270 departmental eeports. 



Hawaii Experiment Station. 



For the fiscal year ended June 30, 1902, Congress authorized the 

 Secretary of Agriculture to expend $12,000 in the establishment and 

 maintenance of the agricultural experiment station in the Hawaiian 

 Islands. As described in my previous report, preliminary steps had 

 already been taken to begin work along this line and some of the 

 clearing and building had begun. The site donated by the Territorial 

 authorities for the use of the station is an uneven strip of land almost 

 3 miles long and in some places only a few hundred feet wide. It is 

 situated on the mountain slope near the city of Honolulu, and parts 

 of it are so steep that cultivation in the ordinary sense is almost 

 impossible. Portions of this tract have been cleared and prepared for 

 cultivation. The lower part of the tract was covered with a dense 

 growth of shrubs and the upper part with timber. The only part of 

 the station grounds adaj)ted to cultivation without irrigation was this 

 wooded iDortion, which by means of its elevation receives a much 

 greater rainfall than the lower-lying lands. This forest land had 

 been planted to eucalj'pts some years previous, but it was thought 

 advisable to sacrifice a part of the trees to dry-land farming with 

 the idea that most of it would again be restored to trees, including 

 more valuable species than those which hitherto occupied the land. 

 Thirteen and one-half acres were cleared and a considerable part 

 planted to fruit and other valuable trees. About 35 acres of the lower 

 land was cleared of shrubs and part of it prepared for cultivation, the 

 intention being to utilize this area for trial plats, gardens, etc. When 

 planting was begun upon the upper part of the station grounds the 

 soil was found to be decidedly acid, and to correct this fault lime was 

 applied at the rate of a ton per acre. An unlimed plat was retained 

 as a cheek plat to observe the effect of the lime dressing. Fruit trees 

 and vegetables that did not grow well before the soil was treated 

 flourished wherever lime was added. 



The buildings begun the previous year were completed, and now 

 the station possesses a residence for the special agent in charge, an 

 office and laboratory, stable, cottages for laborers, tanks, etc. A small 

 two-room cottage was built on the upper jjart of the station grounds 

 for the caretaker there, and a 3,000-gallon tank was erected at the 

 same place, in which is caught and stored the water collected from 

 the roof of the house. The exceedingly heavy rains in August caused 

 the settling of one of the large tanks, and considerable effort was 

 required to right it. The foundation for the tank had been placed 

 well in the subsoil, but the long-continued rains caused it to soften, 

 and the tank settled several inches on one side, throwing the pump 

 out of order. 



Experiments have been begun with potatoes and taro to overcome 

 the very destructive diseases which seem to threaten the extinction of 

 these crops. Taro forms the principal food of the Hawaiians, and the 

 ravages of the blight have so curtailed the supply that there has been 

 actual suffering in some places because of the shortage. At present 

 the experiments are being confined to the low-land taro, and an effort 

 is being made to find some remedy for the disease that attacks the 

 root. Dry-land taro does not appear to be as susceptible to disease, 

 but it will be studied also. It was found in many cases that imma- 

 ture and diseased cuttings were used for planting. The low-land form 

 of taro requires extensive irrigation, and in practice the land is kept 

 flooded for a considerable time. Wherever the water was allowed to 



