4 



ANALYSIS OF KONA SOIL. 



A tobacco soil above Kailua at an elevation of 600 feet com- 

 pares very favorably with some of the best Sumatra soil : 



Kailua, Kona Soil.i 



Per cent. 

 Organic and combined 



Rimboen, Sumatra soil. 2 



Per cent. 



Organic matter 23.41 



water 30.82 j Gravel 81 



Fine gravel 11.85 Coarse sand 1.44 



Coarse sand 13.25 Medium sand 3.62 



Medium sand 3.95 Fine sand 13.94 



Fine sand 8.42 y fine sand 



Verv fine sand 28.2s ' 



Silt 1.75 Sllt 2 3-5i 



Clay 85 Clay 2.72 



Total nitrogen 94 j 



Color of soil, light brown. 



iAnalysis by Dr. Edmund C. Shorey. 



2Bul. 5. Div Soils. U. S. Dept. Agric, Washington, D. C, 1896. 



Hawaiian soils on cultivation rapidly disintegrate their coarser 

 particles. The shotty particles technically classed as "fine gravel" 

 and "coarse sand" when worked with a rubber pestle or rubbed 

 between the fingers crush down to a fine powder. The ultimate 

 soil grains are agglutinated in masses because of the exceptionally 

 large percentage of organic matter in the soil. 



The Kona district is undoubtedly better adapted to tobacco 

 cultivation than Hamakua because of the protection from strong 

 trade winds. But the tobacco soils of Hamakua and Kona are 

 very similar in all their characteristics. 



CLIMATE. 



The influence of climate on the growing of tobacco is a potent 

 factor. Cigar tobaccos, of good quality, are produced through 

 a wide range in latitude. Proximity to the ocean has always 

 been considered a deterrent influence. 



Tobacco requires from 70 to 100 inches annual rainfall, from 

 one-half to one-third of this during the growing season. Mod- 

 erate temperatures, frequent showers or irrigation, to promote 

 even, uninterrupted growth, neither too rapid nor too slow, 

 constitute an important element in determining the suitability 



