12 



strip off the bark. A period of drought occurred while the bark was 

 being stripped, so that many of the trees could not be successfully 

 peeled. The bark strips were bundled and carried to the drying shed 

 either on sleds drawn by horses or by wire trolley. A number of 

 experiments were made to determine the cheapest commercial methods 

 of handling the bark, which must l)e dried, chopped, and bagged before 

 being marketed. 



The station harvested from this tract 36 tons of diy bark, which was 

 sold in Honolulu for $839.44, or at an average of '$23.31 per ton. 

 Twenty-five tons were shipped to Japan and the remainder was mar- 

 keted in Honolulu and San Francisco. In addition to the bark the 

 station secured 88 cords of firewood, which was sold to dealers in 

 Honolulu for $689.25, or an average of $7.83 per cord. The total 

 yield of l)ark and wood was at the rate of $2.54.84 per acre. In addi- 

 tion a])Out 500 fence posts have been cut from the wattle grove during 

 the past four years. The bark averaged from 28 to 37 per cent in 

 tannin, and had it been sold according to the tannin content, or had 

 there been a larger amount to market, better prices would undoubtedly 

 Jiave been obtained. 



The special agent believes that wattle bark cultivation would prove 

 a profitable industr}" in parts of Hawaii, as the trees grow as well in 

 Hawaii as anywhere in the world. A 3aeld of 6 tons of bark per 

 acre would be considered a very low average, but if the trees were 

 planted at a distance of 6 by 10 feet an acre should yield from 6 to 12 

 tons of tan bark in ton years, together with 30 cords of firewood. H' 

 wattle bark is to be produced on a large scale, the special agent 

 believes that in preparing the bark for market it would pay to install 

 a large, well- ventilated drying shed, with a tight roof and a number 

 of stages of removable flooring, so as to cut the bark green, distribiite 

 it in thin layers, and dry quickl}^ under shelter. This is contrary to 

 the practice in Natal, where artificial plantations are maintained, but 

 the climate of Hawaii is such that the bark can not safely be dried out 

 of doors at the elevation where the trees are likely to be grown. The 

 value of the bark would depend on its being protected from rain during 

 the drying processes, as the tannin is readily washed out l)y water. 

 Furthermore, the bark cuts better green than dry. The initial cost of 

 drying sheds would be greater, ])ut the probabilities are that the 

 product would l)e more uniform and of a higher grade. It is believed 

 that wattle cultivation would prove extremely profitable if a sufficient 

 acreage were planted to enable the owner to market a definite amount 

 of tan bark every 3'ear after the plantation i-eaches maturify. A bul- 

 letin (No. 11) upon this subject has been published b}' the station. 



