The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-03-18
MANOA VALLEY
IMPROVEMENT
CONTINUED from Page Three.)


| failure. Our landscape gardening art
| has not risen above the plane of the
| Oriental yardboy, except in a few no.
| table instances like Moana1ua, and as
| to skill in planting and care of trees,
etc, the same may be said, as, for
instance, recently I saw a japanese
carrying water with two fve-gallon oil
tins in the usual manner to water
some trees planted in front of a GER
| tain Manoa place. Instead of apply
ing the whole of the eight or nine
gallons he carried, to one tree, which
would have been scant supply for one
application, he doled it out to five
trees; the ground around the trees
had not been stirred since the last
rains, consequently had become hard
and dry; the water applied merely
moistened the surface soil, not reach
ing down to the roots. I suppose the
owner of those trees is wondering why
they do not make better growth.
The manner of applying water to
lawns and plants in Honolulu is both
wasteful and almost useless. Were it
not for our occasional showers, such
methods would produce no growth at
all. One good soaking when the soil
begins to show dryness is worth ten
times the amount of water as gem
orally applied to plants and trees,
While the sprinkling of lawns in the
morning instead of the afternoon and
evening wastes fully so per cent of
the water so applied and in many in
stances causes the grass to turn yell
q
while the bright sun is shining.
In conclusion 1 would say there are
very many other varieties of trees
more or less suitable, but it will be
better to confine our first paintings TO
a few well-selected hardy kinds, and
as they develop, giving the necessary
protection from winds, We can add to
the list of varieties more tropical and
ornamental kinds, gradually replacing
some of the less desirable varieties
with those more to our satisfaction.
1t is very necessary that some sys-
tematic plan of timber belts be pro-
vided across this valley in order to
get the best results. These could be
planted on property lines if private
parties could be interested in the
matter.
We should develop the tropical in
our landscape. This is the charm that
grows upon the visitor, tourist and
kamaafna; it casts spell upon all
alike, and tbs hard indeed, if it once
possesses one, to break the spell.
BYRON o. CLARK.
Manoa, March Is, 1908.
Captain John Kidwell, an enthusi-
astic member of the Manoa Improve
ment Club, replied to some of the sug-
gestions contained in Mr.. Clarke let
ter, saying that another tree besides
the ones mentioned favorably by Mr..
Clark was the Eucalyptus robusta,
for general planting in the valley and
for windbrakes. A fine specimen of
sweet potato not generally seen in
Hawaii, though common in Florida
and Southern California, was shown
by President Cooper. He has quantf-
ties of them, delicious variety, and
all coming from one small seeding
that was clinging accidentally to the
roots of an orange tree which he i'm
ported from Florida some years ago.
The increasing ravages of the Ian
tana blight (Orthesia insignis Douglass
on domestic shrubbery was reporte |.
The entire hedge on the corner of Pu-
nahou and King streets is said to be
entirely destroyed. The lantana in
Manoa is rapidly disappearing owing
to the blight, but it is feared the pest
may attack useful plants as soon as
the lantana is gone.