13 



USES OF EUCALYPTUS. 



The main objects in planting trees in Hawaii may be enumer- 

 ated as follows : For the production of fuel, fence posts, lum- 

 ber and timber ; for the protection of watersheds ; for wjnd- 

 breaks and shade ; for esthetic purposes. It will be found that 

 the various species of eucalyptus are admirably adapted to the 

 .above uses. Not all of the eucalypts are equally well suited to 

 the various purposes for which trees are planted, but among the 

 long list of species some are best adapted for one use, some for 

 another. A tree which may yield an excellent fuel wood may 

 not rank high as a fence post tree, because its wood may not be 

 durable ; and so with the other uses. The selection of the proper 

 species for the desired purpose will require a knowledge of the 

 qualities of the different eucalypts. A brief description of the 

 uses of the leading species is given in the appendix. 



Fuel. 



The most immediate need for planting trees in Hawaii is to 

 furnish the extensive plantations with an adequate supply of fuel. 

 The sugar mills are invariably run with the bagasse or cane pulp 

 left after the juice has been pressed out. In a few cases there 

 is a slight excess of cane refuse which is bundled up and used 

 as domestic fuel, but with this unimportant exception all the fuel 

 used for domestic purposes is either wood or coal. 



The plantations usually agree to furnish their laborers with 

 the necessary shelter and firewood. The fuel thus consumed 

 averages, roughly, about half a cord of wood per person per 

 year, counting not only the laborers, but also their families. 

 With the average population on a plantation figured at 2,000 

 persons, the annual consumption is about 1,000 cords of wood. 

 The present price of cordwood delivered at the plantation va- 

 ries from about $5.50 per cord for kiawe or algaroba and young 

 folue gum to $12.00 or more per cord for slabs of ohia lehua, the 

 fuel value of the latter being ranked very high. The fuel ex- 

 pense to the average plantation amounts, therefore, to at least 

 $5,500, and may run as high as $10,000 per year. On some plan- 

 tations it is impossible to obtain wood at a reasonable price, and 

 the laborers are supplied with coal or oil for fuel. The problem 

 -of obtaining an adequate fuel supply is therefore of great im- 

 portance to the plantations, and deserves careful consideration, 

 for it must be remembered that the price of wood is constantly 

 rising. 



