THE  JHAWAII AN 
FORESTER  I AGRICULTURIST 
Vol.  VI  NOVEMBER,  1909  No.  11 
AGRICULTURE  IN  CHINA  AND  JAPAN. 
The  recent  mission  of  a representative  of  the  Hawaii  Experi- 
ment Station  to  China  and  Japan  in  the  interests  of  our  island 
agriculture,  more  particularly  with  regard  to  the  cotton  and  rice 
industries,  is  an  important  one  and  its  results  are  likely  to  be  of 
far-reaching  benefit  to  Hawaiian  growers.  The  increasing 
Oriental  population  in  the  islands  creates  a large  demand  for  rice, 
but  although  the  local  grown  product  is  of  good  quality  it  fails 
to  appeal  to  the  Japanese  who  find  its  flavor  not  acceptable.  In 
order  to  supply  the  demand  for  Japanese  rice,  over  three-quarters 
of  a million  dollars  worth  is  imported  annually  to  these  islands, 
which  large  sum  is  therefore  lost  to  our  growers.  Many  attempts 
have  been  made  to  grow  rice  from  Japanese  seed,  but  hitherto 
that  produced  has  been  lacking  in  those  qualities  which  make  it 
appeal  to  our  local  consumers.  Attempts  of  a like  nature  carried 
on  in  other  countries  have  also  met  with  the  same  lack  of  success. 
The  two  most  desired  varieties  of  Japanese  rice  are  known  as 
Omachi  and  Shimriki  and  are  grown  in  the  Kiushiu  and  Yama- 
guchi  districts,  from  whence  come  most  of  the  Japanese  laborers 
in  the  Hawaiian  Islands.  The  securing  of  select  seed  rice  from 
these  localities  was  one  of  the  chief  objects  of  the  recent  under- 
taking of  the  Hawaii  Experiment  Station  together  with  an  in- 
vestigation of  the  cultural  methods  in  operation  in  the  Orient, 
for  as  is  well  known,  the  Hawaiian  rice  fields  have  long  yielded 
decreasing  crops,  steadily  deteriorating  in  quality. 
CANTON. 
Leaving  Honolulu  early  in  August  last,  Canton  was  the  first 
agricultural  center  visited.  The  surrounding  country  yields  an 
enormous  quantity  of  rice  and  is  the  source  of  the  famous  variety 
known  as  See-miu,  the  best  grades  of  which  are  grown  in  the 
Tsang  Shang  districts.  This  rice  is  greatly  prized  for  curry  and 
commands  a high  price  in  the  San  Francisco  market.  It  would 
without  doubt  be  a very  remunerative  crop  here.  So  carefully  is 
the  local  industry  guarded  that  the  exportation  of  See-miu  seed 
rice  is  prohibited,  although  it  is  frequently  smuggled  into  Canton. 
