The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1911-12-26
-EEIERlL AGHEULIlRIL
elanwood Sman Farmers Cook
Fodder Over Steam Cracks
Of Volcano.

Utilization of every blade Of grass
and The trunk Of every tree is poin,
aimed NJ by the oicnwood small farm.
crs in their preparation 10 clear lands
In that ncighborhcod for agriculture,
according to Dr. e. v. Wilcox, special !
agent in charge Of the Hawaii Agrieul.
tural Station Of the federal govern.
ment, who has returned recently from
a visit 10 the Big Island
Il has been found that pigs and cat
tic turned into the areas ready for
clearing dispose Of everything except
the ferns, fattening themselves in the
process Of aiding their owners make
ready for moro valuable crops. 1t has
recently been discovered, however, that
stripped Of its outer surfaces, the core
Of the tree fern makes an ideal fodder
for the pigs and the small farmers of
the district, now organized in the ideal
small farming community of the is
lands, make general use Of the plant
in this way.
Doctor Wilcox brought back speci
mems of this core and the chemist of
the station is now working on an
analysis of them the figures in part
of which were laid before the director
yesterday The results have been un-
expected and gratifying. 1t has been
found that over twenty-five per cent
consists of starch and sugar, the exact
figures being: Water, col; starch,
| 2092; sugar, 4.21; protein, LIP.
These cores are being fed to the
pigs, sometimes raw and often cooked,
| the farmers using an ingenious method
in many cases to render them a little
more digestible for their stock. Miles
away from the crater of Kilauea there
are big steam cracks in the earth all
more or less supposed to be connected
with the center of volcanic activity
that is at present raising the lava in
the pit of Halemaumau TO the surface.
Over these, the stripped cores are being
placed and steamcooked, the cracks
serving every purpose of the ordinary
FIRE.
81 suppose this is the only place in
the world where You can see this
done," said Doctor Wilcox, yesterday
"Those cracks are hot, too. Put your
hand down one of them and you usually
take it out again very quickly
1t is possible that upon the compile
tion of the analysis of the tree fern
cores some experiments will be made
to find commercial uses for them.
Clearing Much Land.
The settlement of small farmers at
Glenwood are working to make the rain
sodden country of Jhat district yield
&c 4 y,,aanndtnrv 70.
the expectations of the pessimists of a
few years ago.
"There are immense tracts of land
around GlenwOod that can be used if
we only learn how to use them,' says
IDoctor Wilcox and the efforts of the
agricultural substation that has been
established there viii be directed to-
wards finding out just what use they
can be put to.
The rain presents the only difficulty,
it seems, to the country thereabout
being the most fertile in the Territory
but with rainfall often exceeding 300
, inches year, the best of intentions are
usually drowned out. The fascination
of the country and the apparent rich
ness of the soil has been enough to
, hold the settlers and their efforts seem
, about to be crowned with success.
Experiments are being carried on in
. undertaking the soil and various
: means are being tried out. Tile drains
are being little considered owing to the
difficulty of getting the tiles there but
} wooden box drains sunk under the soil
and running in parallels twenty or thir-
ty feet apart seem to be doing the
work well
Brush under-drains, sunk under the
earth, and covered, are also proving
practicable and much of the water is
being carried out of the earth by botl
these means. Dynamitiug has proved
to be another means, opening cracks
down through which the water sinks
leaving the soil fairly dry.
Meanwhile dairying and pig raising
are going on apace. The introduction
of the pig to Glenwood meant the util
ization of many other native forest
6 plants that would have otherwise t.
0 be thrown away upon being cleared of
the land.
The wild bananas have proved al
unexpected and fairly fattening source
, of food. The COWS eat the entire plant
trunk, leaves and all and seem to relish
it and when they have done their par
Q of the work the pigs root the stumpI
up and finish the job. The high alti
9 tudes are not conducive to good banant
raising and such plants that do beal
: produce only skimpy punches.
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