18 



COFFEE. 



So far as can be judged from available data, coffee was 

 first grown in Hawaii in 1817. The culture of this croi> 

 was taken up by white farmers and native Hawaiians 

 and yielded such good returns that the industry developed 

 rapidly. A setback was suffered a few years ago as a re- 

 sult of the fall in the prices of coffee; but by careful cul- 

 tivation and the utilization of the soil between the rows 

 during the first year or two in the growth of the plan- 

 tation, it is still possible to make fair profits from coffee. 

 There are about 4500 acres planted to coffee, the larger 

 part of this area being in the Kona and Hamakua dis- 

 tricts of Hawaii. Coffee is grown, however, on all of the 

 larger islands. The amount of coffee exported last year 

 was 25,000 bags, with a value of $175,000. In the ex- 

 perience of our coffee planters, the yield per acre is about 

 650 pounds. The cost of production is estimated at from 

 seven to ten cents per pound, and the wholesale price 

 now received is twelve cents per pound. This gives only 

 a narrow margin of profit, which it has been proposed to 

 increase by a tariff on coffee; but in the event of failure 

 to secure a tariff, the same result might readily be ob- 

 tained by the formation of a co-operative association with 

 agents on the mainland to distribute the coffee directly 

 to consumers. In this way, the retailers' price, of twenty 

 to thirty cents a pound, could be obtained by the pro- 

 ducers without raising the price of coffee to the con- 

 sumer. Coffee g/ows best in the Islands at altitudes of 

 1,000 to 2,500 feet. The first commercial crop is ob- 

 tained four years from planting, but during the first 

 two or three years, it is an easy matter to realize con- 

 siderable returns from soy beans and other crops planted 

 between the rows of coffee. With the present price of 

 Sy2 cents a pound for soy beans, it has been found that 

 from $75.00 to $100.00 an acre can be obtained from 

 this crop in young coffee plantations. The adoption of 

 this method of intercropping has the further advantage 

 that the soil is kept in good tilth for the growth of the 

 coffee trees. 



The present prospects of the coffee industry are bright- 

 er than they appear to some of the coffee growers. It is 

 readily: understood that the narrow margin of profit at 

 the present cost of production and the present market' 

 prices, is not very attractive; but, on the other hand, it 

 should be remembered that much of our coffee which is 



