The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1908-11-13
PLANTERS SEE
EXPERIMENTS
crrom wednesdays Advertisero

CFrom Wednesdays Advertiser)
The Planters Association had an in
feresting double session yesterday. in
the forenoon visiting the Hawaiian Su-
gar Planters Association experiment
station at Makiki, and in the after
noon, listening to three papers on scien-
tiic researches by the experiment sta
tion staff.
The planters were shown over the
station grounds by Mr.. Lewton-Brain
and Mr.. Perkins, and the work in the
various buildings and departments ex.
plaincd. Great interest was manifested
by the visitors in the extensive and
valuable work being carried on there,
by men who are being recognized the
world over as experts in the develop.
ment of the sugar industry.
At the afternoon session lengthy
paper summarizing mill reports of all
the plantations was presented by Mr..
Noel DEER, assistant director of the
experiment station. In connection with
the paper printed synopsis of results
obtained in thirty.two Hawaiian fac
tories for the crop of 1908, was also
given and reference made to it freely
in the paper. The paper was technical
Iy elaborate and of direct interest only
to the planters, and was ordered pub
lished for use and reference among
them. The plantations in this tabulated
report are not mentioned by name, but
by number, and the managers do not
know what plantations the numbers
represent. 1t was the sense Of the plan.
ters that each manager be furnished
with key to the numbers, so that he
may know, at least, which number rep
resents his own plantation.
In this tabulated report the average
production of sugar is shown, that IS
the number of tons of cane to make q
ton of sugar is averaged from all the
plantations as S.1S. Mr.. DEER also
stated that the high percentage of sue
rose shown in the reports gives a better
average here than anywhere else IN the
world, and speaks much for the eff
ficiency of the development of the in
dustry in the islands. This paper was
followed by another paper on varieties
of sugar cane being experimental on,
which was very interesting.
DIR. IL. l.. Lyon of the experiment
station staff made an address on 1.-The
Flower of the Sugar Cane,' and de-
tailed the devious steps by which the
pollen is distributed and the new seed
born, in manner so clear that lay
man could easily understand He made
his address more to the point by the
use of large colored illustrations show
ing minutely the various stages passed
by the pollen until it meets the life
an the seed sack. He said this whole
process was handled by the experts in
a way that might be called Juggling
with life ITSELF He asked if those
Il, hos Of
cane stalk was really alive, whether il
was the fiber, the leaf, or what. Gould
one place his finger on the life in any
part of the canei He said this living
part is not in the rigid section of the
stalk but in the semi-fuid portion. L
is distributed all through the cane ant
these separate sections are known a
cells. This life absorbs fluid food. Th,
address was heartily applauded.
When questioned about "sports" o
cane, DIR. Lyon said this was danger
ous subject to discuss, especially if on
attempted to give an opinion upon it
peculiarities. Such an opinion shoul'
not be offered until scientists have
scientific basis to work on, The sport
he explained, is a bud from the can
stem and when it grows into an inde
pendent plant, has characters differen
from the parent cane. He said tina
Prof. Koebele was experimenting o.
sports in Java.
Today's subjects will be as follows
10 a. m: Report on Manufacture an
Utilization of By-Products, by j.. N.
Williams Report on Machinery, by "
j. Dyer. 2 p. m: Report on Cultivt
tion on Unirrigated Plantations, by !
L. Lidgate; Report on Warehouses fo
and Storage of, Raw Sugar, by job
Hind; Report on Forestry, by l.. 4
Thurston; Report by Government Fo
ester by r. S. Hosmer.
On Thursday morning the labor repol
will be presented, and at 2, o'clock a
address will be made by Frederic
Newell, director of the United State
Reclamation Service, at place to b
announced later. That evening the al
nual banquet will be given.