The Hawaiian gazette., 1916-02-01

Fred w. Macfarlane, president Of
Libby, MeNeiii & Libby OF Honolulu.
pineapple packers, had on his desk an
envelope abont one-eighth fall Of small
brown seeds. They were plbeapnla
seeds, and were All that were fopnd
IN one day, during which 1000 cases
were packed. THAI shows how scarce
pineapple seeds are.
These seeds viii be planted as part
OF general effort 70 improve Ha.
waiian piheapples for the size Of the
| NO! ] grade has been falling of dur
ing the last year. II Is MI. Macfars
lanes opinion and that OF his SON.
waiter Macfarlane, ipanager Of the
pineapple company, that the decline
wtll eoltihue so long as plantings are
made from old plants and crop rota.
ton is not prhctised. pt
Temptation To Consinue
As for the latter, Libby, McNeiIl q
Libby will rotate rs soon as the pines
IN one field decline in size, planting
some other crop, allowing the soil 10
aerate and temperate from the air
and sun, and then blowing the new
growth under for fertilizer. PineaD.
pies are so hardy, and the suckers take
root so easily everywhere, that Il has
been natural for the planters 10 haa
the soil eontihuonsl which explains
why the soil may have become lmi,oy-
erished, Mr.. Maefaflane said.
To impfove the planta. "A, effoyt' 4
Being made TO cross the OLD Hawaiian
pineapple, wonderfully sweet. but al
small that il had virtually no yalue
even for home use and none conner.
ciaily, with the cay enne vhriety. which
Is that of commerce.. Besides. nlant
cuttings will be imported but under
careful supervision, and they win he
placed in n quarantined field AZ tha
United states agricultural experiment
station, in order that no blight MIGHT
be brought in. These are N aad;t;on
to the planting OF seeds. Mr. Macfat.
lane holds that the size Of the M
pines has declined because OF in.breedg
ihgj thar is, because suckers from aid
plants were planted and replanted.
| New plants, as well as seeds. wouId
revive the stock, he belieyesll Other
causes may have to do with the con.
tinnal use of land for the one crop. a.
stated. - NJ.
However these experiments rasnlt
Mr., MaefarIahe sees a Continuance ~
the falling Off for several wears M
estimates that Il viii be eight years
with new growth. t. N
The No. pine is the largest and Is
80 named because il Is packed into the
No. can, an old standard 1t aver
ages four or FIVE pounds, whereas the
no. z, the next in size, is G.hy half
so large Some No. pines weigh as
much as ten and twelve pounds No.
~ Is the smallest Of the three grades.
Experience Of the Libby fra this
season was that there was a decreass
or twentyrthree to twenty. four per cent
in the number of No. fruit. Besides
the pines from its own piantations ON
both sides Of the island, the firm
bought pines from everywhere, s'from
places we never expected 10 get pines, Z
as Mr. Maefarlane said, and its ex.
perience Is regarded as typical. Al.
though Mr.. MaefarIahe believes there
will continue 70 be fewer No. rs, h,
does not expect the yearly decrease to
be always so great.
Size Against 1t
There was no decline in quality. Mr..
Maefailahe said, and, for that matter,
he considers the standard No. az
sweet and palatable as the No. I. but
its size is against it in the market.
When It is considered that there Is a
loss Of fifty per cent in packing, due
to the great amount Of fruit lost In
''sizing 1T to TT the standard can,
which was not designed for pines, il
will be seen that the falling of In the
No. is serious. At first Mr.. Macfar,
lane was inclined to estimate that the
pack might decrease One!half If the
tendency continued as II has begun,
but he modified this by saving that
Possibly il was extreme.
II the falling of In the pack does
reach fifty per cent within few Years.
the magnitude Of the loss nav be seen
when ii Is stated that the pack this
season was about 10000 tons. some
1900, 900 eases. Prices have been low,
however, and pineapple men hold that
the better prices that probably would
follow a smaller pack would comptn.
safe in great measure Il. II
This year Libty, MeNeill & Libby
viii use collapsed can at the Libby.
Vile plant. The American Can com
pany, has been manufacturing the can
for some time and thorough tests have
been made of il and it has been used
successfully IN Mani and Kauai, until
the Libby company is satisfied with ia.
1t simply is an ordinary cylinder OF
timed plate, lacking ends, which has
been crushed fat for convenience aud
sPaeeFaving' in hipping, TO be brought
back to the cylindrical form BY ma
chinery. Due to the lost SPACE, cans
are very extensive tn shin Cine
pont that paclters must con,i der ia
using the eollapsiblc cans is that tho
tin plating should not be cracked, for
II it were, the fruit aci1s wul1 AZ,
tack the iron and the fruit would be