338 



NEW ENGLAND FAIIMER. 



JUI.T 



For the New England Parme,-. 



HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 



Makawao, Maui, Feb. 11, 1857. 



Editors Farmer : — I am sorry that nothing 

 has been sent you from the islands the last twelve 

 months. Jf'hy J have not written, let me explain. 

 Some time ago I requested a friend and former 

 neighbor of mine, who takes your weekly paper, to 

 supply my place as your correspondent. I did this 

 because I have scarcely time to fulfil my engage- 

 ments with my patrons and friends to whom I am 

 under prior obligations, and because my neighbor 

 is much more of a farmer than I ever pretended to 

 be. He is the son of a practical farmer of your 

 State, and was himself brought up to that business. 

 He has a taste for horticulture, floriculture and ar- 

 boriculture ; and this is so well known, that when 

 a new plant or seed is left at Honolulu by some 

 stranger, to be reared or planted, it is frequently 

 sent up to Mr. Bailey with a note saying, "you are 

 the man to take care of this seed or plant, and save 

 it to the islands." He has many rare plants, flowers 

 and fruits. I therefore felt happy in the prospect of 

 seeing something from his pen in the Farmer. But 

 being at his house not long since, and seeing your 

 ■weekly issue on his table, I asked him if he had 

 ■written the Editor, as I had requested, and to my 

 sorrow I learned that he had not. Since that time 

 he has developed a state of mind which forbids, I 

 think, all hope of his writing for any periodical. I 

 therefore hasten to prepare something for you at 

 once, and if spared, will continue to aid you as I am 

 able. Let me say I regularly receive your month- 

 ly agricultural journal, for which I am much 

 obliged. Whether you can afford, in justice to 

 yourselves, to send it to an Hawaiian pastor who 

 advocates the cause of agriculti,re, you best know. 

 I mention it because you once requested me to in- 

 form you, "how you could Qccasionally send me 

 8uch books and periodicals as you might think 

 ■would be useful and interesting to me, in my exten- 

 sive field of practice and observation," (see monthly 

 Farmer, vol. V., p. 313.) I wrote you giving such 

 information, but my letter may not have reached 

 you. Nothing of the book kind have I received, 

 the monthly Farmer excepted. 



My last communication was dated March 20, 

 1855. We were then sowing wheat. Some 1200 

 acres were sown in this neighborhood, the last of 

 it being sown as late as May 1st. The season proved 

 a favorable one for harvesting and securing the 

 crop, but we were disappointed in the yield, it be- 

 ing considerably less than it had been the previous 

 years ; no reason for the decrease was apparent. 

 At the agricultural meeting in June of that year, 

 the committee on grains made the following award ; 

 "For sample No. 42, best crop of wheat, not less 

 than two acres, .$15, or a cup." They then add : 

 "This sample, your committee are informed, was 

 raised by a native named Kekaha, a member of the 

 auxiliary society on East Maui at Makawao, and 

 ■was from a field of 50 acres, producing about 23 

 bushels per acre." Another premium was awarded 

 at that meeting to M. M. Gower, Esq., of this 

 place, for the best quality of wheat, of $10, or a 

 cup. I may as well add in this connection that a 

 premium of $5 was awarded to John J. Gower for 

 the best peaches; to the East Maui plantation, 

 $15, or a goblet, for the best 100 lbs. of sugar, i 

 have no disposition to compete for a premium, now 



that my neighbors are doing so ; my chief object 

 in sowing wheat from the first, being to induce our 

 people to go into the business. Nor do many of 

 my neighbors as yet compete for premiums, as tlie 

 distance to Honolulu, where the meetings of the 

 society are uniformly held, is 70 miles, and being 

 on another island, no successful competition can he 

 thought of, except in a few things. Our wheat, in 

 1855, we sold at about .$1 per bushel. The flour 

 proved to be of so good a quality that the credit of 

 the mill and wheat also, both of which had fallen in 

 public estimation, rose gradually, and is now, I 

 think, established. It is no longer a question wheth- 

 er good wheat can be raised on Maui or excellent 

 flour manufactured at Honolulu. This is a great 

 gain, for which I am thankful. 



But the mill company of which I think I have 

 told you something, "The Hawaiian Steam Flour- 

 ing Company" of 1853-4, is no more. The pur- 

 chase of the crop of wheat of 1854, of ■which the 

 flour manufactured by them proved to be of so in- 

 ferior a quality as nearly to ruin the credit of our 

 wheat, actually destroyed the company. All con- 

 nected with the enterprise suffered severely, and 

 some individuals were nearly ruined in their pecu- 

 niary interests. A sad blow this proved to be to 

 agricultural enterprise, and for a season, our hopes 

 of the success of wheat growing, or rather, wheat 

 disposing, seemed dark. Another company, how- 

 ever, was soon organized, embracing nearly all the 

 monied men in Honolulu. The new company im- 

 prove on the mistakes of the old one, and as the 

 wheat has been excellent since they commenced 

 their operations, they are doing well, and will, I 

 hope, succeed. 



In 1856 the wheat-growers had new trials to en- 

 counter. The winter of 1855-6 was a dry one. 

 From December to March the rains were slight. 

 Expecting a change, Httle was done in January, 

 and much that was sown in February was lost by 

 the drought and the cut-worm ; some sowed three 

 times, and but for our March rains there would 

 have been little or no wheat raised on the Island. 

 As it was, the crop was light, but the grain of an 

 excellent quality. My neighboi* Kekaha took an- 

 other premium of $15. John J. Gower, Esq., had 

 one or more premiums for beans. The East Maui 

 plantation took the premium again for the best su- 

 gar, and the Brewer plantation, also in my neigh- 

 borhood, obtained the premium for the best syrup. 

 Our wheat sold for $1, i. e., the Hawaiian wheat, 

 which has not been changed since its introduction, 

 nearly twenty years ago. A few hundred bushels of 

 Californian wheat were raised this year in my neigh- 

 borhood. Most of this was sold for $1,10 ; the re- 

 mainder is reserved for seed. 



In December last I had the following items from 

 Honolulu, which I will give you. "Flour appears 

 to be in great demand. The mill company have 

 sold all they can make for a month. It is quoted 

 at $12 per'barrel, but we Honolulu folks have to 

 pay $14, and they do not care about selling much 

 lat that rate, as they have large orders to fill. It is 

 I to be hoped that there will be a large supply of 

 wheat next year. Some Haxall flour which came 

 in the 'Messenger Bird' is quoted at $18." Quite 

 recently we hear that the price of flour has risen 

 and I shall not be surprised if it reaches $25 before 

 harvest. 



Some six months ago the company purchased a 

 cargo of wheat from Chili, saj 2000 bushels, more 



