89 
trees have responded readily, showing an average growth of 
4 inches in circumference per year, from w^hich it is evident 
that had the first plantings been in plowed ground, the Na- 
hiku product would have made its appearance in the market 
last year when rubber reached $3.00 per pound. These lands, 
once cleaned up, are kept in condition by an occasional spray- 
ing with arsenite of soda. The writer was doubtful of the 
wisdom of applying a powerful poison over any considerable 
area when it w^as first recommended, but insofar as he can 
see it kills the grass and weed growth but has had no in- 
jurious effect whatsoever upon the trees. Some of the lands 
so treated for about a year where the branches interlace to 
shade the ground are now so free from grass and weeds that 
they will require no more attention. Acreage that has not 
been cleaned up is backward, and it is evident that the longer 
the trees are neglected the longer will be the wait for returns, 
while many thousands of trees will never reach tapable size, 
while they must share the life-sustaining properties of the soil 
with the grasses and weeds that grow between. 
''Throughout the fields are a few thousand trees that have 
attained a circumference of 20 inches, and a few hundred will 
measure as much as 30 inches. The average run of the 1905- 
1906 plantings is 12 to 18 inches. 
"Eight men who have become fairly adept at handling the 
tapping knife are now tapping under the direct supervision of 
the several managers. These will form the nucleus of a much 
larger force that will be required next year, when at least 
20,000 trees will have attained tapable size. 
"From" the results obtained by these men, explained in de- 
tail by another paper to be read. here today, the rubber in- 
dustry, young as it is, offers great promise of a reasonable re- 
turn on capital invested, if conducted as it now is by men of 
intelligence, ingenuity and adaptability. 
"As the time for tapping over a large area is at hand, one 
plantation has already ordered machinery for a factory, which 
will be running within a few months. 
"A movement is now on foot to unite the companies now 
operating at Nahiku, and if successful this factory will be en- 
larged to handle the product of the whole district. Additional 
advantages to be gained by this move are the establishment 
of a standard product to be known as Hawaiian Rubber and 
doing away with competition for labor among the various 
companies. 
"Noticeable in the district is the planting that has been done 
by homesteaders. With a factory at hand to handle the 
product as it comes from the trees, the writer sees for the in- 
dividual planter a profitable use for his land." 
