The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-12-22

need nc cultivation, as coffee or siSaf,
where the water supply is very limited.
The very flat areas near some of the
bays are utilized for rice culture.
The Sugar Cane Plantation.
As previously intimated, sugar cane
is oy far the most important crop of
the Islands. Many a princely fortune
has been made in this industry. and
the islands are full of millionaires as
result. With the cheap labor, the
twelve months growing season each
year, and the favorable climate, it is
an extremely profitable industry. The
sugar planter and the interests de-
pending on the sugar business are at
present the controlling element in the
islands. AS many of the readers of
these notes have never seen sugar cane
growing, a few words on the method of
planting and the care of the crop may
not be out of place. No seed is pro-
duced for the propagation of the ordi-
nary crop. Each joint on the cane
stalk has an eye, which, under ia
vorable conditions, sprouts and pro-
duces a new plant. The cane stalks are
therefore cut into pieces having sew
eral joints to each piece, and these are
planted by covering them with soil
in the well-prepared soil bed. The
blowing should be deep, if possible six
teen to twenty inches. On one planta-
ton we saw a steam plow outfit. It
consisted of two engines, one on either
side of the field, and a gang of plows
pulled back and forth across the field
by means of cable alternately wound
upon a drum. first by one engine and
then by the other. Where irrigation
is necessary, as is the case with all the
plantations on the island of Oahu, the
land is thrown up in ridges or fur
rows running at right angles to the
slope of the land. Supply bitches TO
fill these burrows are run about every
two rods down the slope Longer fur
rows than two or three rods cannot
advantageously be used, as the soil
is very porous. Water is applied to the
growing crops every week or ten days
On most of the plantations of Oahu
the water for irrigation is all pumped
from wells to the higher levels. The
Eua plantation, almost eighteen miles
west OF Honolulu, is probably the larg-
est and wealthiest plantation on the
island. We were informed that they
have 1900 acres, and that the pumps
have a capacity of 100000 gallons
daily by four pumping plants, to sup
ply this plantation 1t requires from
eighteen to twenty-four months for the
first crop to mature. After this crop
is harvested. a second crop stools out
from the old stuFnps, called a ration
crop, which natures in about a year.
Sometimes a second ration crop is har-
vested before the ground is again pIoW-
ed up and replanted. Until the crop is
large enough to smother out the weeds.
frequent civilizations are necessary
Before it natures ready to cut. it be-
comes a dense tangle, very difficult
to get through. The cane, when har-
vested, is from six to eighteen feet
long. The method of transporting var
les according to the lay Of the land and
the abundance of water from nearby
streams. On the plantations on Oahu
they have narrow gauge railroad
tracks about the plantations, and NOV
able lateral tracks to collect the cane
to the permanent tracks, and over
them to the mills. On a few planta-
tions on Hawaii, they have suspended
trolly cables on an incline down the
slopes. to the mill. which is built at the
lowest part of the plantation. The
cane in big bundles is hung on a troll
ley, which being on the cable. is al
lowed to run by gravity down the line
to the mill. On most of the planta-