1862. 



:NEW ENGLAND FAUMER. 



443 



Fijr tie New England Farmer. 



AGKICULTTTKE IINT THE HAWAIIAN" 

 ISLANDS. 



Makawao, Maui Hawaiian Islands, j 

 May 27, 1S02. j 



My Dear Sir: — A few months since a pro- 

 fessional gentleman of Honolulu commenced the 

 planting of rice on some old kalo patches, i. e., 

 patches dug some two or three feet deep, made 

 perfectly level, beaten so hard that they would not 

 leak, and filled with water. In about four months 

 the rice was ri]ic, cut, threshed, and the paddy 

 weighed. It sold for three cents per pound, and 

 was of a superior quality. It is not certain that 

 the raising of rice will be as jirofitable for native 

 Hawaiians as the kalo, but foreigners are confi- 

 dent that it will be i)roatable for them, and num- 

 bers of them are going into it. I will keep you 

 apprised of the results so far as I learn what they 

 are. 



Cotton, we are confident, will yet do well on 

 the islands. Our climate is adapted to its growth 

 and the only trouble Ave have hitherto experienced 

 is the insect in the shape of a small fly. Mr. 

 Bailey, of Wailuku, experimented for a season, 

 and he would, perhaps, liave held on much long- 

 er, but for other labors which demanded his atten- 

 tion. Could we succeed in this business, it would 

 be a rich blessing to IIav\"aiians, as there are large 

 tracts of land which would answer for cotton, that 

 are now utterly useless. We should also contrib- 

 ute our mite to the pulling King Cotton from the 

 throne of our country, and thus bless others while 

 securing benefit to ourselves. 



The Hawaiian Legislature, now in session, will 

 do something, I hope, to encourage agriculture, as 

 all, chiefs and people, ])lainly see that here alone is 

 the nation's hope. Cattle raising, it has been j 

 thought, would be a profitable business, an.d many 

 portions of the country are fidl of cattle and 

 sheep. Horses, also, greatly abound. So plenti- 

 ful are cattle that the best of beef can be pur- 

 chased for two and a half cents per pound. Pas- 

 turage is being ruined by noxious weeds which are 

 fast filling the country, and which can be de- 

 stroyed only by cultivation. If this is really so, I 

 can see clearly, the hand of God in thus arranging 

 things in reference to our lands. Cultivation 

 teaches industry. Men must toil who plow, and 

 sow and reap. The growing of \vheat in my field 

 has greatly increased the industry of my peojjle, 

 whereas the tending of cattle and sheep has 

 taught them to be indolent. I long to have the 

 people all skilled in the business of turning up the 

 soil, and filling the earth with precious seed, or 

 with sugar cane, rice and other things. There 

 would be less grazing land, and, of course, fewer 

 horses and cattle. Horses are a nuisance, and 

 cattle scarcely less so. I mean cattle that are not 

 needed for working or for milk. 



The seasons for three or four years have been 

 very dry, so much so that sugar cane has greatly 

 sufi'ered, and many large fields have absolutely 

 dried up and perislied. On my return about the 

 middle of December, the v.hole district was sutier- 

 ing terribly, and one more such season, it was 

 thought, would about destroy our district. But 

 the Great llusljandman remembered us in mercy. 

 Soon it commenced raining, and up to this day we 

 have been greatly r; freshed with water from the 

 river of God, and our wheat, sugar cane and gar- 



dens have been brought to maturity, and we still 

 have the refreshing shower. 



Our volcanoes are quiet of late, but earthquakes 

 are not infrequent. Still they are not very severe. 

 On the whole, with our pleasant climate, fruitful 

 soil, ample productions, both of a temperate and 

 tropical region, where the hand of the diligent is 

 seen, our flowers, fruits and grains of various 

 kinds, we have much reason for gratitude and 

 contentment, especially since peace spreads her 

 wuigs over the whole land, and every man may sit 

 under his own vine and fig tree, having none to 

 make afraid. God mercifully grant that it may 

 speedily be thus in our ov,-n highly favored land, 

 that you may have peace with righteousness. 



I must tell you of a new product, or arti- 

 cle of commerce, recently brought into notice and 

 repute among us. It is a fungus, an excrescence 

 gathered from fallen trees in the forests of Ha- 

 waii and Maui. It protrudes, chiefly, from the 

 Kukui, or candle tree, {nlcurltea frihola,) which 

 is cut down for the purpose of obtaining the fun- 

 gus. Several pounds may be gathered from a 

 good-sized tree at one time, and frequent crops 

 are garnered. After being dried, the article sells 

 at my place for seven cents per pound. At Hon- 

 olulu it is worth eight, and sometimes nine cents, 

 and at China, whither it is sent, it brings fourteen 

 cents, perhaps more. A great deal of it is gath- 

 ered in my neighborhood, and large quantities, I 

 hear, on Hawaii. It is light work, can be gath- 

 ered by women and children. The natives call it 

 pe]3eiao laau tree ear. It is used in China for 

 soups, and answers the purpose of Iceland moss. 

 It helps the people just now, as money is very 

 scarce, but as the tree must be cut down ere the 

 fungus grows, much timber will be destroyed, and 

 the country impoverished. It is produced from 

 some other trees, but cliiefly from this one, the 

 kukui or candle tree. This tree grows large, and 

 is sometimes sawn into boards, and will become 

 valuable for finishing inside v.'ork, for Mdien pro- 

 tected from the weather and well painted it is 

 nearly as valuable as your bassvi'ood. The nut, 

 also, produces a tolerable oil for light, and the nut 

 burns freely, and was formerly the poor mail's 

 candle. I shall be sorry to see the tree destroyed. 

 The greatest loss will be that Me shall have less 

 frequent rains, and thus lose our crops. If spared, 

 I will write you again after our harvest, and will 

 tell you of the progress of rice-growing, of cotton, 

 if any, and of the amount of fungus gathered by 

 our Hawaiian people. In the meantime, let us 

 pray for the speedy fulfilment of the glowing pre- 

 diction found in Isaiah 2 : 4. 



Yours, with much respect, J. S. Green. 



Keeping Orchards Cultivated. — The "Gar- 

 dener's Montldy" an excellent journal, published 

 in Philadelphia, Thomas Meehan, Editor, con- 

 tained an article a few weeks since, the leading 

 idea of which was, "that orchards are more suc- 

 cessful through a series of years laid down in 

 grass and annually top-dressed, than when culti- 

 vated and cropped." The Country Gentleman, 

 and some other papers, dissent from the doctrine, 

 and urge cultivation. The true course, it seems 

 to us, lies between the two extremes. We have 



