13 

 TOBACCO EXPERIMENTS. 



In the autumn of 1903 a cooperative experiment was arranged under 

 the joint auspices of the Territorial Board of Commissioners of A^ri- 

 culturo and Forestry and the Hawaii Station for the purpose of dem- 

 onstrating the practicability of growing the best grades of cigar tobacco 

 in Hawaii. 



An examination of sites was made by INIr. F. E. Confer, formerly 

 connected with the station, who, in the beginning, had charge of the 

 work. ]Mr. Conter visited the Puna, Hilo, Hamakua, and Kona districts 

 of the island of Hawaii, and tinally selected a small tract on the Loiiisson 

 Brothers' plantation on the li nds of Pohakea, Hamakua. A lease of 

 2i acres of the land was secured and special privileges were granted 

 by the owners of the land, who have assisted the enterprise in every 

 way in their power. The land was new and uncultivated, so that a 

 delay of some months ensued before the field could be made ready for 

 planting. The lirst crop was transplanted to the experimental plats 

 in March and April, 1901. 



The experimental tobacco tield was located in Hamakua because the 

 physical character of the soil was believed suited to the production of 

 a good quality of crop. The Pohakea homestead lands were suita1)le, 

 available, and convenient. There are doubtless other areas in Puna, 

 Kau, and Kona, on the island of Hawaii, and on each of the other 

 islands of the group, but at the time this experiment was undertaken 

 the Pohakea tract was selected as the most convenient place in which 

 to carry on field work. 



SOME HAWAIIAN TOBACCO SOILS. 



The texture of a soil — that is, the ratio between clay, silt, fine and 

 coarse sand — is held to have much to do with the type of the product, 

 and the color of the cured leaf, whether light or dark, its thinness and 

 elasticity, depend, apparently, on soil characteristics and its water- 

 holding capacity. 



The soil on the Hamakua homesteads and on the Hamakua tract of 

 land adapted to tobacco— a belt extending from Paauhau to Hakalau, 

 at an elevation of from 1,000 to 2,500 feet— is a sandy forest loam, 

 very rich in humus and with a high nitrogen content. The color of 

 the soil is a light brown, becoming almost black when wet. The fol- 

 lowing physical analyses, made by Dr. Edmund C. Shorey, show the 

 characteristics of these soils, and for comparison there is included an 

 analysis of Sumatra soil, made by the Bureau of Soils of the U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture. 



