The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1915-09-07
FLOATING kUKU|
(. OIL CORPORATION
European War Makes Present
Most 0pportune Time To
Create a Mainland Demand

lulu boy, and William A. GID engineer
are organizing a company in Honolulu
TO undertake the commercial mnnufac
ture of oil from kukui nuts. They are
entering a practically virgin field. with
new, independent industry, which,
like the algaroba bean industry, they
believe, in time will give lucrative en-
ployment to many hundreds Of men,
women and children throughout the
Islands.
As the project Is more or less in its
infancy, the company will begin in a
small way and build mp ms the trade
warrants II. 1t is to be capitalized at
the beginning at $2j.OOO A factory
costing approximately $4,000 will be
erected at Honolulu and force of men
set to work gathering nuts in the many
native kukui groves that dot the
Islands.
Room For Big Business
If the proper grade of oil ran be
produced, tho industry, say the pro
moters, should prove an enormous one
They estimate at the lowest they should
receive fifty cents a gallon for the oil
In Bulletin issued February s, 1918,
by The Hawaiian Agricultural Expert
ment Station, Director Wilcox esti-
mated that in the Islands there are TO-.
900 acres of kukui groves accessible,
yielding approximately $4,000 tons Of
nuts, which in turn ought to produce
2,376;000 gallons Of oil.
Thus the promoters Of the new en-
terprise figure the ultimate gross re-
ceipts from the manufacture Of kuk nj
oil conld in time reach the enticing
total Of $1,IS7,5n0.
Experiments Many
This by no means is the first expert
ment In Hawaii to extract oil from the
nuts which grow SO pIentifully here
Many have been made, though only on
small scale and with indifferent sue
| cess; this Is the first attempt to under
take it in a serious, large way, with
capital sufficient to surmount the diff
culties which other experimenters en-
countered disastrously.
In the bulletin already quoted, Doc
tor Wilcox says:
"Kukui oil has been shipped from
various islands of the Pacific to the
United States for the past seventy five
years for use in making soap, paint,
varnish and artists oil. The mark ut
price is the same or slightly higher
than that Of hnseed oil and varies with
the price of the latter. Kukui oil can
replace linseed oil for all purposes, but
dries more quickly. Wa
Half a Century Ago
In fact, at one time It was quite an
industry, Doctor Wilcox saying:
| "As + well known 90 -he old resi-
dents Of Hawaii, there was once an in
dustry of quite respectable proportions
in kukui oil, exported from Hawaii
The exportatiohI atnRnted to AS much
as 5000 to 10000 gallons per year, the
greatest production VI kukui oil having
occurred from lS40 to 1850 The oil
even at that date was valued at fifty
cents a gallon.
at is reported that in 1887 a ma
tive woman in Palolo Valley expressed
kukui oil at the rate Of $40 gallons a
month with a crude hand made lever
press, the nuts being previously roasted
or boiled in oil to facilitate extrac-
ton.
Government Bureau Aids
| Mr.. Pahu reports that In the effort
Of himself and Mr.. Gill to renew this
ancient industry on a broader CONNER,
cial basis they have received strong
encouragement from governmental
sources. The territorial marketing divi.
sion has offered to cooperate in the
matter of collecting and Transporting
the nuts from the other islands. The
burenu of forestry has signified its
Willingness to grant a concession for
the collection of the nuts on govern.
| IL A.
hope to obtain the concession without
charge until the industry gets beyond
the experimental stage. The United
States experiment station of Hawaii is
willing to help create a market for the
oil in the field of medicine anG as a
food.
Market In New York
However, the organizers believe they
already have found a large market for
the oil in New York. They quote the
following from a letter sent them by
the firm Of Joseph Bondy's Sons, manu-.
facturers agents, New York City!
"From the data I'VE have thus far
collected, we are absolutely certain that
we could sell shipments of any magni.
tude Of this kukui oil which you could
send, and, of course, regular shipments
would be conducive to a regular oc.
bcurring and recurring business in the
said oil -
Pahu first conceived the idea of the
business while he was in the employ of
the Philippine government. travelling
through the provinces Of that territory
He learned that extensive shipments of
the nuts grown there were made reg,
ularIy to France, where they were
, treated for the oil content. He re,
called that vast groves of the same
trees grew in Hawaii and knew that
thus far no successful effort had been
made to extract the oil, so he began
iuves legations.
Mainland Experiments
He caused shiTment of the Ha,
waiian nuts to be seat him at Manila
where he had them treated, sending the
, kukui nuts to large number of whole
sale firms and agents in the United
States. tie found that the best de
mand for the oil came from manufac
turrrs of varnish; these were of such
encouraging nature that he continued
his investigation, sending to the main
land to ascertain whether the requisite
machinery could be obtained On this
| point, too, he met with success, so that