The Hawaiian gazette., 1910-01-14
Rubber---What 1t
Means For Hawaii
From Reports at Rubber Growers Annual Convention

1
well under the scheme of little culti-
walton which had been adopted. Then
the Hilo grass began to affect them,
and finally, through various stages OF
partial cultivation the conclusion has
been generally accepted that complete
: cultivation is necessary for the best
results. This means, of course, that it
has cost more to cultivate each acre
thGn was estimated five years ago.
| The chief difficulties and disappoint.
ments then have been:
(a.) The destruction of large part
Of the first planting by rats and their
! continued depredations.
(b.) Inability to get good Hevea
seeds until after three years effort,
postponing to last year the establish
ment of Hevea culture on any cOnsid-
cradle scale, and causing the expendi.
ture of great deal of money for which
there is nothing to show.
(e.) The revision found necessary in
the scheme of cultivation has raised the
cost of cultivation to date on the older
plantations above the original estimates
for the entire period of development.
Lastly, after meeting these increased
expenditures, and resulting from the
difficulties mentioned, the crop from
the Ceara trees is one year later than
expected and from the Hevea will be
at least three years later on all the
pioneer plantations.
IF These are facts which we can not get
away from, and / believe we shall be
the happier for meeting them face to
face, discussing them frankly, and con.
sidering what, if any, conditions have
developed to offset them.
First among these should be men,
toned the general rubber market, and
the chances of profit when we do get
crop. ] have referred to the esti-
mates made at the beginning which
have not been realized. Let us 60 fur
ther. Rubber was to be obtained at
a collection cost of 80 cents per pound.
Reference to Doctor Wilcox's report,
as published by the Maui News a year
ago, gives exactly this estimate as the
result of experiments conducted by his
department in tapping Ceara trees. To
quote: "Three men should be able to
obtain rubber from mature trees at the
rate of about one pound an hour This
means one pound for three hours labor.
Reckoning labor at $1.00 for ten hours
work, which is ten to fifteen per cent.
higher than at present, this will give
n cost of 80 cents per pound, the same
as estimated five years ago.
AS to the selling price o, rubber, the
! figures referred to, given five years
ago, were based on an average selling
| price of $1.00 per pound. A glance
at the graphic representation of rubber
prices since then shows that at only
one time, for six months, in the five
years, has the price been below $1.00,
while all the rest of the time it has
been above it, and at the present time
is 1920 per pound, and authorities
agree that it is likely to stay at or near
the present price for some time. AS
witness Zeller, Vielinger 6 Co., in the
; India Rubber World, for November,
1909: ''We do not see any chance to
/. expect cheaper price for the next two
months -; or to w. Wright & Co.:
"There is no indication of setback
!, in values.'
4 To be sure, complete cultivation is
now generally conceived to be neces-
sary to satisfactory results, yet / be-
lieve development in the future will be
less expensive than heretofore, for it
has been found that several inter.
crops can be made to grow between the
rubber trees with sufficient success to
diminish the net cost of cultivation.
From the very first cacao has been
, tried because it is grown successfully
for this purpose in Ceylon, but it has
not thrived here, and we have turned
to annual crops with the result above
mentioned. Recent developments in
the cotton industry, together with a
very small trial planting on the Nahi-
ku Rubber Company, lead to a belief
that this may be the crop that will
solve the problem, as the perennial
character cotton takes on in the Terri
tory gives it the advantage desired
from cacao, that of crop which would
not require repeated planting. By the
time the cotton plant will have run out
to a point where picking is no longer
profitable, the rubber trees will have
reached the stage where the inter-crop
will not seem advisable.
Anyway, it has been proven beyond
question that inter-crops can be raised
and henceforth there remains only the
choosing of such as will to tile greatest
extent diminish the net cost of cult
!, walton. The rubber plantations occupy
position perhaps not held by any 9th
er agricultural enterprise in the islands
They can afford TO raise crops between
the rubber trees at an actual loss 81
. far rs the particular crop is concern
? ed, provided they can realize iron
. these anything over and above the cos
. of seed, actual planting and harvest
ing, as all in excess of this will lesser
. the cost of cutivating the rubber tree
9 on which their hope of profit depends
Among the older trees, where inter
= crops can not be grown TO advantage
: because of the size Of the trees, it viii
be possible henceforth as indicated b,
= experiments covering several months
i and about 100 acres ON the Nahik
q Rubber Company lands TO keep dow
A weeds and grasses more cheaply wit
I, the spray pump than By the old methot
a. On the whole, II seems REASONABLE
a certain thar development will be cheal
q. or heneeforih than II has been mp I
pr this time, even with more thoroug
M cultivation. aud n would not be en-