The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, 1922-10-10
Grove Ranch

In early days in the sugar industry
large numbers of oxen were used in
the IN fields. Then as now, also,
beef cattle were needed to supply
meat for employees and their families
and dairy cows to supply milk. Horses
were needed even more thar now for
they and oxen were used in blowing
before the advent of steam plows, and
were required for harvesting, harrow
ing and other field work, for draught
animals and for the saddle for en-
ployes engaged in supervising the
work in progress in the fields. There
is an explanation for the establish
ment of such an undertaking as
Grove Ranch.
In these days oxen are seldom used
for blowing or draught animals, the
steam pillow and other steam apparatus
have reduced the requirement for
work animals to a large extent; the
automobile and motor truck have re-
duced requirements for draught ami
mails, but some work. horses and mules
" and draught animals are still requir-
ed. Now as then there are constant
needs for saddle horses for those in
supervision of operations in the fields.
Now more than then is there a de-
mand for beef cattle and for milk
since more plantation employees are
required than in the days when opera
tions were much more limited and the
sugar industry far less important than
today.
So Grove Ranch today is more i'm
portant as a beef producer and in its
dairy department than in other re-
spects though it produces the horses
required for the plantations uses.
Breeds Are Improved
Again in contrast with the old days.
Then little attention was paid to the
breed of cattle or horses and pure bred
animals were seldom seen in the Is.
lands. Gradually came the recognition
of the fact that the thoroughbred is
the better animal and that scrubs"
are not cheap but costly in the end
Then came the period of selection, a
period that is still in progress for the
ranch must gradually grow away from
the first stock it had in fields and on
ranges.
Two Ranches Combined
Formerly what is now Grove Ranch
was two separate concerns one now
as Haiku Ranch and the other as
Grove Ranch, the former owned by
the Haiku Sugar Company and the
latter by Paia. In 1904 the two sugar
companies were consolidated and call
ed the Maui Agricultural Company
and the two ranches were also com
bined and put under n management
and became the Maui Agriculture
Company's ranch, going by the name
of Grove Ranch. It's chief province
now is to supply for the hundreds o.
employees and their families meat from
its herds and milk from its diaries
Area And Herd
Grove Ranch has an area of som
10000 acres of land on the lowe
slopes of Haleakala, more when CAM
fields are used as pastures as the!
sometimes are of that area 500 acre
are planted to p%ineapples and 700 Il
pigeon peas which reduces the arei
for livestock to between 1000 an,
is, acres. The home lands in Ma
kawao and Haiku are of a rolling ma
ture so il is easy to drive cattle owe
them but further east in the "ditcI
Country and Nahiku it is very rougI
in nature and hard for the handling
of livestock and cattle.
In the past few years the Grow
Ranch herd has been considerably in
1 creased in numbers SO it is now abou
y 2lOO head, composed chiefly of higl
grade Pole d'Angus cattle which ar
used exclusively for the meat marke
that is in connection with the ranch
culling and Breeding
Formerly it was the custom in tn
ranches of the Islands to let the AM
mails mingle together regardless o
age and sex and the result was a 10
of inbred cattle of small size. Toda
the calves are taken away from thei
mothers at the age of eight to tie,
months and the heifer calves ar
separated into pastures by themselve
J2stil they become of breeding age
Those suitable for brood cows ar
kept and the culls are fattened an
sem to market. 1t is the custom o