The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1908-09-22
The Hilo Railroad Company.

The Hilo Railroad Company.
The financial outlook for the Hil0
Railroad Company has greatly improv-
ed during the past year or two, and IN
some particulars greatly within the
past few months, and those interested
in it seem to have good right to take
very optimistic view. Planting on
the Puma cane lands, which was prac-
tically given up four years ago, when
the plantation went into the hands of
receiver, has been recommended dur
ing the past two years. The abandoned
cane lands have been leased and are
now all practically under cultivation
again, with the cane contracted to be
hauled by the Hilo railroad to the Olaa
mill. Puma, too, has now become the
site of considerable pineapple and rub
Der experimentation by concerns which
have sufficient means to give conditions
thorough trial, and while these have
not yet added large volume to the
traffic of the road, they have added
some, and give promise of great deal
more.
Ohia Tie Contract.
The enterprise of the Hawaiian Ma
hogany Lumber Company, which has
established a modern tie mill at Pa
hoa with capacity of $500 ties daily,
will add greatly to the volume of bust
ness. With this mill it is expected to
fill the contract the company has with
the Santa Fe railroad for 100000 ohia
railroad ties, and these are all con
traeted to be hauled to tidewater over
the Hilo railroad. In addition, the
Mahogany Lumber Company is seeking
to develop a large amount of koa lum'
Der, for which a market is opening IL
the United States. and this lumber also
will he hauled over the Hilo railroad
Stone for Breakwater.
The road, in order to meet the re
quirepents for hauling the rock needed
for the first section of the Hilo break
water, is building two miles of add
, tional track. Part of this is to con
meet the line with the quarry in Puns
from which, under the contract witt
the United States government, the rocl
is to come, and the remainder is to ex
tend the line of the rodd to where the
rock is to be delivered for placing il
the breakwater. The road has the con
tract for hauling all of this rock
| which, under the present contract, i
, estimated at 100000 tons.
These new enterprises, in addition L
previous sources of freight tonnage, al
: of which have been growing, though
slowly, with the development of TIL
, country, give very encouraging out
look to its future.
The Hamakua Extension.
With the building of the Hilo break
water, resulting, as it necessarily will
in greater concentration of the ship
ping of Hawaii products from Hilo, vii
make more and more imperative th
eventual extension of the road alonI
the Hilo and Hamakua coasts. Tn
railroad now has mileage of 1872
miles of main and branch track o
standard gauge, built with 56-poun'
rails, and equipped with five locomo
tives and ~ passenger and freight cars
Cotton Planting.
Cotton planting, which at variou
times during the past fifty years ha
been much talked of, is now about t,
have a more complete test as a crol
than it has ever had in these Islands
Experiments and researches at tn
United States Agricultural Experimen
Station have been carried on to sucl
an extent as in its results to offer in
, dueements TO a number of men in tn
Islands to undertake its cultivation a
, crop. Several hundred acres win b.
planted this year. Among others, Ga,
; & Robinson, on the Island of Kauai
lwill plant quite extensively. Othe