was 95,443.5 acres, of which 46,775 acres, or 49.01 per cent, were dependent on rainfall and 48,668.5 acres, or 50.99 per cent, received irrigation.

New lands taken over by the unirrigated plantations have been largely on the higher levels, where the soil is thinner and poorer as a rule, and the sugar yields, although at first good, are soon reduced after harvesting one or two crops, and become less than those obtained from the lower-lying areas. On the irrigated plantations, the new lands that have been added to the cultivated area have usually been richer than those under cultivation for some time, and much expansion has followed the opening of new sources of water-supply with the advantage of improved irrigation facilities. The gain in yields of the unirrigated plantations must be attributed almost entirely to improved methods of cultivation and fertilization and to the introduction of more thrifty varieties of cane; while in the case of the irrigated plantations a greater production due to new lands cannot be omitted as an important factor, along with the gain from progressive methods of cane-farming.

The profits accruing from the increased yields on the irrigated plantations have not always been commensurate with the increased production, owing to the large cost of waterway construction and of pumping. The cost of irrigation includes the installation of pumps, construction of ditches and reservoirs, tunneling, and the labor of applying water to the cane furrows. The expense incurred in the making of Hawaiian irrigation ditches may be conceived when the obstacles encountered in this line of engineering work are considered. The headworks of the Makaweli ditch, for example, involve twentynine tunnels of a continuous length of five miles, seven feet wide and seven feet high, excavated in the solid rock and built on a grade of eight feet per mile, which will give a daily capacity of over 60,000,000 gallons when running four feet deep (report of M. M. O'Shaughnessy). As regards the cost of pumping to higher elevation, Mr. O'Shaughnessy states: "To pump 10,000,000 gallons daily against a head of 300 feet

About 5,000,000 gallons are used per acre in the growing of a crop, and this quantity is pumped to a maximum height of 550 feet.

A careful test conducted at the experiment station of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association in Honolulu showed that without irrigation it was possible to obtain only 1,600 pounds, or less than one short ton of sugar per acre. This was with a rainfall of 32.5 inches per year. The largest of the irrigated plantations have a much smaller rainfall than 32.5 inches, and it would not be possible to harvest even the small acre-output indicated by the unirrigated cane at the experiment station. A yield of 1,600 pounds of sugar to the acre would not justify the expense of growing, harvesting and milling the same, and it is safe to say that were the sugar lands of this territory entirely dependent on rainfall, the 1903 crop would have yielded little more than 131,567 tons of sugar.

In accordance with the experience of planters in other sugar-growing countries, those of Hawaii have been obliged to maintain the yields in many localities by the substitution of more thrifty and hardier canes than the old standard varieties. The attention given to this subject on many of the

the foreground.

plantations has undoubtedly helped to raise the acre-output. On Hawaii, the Lahaina cane, after having been grown for many years, was finally succeeded by the Rose Bamboo, which latter variety is now making way for a more vigorous cane, named Yellow Caledonia. In districts subject to over-copious rains or to excessive drought, where Lahaina and Rose Bamboo (in less measure) would show an occasional falling off in production, Yellow Caledonia, through its hardier characteristics, has

maintained a favorable yield in less-favored seasons. On lands that had given out for Lahaina to such an extent that the cane made but a meager growth, this variety has yielded a profit to some plantations that would otherwise have taken off their crops at a loss.

Probably in no other cane-growing country does the subject of fertilization receive so much consideration as in the Hawaiian islands, and the study that has been given to this question by plantation managers has done much to raise the sugar yield per acre throughout the territory. The percentage of the various ingredients, as well as the forms in which they are applied in mixed fertilizers, are carefully considered with regard to climate and soil and, owing to the diversity of Hawaiian conditions, fertilizer formulas show wide variations in the various districts of the group.

what over $2,000,000. Besides these fertilizers, which were bought, large quantities of stable manure, furnace ash, molasses and disintegrated mud press cakes were used, the exact quantity of which is not known.

On one plantation, as a result of careful fertilization, a gain of 100 per cent in sugar was obtained over unfertilized land. On very fertile soils, which respond less to fertilization, a gain of 20 per cent has been reached through the use of suitable fertilizing material.

Almost as much attention has been given to cultivation as to fertilization, and, owing to the diversity of methods, little can be said on the subject in a brief report of this nature. The most approved patterns of agricultural implements are used, and specially constructed plows, harrows and other machinery have been adopted in some in

stances. Steam-plows are used on many estates, and deep-plowing with moderate subsoiling are practiced when the depth of the staple will permit. In the rainy districts the cost of stripping, i. e., removing the dried leaves from the cane, and keeping down weeds, are large items in the expense of cultivation.

During the last several years the cane-fields of the Hawaiian islands have been afflicted with a serious pest, termed the leaf-hopper (Perkinsiella saccharicida), which on many estates has greatly reduced the yield of the 1904 crop. Since getting a foothold in the territory it has been noticed on seed cane arriving from Queensland and on Chinese cane imported for eating purposes by the Chinese population. It very probably was received originally from either Queensland or China, where it is not known as a pest, owing to the presence of natural enemies that keep it in check, or limitations exerted on its reproductive capacity through climatic causes. The root-disease, rind-disease and the so-called pineapple-disease all do considerable damage.

