Show 1 DRIFTED ALONG IN THE THEOLD OLD RUTS r Hawaiian Farmers Seem Not Notto Notto Notto to Have Realized the Extent of Their Riches PLANTATIONS RUN DOWN WORK OF DEPARTMENT OF AG AGRICULTURE AGRI RI CU TUllE E ESpecial Special to The Herald Washington Oct 5 It Is the opinion of ot experts of ot the thc department of culture that the people of or Hawaii have never fully tullY realized the agricultural possibilities of or their islands Instead of ot going in for tor diversified crops and in instead Instead stead of or scientifically y studying and im improving Improving Improving proving the staples stapes Hawaiian farmers have drifted along in old ruts until they have been literally forced to abandon certain lines of ot production be because because because cause of at their inability to keep pace with the th rest of ot the world The production of ot coffee once a leading Industry of at Hawaii is rapidly declining many coffee planters being i obliged to go out of ot business The cof cot coffee coffee i fee situation as sized up by the gov government government government scientists is typical of ot ther other i agricultural pursuits In Hawaii There are the natural resources climate soil and water which go to make coffee raising a success But many of ot the farmers have permitted their planta plantations plantations to run down they the have failed to weed out plants of ot inferior grade and substitute those of at the highest grade Disaster has been the logical result Coffee Industry Special Agent Jared G Smith sent to Hawaii by this government reporting on the coffee industry says sa s The coffee Industry Is 18 one especially adapted to the development of ot a eta sta stable ble population of ot small landowners The coffee belt lies at an elevation of or from 1000 to feet teet the most sa aa salubrious salubrious location in the islands a re region glen gion Ion of at comfortable temperature the year ear around Coffee does not require a large outlay of capital in Its cultivation cultivation tion and it is a crop which can be pre prepared prepared prepared pared for market without tn expensive machinery There are no about growing coffee in Hawaii The trees arc aro remarkably free from disease the yields Ields are high and returns sure The chief cause of failure In coffee coto COff O growing In Hawaii is due to economic conditions The best grades of Ha I walan coffees have always alwa s been in de demand d demand mand and these grades sell themselves The low grades however cannot be produced in competition with Brazil and similar countries and practically every eve small producer engaged in coffee growing in has been forced out of business A few tew of ot the larger larg r growers grower who remained have havo managed to continue only through the exercise of the most vigilant care and economy and have held on more because they had faith in the future than on ac account account count of ot actual profits returned upon investment It Is pointed out that there Is a bright future for tor the coffee industry in Hawaii if It lie he grow growers ers will devote themselves entirely to the production of strictly coffee offee Tobacco Could Be Grown With Its Us climate similar to that of the most famous tobacco growing countries of ot the world it is strange that Hawaii has never taken up that industry The department of at agriculture agriculture ture tobacco could bo bl success successfully successfully successfully fully grown in III Hawaii and several 5 years cars ago begun experiments with seed obtained in Cuba Sumatra some Borne of the states which engage in the industry and from other foreign lands where high grades of tobacco are grown When hen samples of to tobacco tobacco tobacco bacco were submitted to experts the leaf was be of good burn and flavor and the elasticity firmness and general texture place all aU the samples in the wrapper class The Tle quality of the leaf leat Is due to the soil and climate Indeed one of ot the Hawaiian island was found to be an ideal tobacco growing region On the mountain slopes of ot the island of ot Hama kua the clouds gather almost every day in the year ear The mornings are usually clear with full sunshine but before the heat of ot midday clouds drift in from the ocean and rest over the lower slopes disappearing again towards evening In effect tobacco Is not by b virtue of being planted under cloth loth tenting as n Is done In Inmany i n many tobacco countries s but because of ot o f the daily fog tog bank On that island where climate and soil are well adapted to t o tobacco culture nature provides what man m n has to provide In other lo 10 localities localities e at great cost This vast tent rent renting eatIng ing I ng rolled over the fields by b natures hand costs the grower nothing no is as effective e as the cloth tenting elsewhere and makes the production of ot tobacco cheaper than in any like lIle locality where other conditions are equal And yet tobacco was not grown on until the government began its experiments ments Equal to the Best Cuban Leaf LeafA A German cigar manufacturer who examined the 1906 1006 crop cro from declared the tobacco leaf leat was unexcelled unexcelled unexcelled celled In burning qualities superior in Jn that respect to most m st mainland varie varieties varieties varIeties ties and the mild mUd flavor In his opinion n places it on an equality with the best Brazilian and some Cuban sorts So successful have been the experiments conducted by the government gove that fur tur further further ther demonstration will not be attempt attempted ed on a field scale There are many points connected with curing ferment fermenting fermenting ing and sorting and with the treatment of plants in the tho field on which future work will be done but having demon demonstrated demonstrated demonstrated that A No 1 tobacco can be grown in commercial quantities and with very large profit in certain dis die districts districts of Hawaii the government ex expects expects expects private capital to take hold bold and develop what can certainly be made one of or the leading industries of the Hawaiian group Other lines of ot investigations are un under under Under der way looking to an improvement in inthe Inthe Inthe the old crops and the substitution of new crops now nov unknown But up to the present time greater attention has been paid to coffee and tobacco than to others |