127 



3^ear, and the Ceylon section should make a Diamond Jubilee ex- 

 hibit of the product which crowns the prosperity of the plantation 

 industry sixty years after the Association was founded. 



E. G. S. 



DIVISION OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 



Honolulu, April 30, 1913. 



Hon. W. M. Giffard, President and Executive Officer, Board of 

 Agriculture and Forestry. 



Sir : — Reporting on the work of this division for the period of 

 April and part of Alay, exclusive of the matters dealt with in 

 an intermediate report of April 22, I would say that the w^ork of 

 reconstructing the animal quarantine station has been pushed so 

 far as the weather has allowed, the frequent heavy rains having 

 tnade it impossible to undertake any concrete work up to this date. 



It may, however, be stated that the vexing question of keeping 

 the animals from destroying fence posts and gates seems to have 

 been solved, cheaply but effectively, by increasing the number of 

 posts so that no distance between them exceeds eight feet, tying 

 the tops with a 2'x4' running plate or stringer and applying a 

 heavy coat of paint and sand to all exposed woodwork. When 

 <iry the paint and sand form an apparently effective protection 

 against the teeth of horses and mules, no attempt to bite the wood- 

 work having occurred for a period of nearly three weeks, during 

 which time the pen first finished as described has been constantly 

 filled with mules to its capacity ; that is, from 25 to 30 head. There 

 is, of course, the possibility of the sand being worn away by rub- 

 bing, but if closely watched this contingency may be easily 

 guarded against. 



Owing to continuous heavy showers it became necessary to lay 

 off the carpenters for nearly the entire past week, and concrete 

 work could not be thought of. This work will, however, be 

 started in a few days, and, with the Board's permission, it will 

 be done by day labor, not by contract, using the same men who 

 have been employed there for the past month. The reasons for 

 this suggested change are, in the first place, that I can save from 

 $50 to $75 on the job; second, that it will be impossible to empty 

 a sufficient number of cages long enough for the concrete to 

 harden — if the work is done by contract; and, finally, that the 

 carpenter now in charge is not a ''concrete man" and conse- 

 quently does not care to take a contract on the job. I have, how- 

 ever familiarized myself witli this work and feel confident that I 

 can supervise both the mixing and the laying of the concrete and, 

 as stated, reduce the cost considerably. The main point, how^- 

 ever, is that only a limited number of kennels can be emptied 