The low prices of sugar which have prevailed during recent years and the high cost of labor, together with the serious loss annually incurred from insect and fungous depredations, necessitate the utmost vigilance on the part of plantation managers to determine sources of loss in the mill

and fields, and through technical skill in the one instance and more progressive methods of farming in the other, to combat the tendency toward reduced profit which has been more strongly felt from year to year.

Other Hawaiian crops.

Second in importance to sugarcane, but a very long way behind it, is rice, which has been grown since about 1860, always by Chinese using oriental methods. In all the islands most of the suitable lands have been taken up, so that no very great expansion of the

rice area is possible; but with improved methods, there is no doubt the industry could be made more profitable. Modern methods of machine-plowing, sowing, irrigating and harvesting are all applicable. Instead we see the plodding Chinaman digging up the soil by hand, or scarifying it with the aid of an oriental buffalo, or, at most, using a single furrow plow. Every plant is set by hand and the reaping is done with sickles. Threshed out on wooden or cement floors by horses' hoofs, the grain is first winnowed in the wind, after which it is decorticated in crude mills driven by overshot waterwheels. It is finally cleaned in a simple mill or in the wind. The two crops of a good season yield about ten million pounds of excellent rice, of which formerly more than half was available for export, but less, recently. Most of the rice used in the territory is locally grown. A small quantity arrives from the southern States and from Japan, the territorial Japanese, apparently from patriotic motives, consuming considerable quantities of Japanese rice. The present retail price varies from three and a half to four dollars per hundred-pound sack.

The coffee industry, third in rank, is permanently established, but is languishing at present owing to low prices. The largest crop yet raised totaled about three million pounds, valued at about a quar

Fig. 134. Bananas as grown on low land near Honolulu. ter of a million dollars. The crop is grown on all the islands, but principally on Hawaii, where twothirds of the total product comes from about 5,000 acres in the district of Kona. "Wild" coffee yields 700 to 800 pounds per acre. Topped trees yield

about double, and, if properly manured and tended, are said to remain thrifty. It is said to cost seven and one-half cents a pound to grow coffee that brings the grower ten cents. The cost of growing

Fig. 133. Rice-harvest scene in Hawaii, showing also various stages in the growth of the crop.-The rice is being cut with a sickle and is being

bound by hand with rushes. A woman gleans while she carries a child on her back. The sheaves are being carried to the threshing floor with the aid of Chinese shoulderpoles. Horses and mules are shown, treading out the grain. New fields are being immediately plowed for the second crop. Two crops are grown in the year.

is somewhat greater in the Hamakua district, also on Hawaii. The value of the coffee shipped in 1904 was $184,180.

Taro (Colocasia) was the main source of food for the native Hawaiians before the advent of civilization, and even now it constitutes a principal part of their food. The white population find it nutritious, and palatable after a period of initiation. The plants grow in watery places, though upland varieties exist. These latter thrive only in rainy districts. The tops of the corms are set in or very near the water, and in somewhat over a year the crop is ready to harvest. Baked or boiled, the roots have the flavor of chestnuts. The tops, cooked as greens, slightly resemble spinach. The root, when slightly cooked and ground and allowed to ferment with water, forms poi, the native food, which is eaten as a pasty mass. Recently the cooked and dried root of the taro has been converted into flour and put on the market dry. This new industry has, to some extent, increased the growing of the plant.

Over one hundred species of fruit are successfully grown, though for the most part in small quantities. A correct idea of the facts is most briefly conveyed by naming the very few fruits that cannot be, or at least are not, grown. Currants, gooseberries, raspberries and blackberries are not successfully grown. Peaches and cherries are not grown to any extent, though a few peaches are to be found. Probably these and apricots can be grown after the necessary experience has been gained. From this it will be seen that all the fruits of the torrid zone, and all but those of the colder parts of the temperate zone

are grown. Nevertheless, the bulk of the grapes, apples, pears, stone fruits and citrous fruits are imported from California. Of the immense number of fruits grown, the following deserve mention as having attained to some importance in trade:

Some of the numerous species of bananas, the leading export fruit, are probably indigenous, but most have been introduced. Among the latter is the Musa textilis, furnishing manila hemp. However, this fiber is not yet manufactured. The China and Brazilian bananas are those principally grown, more particularly because they stand the winds well. Bluefields banana plants now exist in the territory and will shortly be in the hands of practical growers, who are nearly all Chinese. The year 1904 saw nearly 100,000 bunches exported, valued at $128,240. An even larger number is consumed locally, of which a considerable proportion are varieties specially suitable for cooking.

Pineapples are gradually increasing, the number at present growing being about three million, of which fully three-fourths are on the island of Oahu. A few hundred thousand are consumed locally, from 150,000 to 200,000 are sent fresh to the main land, while the several canneries located on the plantations shipped in the year 1904, for example, about 20,000 cases of tinned

definite attempt to grow a uniform and improved product. A small number are sent regularly to San Francisco, but difficulties are so great that the business is very small.

