THE jHAWAIIAN 



FORESTER I AGRICULTURIST 



Vol. X. MAY, 1913. No. 5. 



FERTILIZATION OF TROPICAL CROPS. 



Tropical Life (London) for March, in an article on the fertili- 

 zation of tropical crops, pays a high compliment to the advance- 

 ment of the Hawaiian sugar industry in that respect. It may 

 serve the purpose of emphasizing the example of our sugar 

 planters for the benefit of Hawaiian small farmers and home- 

 steaders to quote some of the remarks of the English periodical. 

 At the beginning" the article says : 



"It is probably not realized, even by those who are directly con- 

 cerned, how little real attention is devoted to this all-important 

 question. 



"In temperate climes the interest taken in the subject is in- 

 creasing by leaps and bounds as the ever-growing demand for 

 food-stuffs makes it imperative that the soil should be made to 

 produce to its utmost capacity." 



Pointing out that the future supply of food for the world's 

 consumption will soon become a pressing one, as population in- 

 creases and new fields for cultivation become fewer and fewer, 

 the article proceeds in part as follows : 



"In tropical countries, with a few exceptions such as Java, 

 Ceylon and Hawaii, the importance of getting the maximum yield 

 from the soil does not seem to be realized, or, if it is, little attempt 

 is made towards accomplishing it. It is almost impossible to cal- 

 culate the annual loss to the cultivator, and therefore to the whole 

 community, which arises from either ignorance of fertilizing 

 methods or careless disregard of them. 



"Take the case of India, or of Mexico, or the coft'ee lands of 

 Brazil and the Central American States. It would be safe to say 

 that the crops generally could be doubled and even trebled in 

 those countries, on the area now under cultivation. 



"In India, where the Government is now devoting much time 

 and money towards the improvement of agriculture, nearly one 

 million tons of sugar have to be imported yearly. And yet prob- 

 ably over two million tons are produced in the country. It is 

 said that the average yield of sugar per acre in India is less than 

 half a ton, while the average is not much better in Cuba, where 



