The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-12-19
Honolulu as an Agricultural
Scientific Center

Divisions of Entmology and Animal In
dustry is essentially to protect thu
Territory by keeping out of tho
islands, respectively, injurious insects
and animal disease, Under carefully
framed laws and strict administrative
regulations all shipments of vegetable
matter coming to Hawaii are rigorous
ly inspected upon arrival If found in
tested the consignment is fumigated
if necessary it is returned or de
stroyed Hawaii holds very ad
vanced place as to her insect quaran
tine service Outside of California no
state in the Union is now as well pro
tected. But this is work which should
have been started earlier, for unfor
tunately there are at large in the Ter
ritory a number of bad insect pests,
l To find the natural enemies that keep
these undesirable immigrants in check
is the second line of work of the Di.
vision of Entomology, This work,
which is confined to crops other than
sugar cane, has been severely ham
pered by lack of funds. With larger
resources much more rapid progress
could be made.
The activities of the Division of Ami.
nal Industry are similar in character
= All animals coming into the Territory
are examined, and if it is found neces
sary are quarantined in special quar-
ters provided by the Board of Agricul
ture This division also has the duty
enforcing regulations looking to the
stamping out of animal diseases that
already have a foothold in the islands
During 1910 an active campaign
against bovine tuberculosis was car
ried on. that practically wiped out that
disease from the dairy herds on Oahu
The third division, Forestry, is
charged with the protection, admins
tTation and extension of the forests Of
Hawaii It's two main lines of work
are the creation and care of forest re
serves and the encouragement of tree
planting In Hawaii agriculture is de
pendent upon irrigation. Under the
local conditions of climate and topo
graphy a supply of water cannot pc
assured unless the forest cover is per
manently maintained on the catchment
basins. This is accomplished by the
creation of forest reserves, of which
there are October 1910 twenty.
five, with a total area of 631 1856 acres
of which 60 per cent is land belonging
to the Territorial government Tree
planting is important in Hawaii be
cause of the paucity of the local sup.
ply and the growing demand for wood
of all kinds. All large timbers and all
construction lumber have to be i'm
ported, and even posts and ties come
largely from the mainland. This sit
uation can in part be met by the
planting of fast-growing trees like the
eucalyptus. The Division of Forestry
is doing all it can to help along this
work by giving technical advice to all
who desire it and by furnishing trees
ion of Forestry is also engaged in the
experimental planting of trees of econ
omic value, new to the Territory.
In common with other American ex
pertinent stations, the results Of the in
vestigations und rtaken by these sta
lions are made public in TIE form of
bulletins, circulars ana reports. These
are freely distributed to all who are
interested. If the man in the field
will but meet the scientific worker
half way, he can for the asking have
all that the resources of the govern
ment can do for him.
The EXperimen Station of the Ha-
waiian Sugar Planters Association, be-
Ing conducted by a private corpora
ton, is run on a somewhat differer
basis. This station is maintained ey
clusiyely for the study of problems re
lating to the main Industry of thu
islands, the production of sugar cane
The results of its investigations and
researches are for the benefit of the
members of the association, though As
matter of fact great many of them
are made public. The Sugar Planters
Station is engaged both in investiga.
lions in pure science and in devising
ways and means of applying in actual
practice the principles so discovered
The ultimate purpose of all the work
is, of course, to make it possible to
raise more and better sugar at less
coast At the station are generously
equipped laboratories and extensive
grounds where are carried on field
tests in fertilizer control and Of other
sorts.
From being almost dramatic in in.
terest the work of this station in en-.
tomology is perhaps most widely
known-the controlling of insect trou-
bles in the cane fields by making one