Papaia, or pawpaw, is very generally grown, there being hardly a garden without one or more trees. Plantations of considerable size occur. As the fruit does not carry well, almost none is exported. Visiting passenger steamers take a few for immediate consumption on board.

Concord and Isabella grapes are grown the year round on a small scale by the Portuguese. These retail at ten cents a pound. These Portuguese vignerons also grow the few figs that are sold fresh. No figs are dried.

Vanilla has been grown as a curiosity for many years. Within the last few years capital has been invested for its production on a commercial scale. It has been demonstrated that the plant can be grown so as to produce a good quality of bean, especially on the south and west sides of the island of Hawaii, in the warmest part of the territory. Here the temperature, rainfall and tree-growth necessary for the best growth of the vine are all to be found. The price of coffee having to some extent recently interfered with its cultivation, it has

been suggested that some of the coffee trees it is proposed to abandon may be used as a support for vanilla vines. The vanilla is subject to diseases, some of which have been imported. The present acreage is very small. It is estimated that five acres will afford support for one family.

The sisal hemp does remarkably well on some of the more arid and stony lands of the leeward districts. Such lands are unsuitable for cane, and capital to the extent of $75,000 has been invested in the industry, most largely on Oahu, but also on most of the other islands. The quality of the fiber is excelled perhaps only by that of manila. The present cultivated area is about fifteen hundred acres.

There is a plantation of castor-oil plants, one hundred acres in extent, that has been a commercial success. Good oil has been extracted and sold on the mainland.

Very little tobacco is grown, though it has been known for a long time that the crop thrives under Hawaiian conditions. The curing of the past has been defective, or at least unsuitable, and this accounts for the poorness of the product. Recent experiments render it very probable that first-class results are possible in tobacco-culture.

The climatic conditions are most favorable to the growing of many kinds of vegetables. Potatoes, cabbages, beans, corn, tomatoes, kohl-rabi, sweet-potatoes, lettuce, eschalots, radishes, eggplants, carrots, beets, and many other kinds do well

in the proper districts. In short, all the roots and tubers and vegetables flourish except those peculiar to the colder parts of the temperate zone.

Live-stock in Hawaii.

The number of cattle in the territory is estimated at 140,000, the number of sheep at 95,000. Good horses are reared. A few mules are bred, but most are imported from the mainland. Recently

grown at home with advantage, and the increasing Americanization of the territory, that must be an unalterable policy of the government, will see to it that no opportunity of this kind is neglected. The introduction of machine methods cannot be long delayed in a number of industries that are now prosecuted in a primitive fashion. These factors combine with many others to make the future look promising.

some efforts have been made to introduce fresh breeding-stock from abroad and with very promising results. The breeds of cattle that find most favor are Hereford, Shorthorn, Angus, Devon and Holstein, especially the first named. A limited amount of dairying is done near the towns, but much of the butter and practically all of the cheese is imported. Sorghum is a favorite green feed and grows very well, ratooning so that a number of cuttings can be made from one sowing. The grasses are fair in quality, especially some of the introduced ones, but much remains to be accomplished in this line, especially in the introduction of forage grasses suitable for the drier districts. Lucerne is grown with success.

Nearly all the beef and mutton consumed is grown locally. There were $100,000 worth of hides and wool exported in 1904.

With some special care, rendered necessary by the diseases peculiar to the climate, fowls do well. Many breeds are raised, the smaller and thinnerfeathered breeds doing best. Many eggs are still imported. Great numbers of ducks are raised on special duck-farms by the Chinese.

The outlook.

There can be little doubt about the future of agriculture in Hawaii. The population is bound to increase and the local market therefore to expand. Many foodstuffs at present imported can certainly be

A very important factor in the future improvement of agriculture in Hawaii is the presence of a number of flourishing agricultural institutions recently established. Among these must be mentioned the Experiment Station of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association (eighteen officers), the territorial Department of Agriculture (nine officers), the Federal Experiment Station (eight officers), and the Agricultural Department of the Kamehameha School (three officers), all having headquarters at Honolulu, and extending a beneficent influence throughout the territory. The Sugar Planters' Experiment Station, as its name would indicate, is devoted to investigations bearing on the problems of sugar production. The Territorial Board of Agriculture and Forestry has the enforcement of the inspection laws of the territory relating to the importation of plants, live-stock inspection, the studying of problems of forestry, and the propagation and distribution of valuable plants. The federal Experiment Station devotes its energies to the study of problems of diversified agriculture, conducting experiments with tropical fruits, rice, sisal, rubber, tobacco, fungous diseases and insect enemies of economic plants, bee-keeping, silk culture, introduction of grasses and other forage crops, the feeding value of Hawaiian-grown fodders, soil studies, vegetable-growing, and other subjects, the object being to supplement the agricultural practices now existing in Hawaii. It is doubtful whether any other equal number of American citizens is so well served in the way of agricultural experiment stations.