the stream TO the Palawai and
koa lands. but he has to pump the
water up 1850 feet, and then his sup.
ply Is only 20 gallons a minute.
THE WATER QUESTION.
| The water of Maunaloi Il, thus "A most
important factor In the I.auai guess
ton. Il Is controlled by Gay, and ai-
though there IS some dispute is Ia
whether the source Of II Is on govern.
mcnt or Gay land, owing to the very
uncertain descriptions given by old
maps, Surveyor Harvey, who has mad,
u thorough study of the subject. say
that he is OF the opinion that Gay
would easily be able TO show that II
Is not on Government land.
As to the conservation of the watel
which falls on the mountains thi'
would be very expensive matter
Jared smith Is of the opinion that tn,
planting of additional forest would moi
; add To the rainfall, but would have /;
tendency to keep the water from run
nlnG on as II now does. lie also think.
that by a draining system some of thi
water might be secured, but adds tina
this would be a very extensive opera
ton, as well as very costly one.
HOMESTEADING IMPOSSIBLE.
The entire question then narrow
down to this: The Palawai basin /
an excellent piece Of land, and Is tn
only one which could be at all con
sidcrca for homestead purposes. How
ever. II lacks water, II being impOssibl
to raise any crop there without firs
giving II Il water supply. These meth
DDS Of doing this can be considered
namely: bringing over the water frOr
= Maunalei, by conserving the rain wal
, or from the mountains and leading
, to Palawai. and by boring artesia
I wells. None of these methods woul
be practicable.
The water from Maunalei would no
suffice to irrigate hut an iniinitesimf
fraction of the basin, and II wOul
cost at least $4,000 To bring II ther'
besides the cost of distributing II. Fun
q. thcrmOrc this water belongs to CD
Q and could not be secured for this rei
| son.
!. The conservation of rain water fror
y the mountains would be eXCeedingl
y expen.iye and would be a matter {
l many years, and would therefore /
y utterly impracticablo for Homestead
) Crs to try. Even If all the necessar
y money was spent for such a purpos
h II Is very doubtful that anything lik
< q sufficient quantity Of water would |
secured.