6 
produce and that the commission men, wholesale dealers, retail 
dealers and buying public will take, by preference, Island pro- 
duce. The statements to this effect, which we have obtained 
from nearly all of our leading dealers, were not based on a patric- 
tic sentiment which might sooner or later lose some of ‘ts ardor, 
but on the more matter of fact foundation of demand by the 
trade for products which we can raise in the Territory. _ 
After having heard for some time the complaints which are 
made by the producer of diversified crops, it seemed wise to in- 
vestigate the matter, first from the standpoint of the dealer. It 
was hoped than in this way satisfactory information could be ob- 
tained as to what sort of agricultural produce is demanded by the 
trade, and therefore, desired by the dealer; also the regularity 
with which it can‘be obtained, the uniformity in quality of the 
product offered for sale, and particularly, the attitude of dealers 
toward Island produce, as compared with that imported from 
California and other parts of the mainland. 
It is of no particular importance to the purposes of this report 
to determine exactly the value of produce now imported from 
the mainland and which could be grown in Hawaii. The value 
of such produce varies from year to year, but runs into the hun- 
dreds of thousands of dollars. While the idea of a complete in- 
dependence, as regards food supply, is attractive from a theor- 
etical standpoint, it should always be remembered that no coun- 
try can long carry on a satisfactory trade with other countries 
without being both a seller and a buyer. In developing a satis- 
factory market it is necessary to have something which is in de- 
mand and is satisfactory to the trade, and also to have certain de- 
mands for other produce or materials to be bought from the 
other party in the trade relation. While, therefore, there may be 
the possibility of growing almost any agricultural crop in Ha- 
waii, it is scarcely conceivable that everything can be produced 
here more economically and more advantageously than anywhere 
else. The rational system of procedure for our farmers, there- . 
fore, is to determine those things which can be advantageously 
grown here, in consideration of our present markets, and to de- 
vote their attention to them rather than to the problematical 
business of producing materials which can, at present, be laid 
down in Honolulu more cheaply than they can be produced upon 
our agricultural land. 
It would not be possible to state accurately the relative advan- 
tage in the production of the various crops which are now grown 
in small quantities and sold on our local markets. Some of these 
materials are at present supplied to nearly the extent demanded 
by the trade; others are decidedly deficient. Some are furnished 
