259 
WOMAN'S  RIVERS  AND  HARBORS  CONGRESS. 
MEETING  OF  THE  HONOLULU  BRANCH. 
On  Wednesday  afternoon,  June  the  sixteenth,  at  the  Hotel 
Pleasanton,  the  Honolulu  Branch  of  the  Woman’s  National  Rivers 
and  Harbors  Congress  held  its  second  regular  quarterly  meeting. 
In  the  absence  ot  the  Vice-President,  Mrs.  Augustus  Knudsen, 
Mrs.  Harmon  Hendrick,  Chairman  of  the  Education  Committee, 
presided.  The  purpose  of  the  meeting  was  to  review  the  history 
of  the  movement  for  conservation  and  to  put  in  a true  perspective 
the  work  of  the  local  association. 
The  speakers  of  the  afternoon  were  Mrs.  Gerritt  Wilder,  who 
outlined  the  steps  already  taken ; Mrs.  Stanford  Moses,  who 
briefly  summarized  the  addresses  given  at  the  Conference  of  Gov- 
ernors called  by  President  Roosevelt,  a year  ago  and  emphasized 
the  need  of  concerted  and  immediate  action  in  conserving  our 
diminishing  resources;  and  Mrs.  J.  M.  Dowsett,  who  spoke  of 
Hawaii’s  special  resources  and  special  needs. 
After  a brief  discussion  of  the  papers  Airs.  W.  W.  Hall  re- 
ported the  proposal  of  the  Aloha  Chapter  of  the  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution  to  stimulate  interest  in  the  movement  among 
the  students  of  Oahu  College  and  the  McKinley  High  School  by 
offering  a prize  for  the  best  essay  on  Conservation.  Airs.  Hendrick 
told  of  Mrs.  Augustus  Knudsen’s  cordial  reception  by  the  Federa- 
tion of  Woman’s  Clubs  in  California  and  the  opportunity  given 
her  to  be  present  at  the  General  Convention  at  Del  Alonte. 
Reports  were  given  from  the  Hilo  Branch  of  the  Congress.  It 
was  stated  that  actual  reforesting  is  being  done  by  the  associa- 
tions in  Kau  and  Hamakua  districts,  the  women  caring  for  thou- 
sands of  young  trees  in  their  own  gardens  until  they  are  ready  to 
be  planted.  Airs.  George  Cocke  also  sent  names  of  some  new 
members  on  Alolokai. 
THE  AVOCADO  PEAR  IN  CALIFORNIA. 
“Alligator  Pears”  have  been  grown  for  a number  of  years  in 
California,  the  market  price  for  which  in  Los  Angeles  has 
been  froth  $2.00  to  $3.00  per  dozen.  It  is  stated  that  the 
average  annual  yield  from  several  trees  around  that  city  is 
about  $65.00.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  best  varieties  of  Ha- 
waiian fruit  is  greatly  superior  to  any  grown  in  California, 
but  there  seems  to  be  little  effort  on  the  part  of  our  growers  to 
supply  the  mainland  market.  No  doubt  the  success  of  the 
Hawaiian  pineapple  has  attracted  planters  to  confine  their  at- 
tention to  the  merits  of  that  fruit  rather  than  venture  upon 
the  production  of  one  whose  carrying  qualities  are  more 
problematical  and  the  demand  for  whose  merits  has  yet  largely  to 
be  created. 
