The Pacific commercial advertiser., 1908-11-11
PLANTERS SEE
EXPERIMENTS
Technical Reports on Crops
Made by Station
Experts.

The Planters Association had an in
teresting 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-
titic researches by the experiment sta,
tion staff.
The planters were shown over the
station grounds by Mr.. Brain
and Mr.. Perkins, and the work IN the
various buildings and departments ex-
planned. 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 a 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 a 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
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
ton of sugar is averaged from all the
plantations as SIS. Mr.. DEER also
stated that the high percentage of sue
rose shown in the reports gives better
average here than anywhere else in the
world, and speaks much for the eff
fciency 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.
DR.. H. L. Lyon of the experiment
station staff made an address on "The
Flower of the Sugar Cane,' and de-
tailed the devious steps by which the
pollen is distributed and the new seed
born, in a manner so clear that a 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 |
in 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 |
present ever asked what part of the |
cane stalk was really alive, whether it |
was the fiber, the leaf, or what. Could |
one place his finger on the life in any !
part of the cane? He said this living |
part is not in the rigid section of the |
stalk but in the semi-fuid portion. 1t |
is distributed all through the cane and /
these separate sections are known as
cells. This life absorbs fluid food. The !
address was heartily applauded.
When questioned about "sports" Of |
cane, DR.. Lyon said this was a danger
Dus subject to discuss, especially if one
attempted to give an opinion upon its
peculiarities. Such an opinion should
not be offered until scientists have
scientific basis to work on. The sport,
he explained, is a bud from the cane
stem and when it grows into an indie
pendent plant, has characters different
from the parent cane. He said that
Prof. Koebele was experimenting on
sports in Java.
Today's subjects win be as follows:
10 a. m: Report on Manufacture and
Utilization of Products, by J. N. S.
Williams; Report on Machinery, by W.
J. Dyer. 2 p. M: Report on Cultiva.
ion on Unirrigated Plantations, by A.
:. Lidgate; Report on Warehouses for,
md Storage of, Raw Sugar, by John
lind; Report on Forestry, by L. A.
Thurston; Report by Government For
ster bv R. S. Hosmer
On Thursday morning the labor report
will be presented, and at 2 'clock an
ddress viii be made by Frederick
Newell. director of the United States
Service, at a place to be !
later. That evening the an,
ual banquet will be given.