100 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Apeil 5, 1919. 



THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HAWAIIAN 

 SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



In 1875 when the Hawaiian reciprocity treaty was 

 first effecteil by the United States with the Hawaiian 

 kingdom, the sugar production of the islands was so small as 

 to be almost negligible, perhaps .30,000, or 40,000 tons. 

 In endeavouring to secure the American reciprocity treaty, so 

 that the Hawaiians could send their sugars into the United 

 States free of duty, the statement was made that it would be 

 impossible for that country ever to produce over "5,000 

 tons of sugar. The sugar producing Hawaiians were very 

 skillful and very enterprising, and the production of sugar in 

 the Hawaiian Islands grew with reasonaKe rapidity. We 

 have before us now a memorandum of the ten years' production 

 from 1909 to 191 S inclusive. The data are given in short 

 tons of 2,000 ft)., and in 1909 the crop reached 535,156 

 tons: the following year the crop was about 181,000 tons less, 

 and the text year, 1911, resulted in a cropof 566,821 tons. 

 Then came 1912 with 595,258 tons: 191.3 with 5i6,798 tons; 

 1914 with 617,038 tons; and 1915 with 645,445 tons, 

 reaching the largest crop which we have on record, and then 

 receding'to 593,483 tons in 1916, with 644,574 tons in 1917, 

 and 1918 with 576,842 tons. 



The sugar industry' in Hawaii has set the pace for all 

 the world, and we find that the industry has progref.sed 

 until it has increased about eightfold from the figures that 

 •were claimed to be the limit of production in 1875. 



These figures will show that the ma.ximum production 

 in Hawaii is nearly reached, the evenness of the production 

 during the ten years under consideration indicating the 

 accuracy of this presumption. This is evidently having 

 some influence in Hawaii, as we find that some of the leading 

 planters there are now looking to the Philippines, where the 

 field for sugar production is practically unlimited, and where 

 the large native population gives promise of a full supply of 

 labour. 



We believe that the consumption of sugars will increase 

 throughout the world, and, because of the cheapness of sugar, 

 that the production is not likely to exceed the consumption. 

 There will always be an increasing demand for -iugar. (The 

 I/yimiana Planter, March 1, 1919.) 



LIME CULTIVATION IN DOMINICA. 



I. 



FROM WIND, AND DRAINJNi;. 



on the Agricultural Department, 



I'BOTEIJTION 



In the Report 

 Dominica, for the year 1917- 18, a general review of which 

 appears on another page of the present issue of this .fournal, 

 a large portion is naturally devoted to various problems 

 connected with the lime industry. Mr. ,J. .Jones, Agri- 

 cultural Superintendent and Curator nf the Botanic Gardens, 

 is an expert in questions relating to the cultivation of the 

 lime iree: his views therefore have special interest and value, 

 It is intended to publish in these pages a series of articles 

 reproduced from his report, a« tending to the benefit of 

 growers of limes in general. 



A lime experiment station was started in April 1913 on 

 Government land beyond Morne Bruce, and within easy 

 di.:itaDce of the Botanic fJaidens. March 31, 1918, .saw the 

 completion of five years' work in thie station. 



The expenditure on the station for the live years was 

 £650, while the receipts from the produce amounted to 

 JE466 15s 1)^. 



The financial results are not unsatisfactory, and from now 

 on there should be a considerable increase in the receipts; 

 and only a small increase of expenditure. The excess of 

 receipts over expenditure during the next five years .should 

 be sufficient to provide a small up-to-date factory, after which 

 tlie experiment station should be a source of profit 



The special value, however, of the work at this experi- 

 ment station arises from the important information which is 

 being obtained bearing upon problems connected wifh the 

 cultivation of lime trees. This information on points such 

 as protection from wind, draining, manuring and mulching, 

 budding and other methods of propagation, pruning and 

 general care of the trees, as affecting the yield, all tends to 

 more efficient cultivation, and to the benefit of the lime 

 industry. 



On taking over the land there were found to be about 4 

 acres of lime trees twenty years old, which had been aban- 

 doned for many years. About 2 acres of these weregmwing 

 on steep lands, and the remainder on slopes of a moderate 

 fall. On the latter it was possible to start eight manurjal 

 plots of J-aere each. The trees were originally planted 12 

 feet by 12 feet, but on the plots these were thinned to 24 feet 

 by 24 feet. This removal of three trees out of every four 

 appeared to be a drastic measure, but the results fully justi- 

 fied the work. The effect of drainage and manure on the 

 health, growth and yield of the trees was remarkable. 



The area now under bearing limes, and young trees just 

 commencing to bear is 7 A acres. To this must be addL.l 5 

 acres in course of being established. Another 3 acres will be 

 planted short'y, which will bring the total under lime culti- 

 vation to over 1 5 acres. There is also the possibility of 

 further additions in the future. The crop during the twelve 

 n onths ended .March 31, was 649 barrels of fruit. 



I-rotectioi from ivind. The upper part of the experi- 

 ment station, which is now nearly established in limes, is 

 exposed to the prevailing winds. To protect the cultivation, 

 wind b?lts of the well-known Pois doux (Inga laurina) are 

 being formed. Up to the present the cultivation has been 

 helped by subsidiary wind-belts of the Nicaragua .shade 

 tree {Gliricidia maculaf(x), a quick growing and useful plant 

 for this purpose. A considerable amount of protection 

 was also afforded to young limes by Tephrosia Candida, a 

 leguminous plant grown as a green dressing. 



The lower part of the station, a portion of which it is 

 hoped to establish in limes as time goes on, is a straight and 

 narrow valle3', down which the wind rushes. The slopes in 

 some instances ate too steep and exposed, and the layer of soil 

 too thin to plant, but the depressions will grow limes if sur- 

 rounded by wind-belts. The poor and exposed lands can be 

 used to grow certain plants for use as mulches, or native 

 and exotic trees for use as firewood. 



Happily this matter of wind-breaks is well understood 

 in ])ominica. A very large part of the area under limes in the 

 island is pn toiited from the wind by the natural conformation 

 of the land, of which every advantage is taken by planters. 

 Where the land is exposed, experienced men seek to mitigate 

 the effect of the wind by growing shelter-belts of tht Pois 

 doux, Oalba, and other trees. It is only the young and inex- 

 perienced who do not see the need of providing shelter in the 

 first instance. By failing to do so they add greatly to the 

 cost of establishing their plantations, and buy their experience 

 at a ruinous i)rice. Whenever new lands exposed to the wind 

 are about to be planted, a carefully thought out scheme of 

 wind-belts should be planned, and carried into effect as early 

 as possible. 



Reference has been made to the use of the Nicaragua 

 shade tree {Gliricidia maculatd) as a secondary wind-belt. 

 This plant has proved very helpful in the experiment station. 

 Cuttings of about 3 feet long, of which a foot .should be placed 

 in the ground, are found to strike readily and rapidly. If small 

 holes are made for the cuttings, and these are placed in the 

 ground with care, there are no failures. Unfortunately, on 

 some estates the holes are made with an iron bar, and the 

 cutting is then forced into the hole. This action strips off 

 the bark, and the cuttings cannot emit roots- It m\\\ym 



