3^0 



Another event which is likely to be attended with far greater 

 and wider results is the experiment lately conducted to harvest 

 the unwieldy cane with modern machinery. Should this at- 

 tempt be as successful as it appears to have been, it will mate- 

 rially assist to ameliorate the most pressing demands of the 

 labor problem of Hawaii and will tend to the reduction of the 

 production cost of sugar, which will be beneficial to cane-sugar 

 countries in their competition with beet growers. It is esti- 

 mated that the cane harvester achieves the work of sixteen 

 men, while the rice machine takes the place of nearly twice as 

 many more. If this allowance is not too liberal the harvesting 

 of the rice and sugar crops by machinery will wholly alter the 

 economical aspect of this branch of two of our chief industries. 



Much attention is now being directed in Honolulu to the 

 recently introduced "fruit"' called the rosella or roselle. Strict- 

 ly speaking this is not a fruit at all, but consists of the fleshy 

 calyx of a cultivated hibiscus. The calyx in this instance ripens 

 and becomes red and juicy, and possesses all the character- 

 istics of an ordinary fruit. The chief use of the roselle is for 

 making jams and jellies, and for this purpose it somewhat re- 

 sembles, and by some is considered superior to cranberry. In 

 preparing the roselle for cooking the scarlet calyxes only are 

 used, the central seed pods bcmg rejected. During the past 

 years the Experiment Station has distributed much roselle seed 

 and the plants therefrom liave very generally been successfully 

 raised. The cultivation of the roselle is simple and its intro- 

 duction here v/ill afiford a supply of "soft fruit" of a kind which 

 Hawaii has hitherto been deficient. The instance of the calyx 

 of a flower developing the attributes of a fruit, at the expense 

 of the true seed vessel is unusual, but is no more extraordinary 

 than that found in the cashew nut. In this instance the stalk 

 of the fruit thickens and is eaten, while the fruit itself possesses 

 no food value. The Forester has just received an illustrated 

 article on the cultivation of this interesting fruit, which will 

 appear in January. It is written l^y ]\Ir. Higgins of the Hawaii 

 Experiment Station. 



The use of charcoal in vegetable growth has been investi- 

 gated in the Botanical Gardens at AVashington. The chief 

 value of charcoal lies in the fact that by gradual decomposition 



