473 
tain  is  justly  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  very  important  water 
sheds  of  the  Territory.  Through  the  enterprise  of  two  responsi- 
ble corporations,  the  Kohala  Ditch  Company  and  the  Hamakua 
Ditch  Company,  water  for  irrigating  cane  land  is  already  led  out 
from  the  windward  slopes  of  the  mountain,  both  into  Kohala  and 
into  Hamakua.  From  the  leeward  face  of  the  mountain  water  is 
also  piped  out  onto  the  Waimea  plain,  for  domestic  use  and  for 
watering  stock.  In  the  full  economic  development  of  these  several 
sections  every  drop  of  water  that  can  be  got  is  urgently  needed. 
Especially  is  this  so  in  view  of  the  probability  of  the  development 
before  many  years  of  the  Waimea  Plains  as  a place  of  residence 
for  many  people.  It  is  therefore  not  only  wise  but  from  a far- 
sighted economic  standpoint  imperative  that  all  reasonable  steps 
be  taken  to  protect,  to  safeguard  and  if  possible  to  increase  the 
sources  of  supply. 
The  elevation  of  the  Kohala  Mountain,  5,505  feet,  is  sufficient 
to  make  the  mountain  serve  as  a point  around  which  the  moisture 
laden  trade  wind  clouds  congregate  and  are  held  to  precipitate 
their  contents.  But  the  mountain  is  not  high  enough  to  serve  as  a 
complete  barrier  to  the  passage  of  the  trade  wind  clouds, 
neither  is  it  large  enough  in  area  to  make  its  catchment  basins  of 
sufficient  size  to  yield  any  great  quantities  of  water.  For  these 
reasons  it  is  the  more  important  that  conditions  favorable  to  a 
sustained  flow,  through  the  retardation  of  run-off  be  maintained. 
DESCRIPTION. 
The  setting  apart  of  the  Kohala  Mountain  as  a forest  reserve 
has  been  under  consideration  ever  since  the  passage  of  the  forest 
reserve  law  in  1903.  The  Kohala  Mountain  was  the  first  forest 
area  in  the  Territory  visited  by  me  after  my  arrival  in  1904.  But 
because  of  one  reason  and  another,  among  which  the  long  con- 
tinued litigation  over  the  Parker  Ranch  played  no  small  part,  it 
has  not  been  found  feasible  to  bring  the  project  to  the  point  of 
action  until  now. 
TOPOGRAPHY. 
The  Kohala  Mountain  is  the  lowest  of  the  four  mountains  that 
make  up  the  island  of  Hawaii.  It  forms  the  northern  point  of  the 
island  and  with  its  abrupt  palis  cuts  off  the  even  slope  of  the 
Hamakua  District  from  the  similarity  situated  land  in  Kohala. 
As  is  characteristic  of  windward  slopes  in  Hawaii,  the  north- 
eastern side  of  the  Kohala  Mountain  rises  abruptlv  from  the  sea. 
The  high  wall,  deeply  cut  by  gulches  and  lesser  valleys,  each  with 
its  stream  of  water  falling  over  the  bluff  into  the  ocean,  adds  much 
to  the  picturesqueness  of  the  coast.  On  the  southern  and  western 
sides  of  the  mountain  the  slope  is  less  steep,  but  owing  to  the  dense 
cover  of  vegetation  and  the  boggy  character  of  the  ground  the 
