The Washington herald., 1908-05-15

Special Correspondents The washington hefald-
Honolulu, April 2.-There are more than
800. 900 acres of fertile and desirable land
in Hawaii as yet untillca. Much of it 10
not In use at all. AMI the remainder is
used for pasturage. More than half Of
It IS owned by private parties. the re-
maInder being government land The
small farmer Is wanted In Hawaii and
the government has some 70,oOO acres.
which 1t stands ready 10 hand out TO
settlers who will come this way. Most
Of this land is high and dry. II is from
2,OC0 TO 5000 feet above sea level, where
the rigors OF winter and the burning heat
Of sun 4ner are alike unknown. II is
region Of perpetual spring.
Perhaps very little OF this land Is avail
able for the production OF sugar A
farming industry that turns out raw ma
terial worth So. 900. COO each year, where
the entire territory is smaller than even
the little state OF New Jersey, Is not
likely 10 overlook any such opportunities
for further expansion. That part or
Hawaii which Is cultivated already pro-
duces enough to make It the greatest eX-
porting country OF its size in the world
But sugar Is not the only thing that
fiourishes in the islands.
Pineapples are profitable TO grow
wherever soil and climate favors them,
and the Hawaiian product Is equal 70
anything produced in the West Indies
or elsewhere. II Is not too much TO say
that the pineapple may in Itself bring
about Statehood for our mid-Pacinc pos
sessions. On the Island OF Oahu there
was n tract OF 1900 acres OF land which
was believed to be without value a
colony Of fourteen families from Southern
California thought they saw living IN
il and bought il for a song. settling on
if themselves. That was seven years ago.
Failure after failure followed as they
tried to grow different crops. At last
they tried pineapples, with the result
that their disappointments were soon for
gotten. That land now sells for S2O0 an
acre. and shows an annual profit that
iustifes the price. Hawaii now has over
3,00O acres in pineapples, and the in
dustTy is on such q profitable footing
that in a few years there viii be at least
10000 acres under cultivation.
Large acres Of good land are available,
and the markets Of the United States
take al that Is grown, and then calls for
more. Plneapples usually bear fruit two
years after planting. and the first crop
averages ten tons TO the acre. The cost
Of production ranges from so 10 SIS per
acre. and the fruit Is sold 10 the can
neries at from $50 to S26 per ton. The
fancy fruit that goes 10 the Eastern mar
kets is worth as high as 500 per ton Al
though this is strictly an infant indus
try" as compared with what it promises
10 be. even now the annual yield brings
good half million OF hard cash into the
islands.
Bananas grow in Hawaii in great
abundance, but as yet there is little mar
ket for them. Potatoes 90 not thrive
well. but there is ready market for all
that can be produced, The agricultural
experimental station at Honolulu .inds
that a species Of rot holds down the
yield. The station is trying 70 get the
labOrers. on the sugar plantations inter-
ested in the growing Of silk worms. II
is pointed out that II the families of these
laborers. including the children, can be
brough: TO the point OF giving their at
tcntion 10 this work il viii very material
~ augment the income OF the household,
and tend TO give stability 70 the laboring
class It is hoped that attending silk
worms will be made a side issue here.
like the American hen is made a side is
sue on the farms OF the United States
Melons co not thrive very well. In Hawaii
they have q little beetle. known as the
melon bug, which is as fatal TO melons,
Canteloupos pumpkins. squRshes, and
cucumbers as the tsetse fly is to horses
IN Africa. The experiment station is try
ing &c produce melons that VIII be inn
mune 10 this deadly insect.
making. 4 Chinaman was asked whether
he made any money growing rice He re-
piled that he grew two crops q year One
paid the expenses Of both and he put the
returns of the second crop into his pocket
only the Chinaman didn't say It quite
that way. Cotton growing promises to 20
profitable industry in the future. Ex
periments have been made which show
that a grade Of sea island cotton can be
grown which compares favorably with
that OF South Carolina, both in grade and
in yield. A Peruvian cotton has been
found which fiOurishes in Hawaii and
Yields excellent returns.
Coffee is the poor mans crop In Ha-
waiL It grows in the high, cool regions
of the islands. II does not require ex-
pensfve machinery either to grow or te
prepare for market Neither does il de-
teriogate with age, but rather improves.
II is n cash crop, and can be drawn
against as soon as a single bag reaches
The market The yield Is high and the
returns sure, while the trees themselves
are exceptionally free from disease.
Twelve acres of coffee land have been
known to yield twelve tons of coffee, al
though a good crop is 1000 pounds an
acre. One man can attend to twenty
acres, except at picking time. Pickers
are paid 30 cents per hundredweIght OF
berries brought TO the mills. Women are
the best pickers, and pick some 200 pounds
a day Children are employed to pick the
lower branches, so that stopping is almost
eliminated. The annual crop is valued
at about third Of million dollars, soms
secs acres being devoted to H. Nearly ail
OF Hawaifs coffee goes t. the mainland of
the United States, the greater part being
used on the Pacific Coast. 1t Is mild In
type and has q very different flavor from
the heavy South American coffees which
find such favor in the States.
The rubber industry IN Hawaii Is still
IN the experimental stage. but experts
believe the opportunities fer profit are
going to be large. Preliminary expert
ments by the government indicate high
yield from even young trees over 400.
600 rubber trees have been planted In the
islands and still other plantations are
being established. The increasing de-
mands and the inadequate supply OF rub
Der il the commercial world makes the