164 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Sept, i, 1897. 
Industridle, is converted into powder, only a small 
portion being sent away in the rough state, or cut 
into pencils for writing on metals. Besides its use 
throughout most parts of Europe and America, in 
soap and paper-making, talc enters into the com- 
position of wagon-axle grease, while it also serves 
as an insulator for electric conductors . — Journal of 
the Society of Arts, June 18. 

COFFEE PLANTING IN THE HAWAIIAN 
ISLANDS. 
The cultivation of coffee in the Sandwich Islands 
is as yet in its infancy, but it has made such strides 
of late years that hopes are confidently entertained 
hj' the local Government that the industry will soon 
be placed upon a sound and important footing. It is 
said by Consul General Hawes, in a report that was 
received, lately by the Foreign Office in London, that 
the situation in Hawaii is (according to Mr. Charles 
Metcalfe, a planter of great experience in Ceylon and 
the islands referred to,) very similar to that of 
Ceylon * in the early days, when, owing to the -want 
of experience, plantations were opened out in un- 
suitable localities, and when, owing to the neglect of 
considerations of soil or elevation, much money was 
lost, and the industry was brought into undeserved 
discredit. Conditions as to the labour supply, the 
distribution and amount of rainfall, the nature of 
the prevailing winds, and the range of the tempera- 
ture, have to be studied at Hawaii as elsewhere. The 
soil is of volcanic origin, and is extremely rich and 
fertile, as Miss Isabella Bird long ago stated in her 
charming narrative entitled “ Six Iilouths in the 
Sandwich Islands.” There is a vast area of land 
at elevations of from 500 to 2,100 feet that 
is believed to be admirably adapted for coffee, and 
only a small portion of it is vrader cultivation. The 
general lay of the land is westerly, so it commands 
plenty of sunshine. The rainfall is heavy, and 
varies from an annual average of 75 to one of 
200 inches. The seasons are fairly regular, and they 
are favourable to coffee, as they insure the proper 
tetting of the blossom, they facilitate pruning opeia- 
sions, and they furnish ample water for pulping and 
washing. The temperature rarely exceeds 85° in the 
shade. The Hawaiians being a self-indulgent and 
unreliable race do not make good field-labourers, 
and planters greatly prefer Japanese and Chinese 
when they are to be had. But immigrants from 
Japan and China are not as yet very numerous. 
The feeling of planters is strongly in favour of the 
monthly free-labourer ; but the supply of suitable 
men is small and precarious. Contract labourers 
usually receive fil2L and free labourers ;J15 a mouth 
rates which compa,re unfavourably with the scale 
of wages in force in Ceylon. On the other hand, 
the making of roads is not costly, owing to the 
easy gradient of most of the land. Then the coffee 
tree in Hawaii gives a yield greatly in excess of 
that of Ceylon, where a return of 672 lb. per acre on 
an average is considered a very good crop, whereas in 
the Sandwich Islands a yield of 1,0001b. mav, it is 
stated, be reasonably expected, or at the rate of 
1 lb. per tree, which may be increased to IJ lb. to 
2 lb. by pruning and fertilising. The country is 
being covered by a network of flue- carriage roads, 
which will greatly facilitate transport. 11 arbour, son 
the western coast are numerous, and the lauding 
places are available for almost the whole of the year. 
One District, called Kona, is peculiarly favourable 
to coffee, for it is blessed with perpetual calms, rich 
soil, a moderate rainfall, and I’egular season. The 
colfee grown there gives the large p>roportion of from 
12 to 15 per cent, of pea-berry of fine quality. 
Mr. Hawes quotes an estimate of the cost of esta- 
blishing and maintaining a coffee plantation of 75 
acres from the first to the seventh year. The pur- 
* Mr. 0. Metcalfe, we feel sure, cannot recall the 
early days of Ceylon ? We have no volcanic soil 
which makes a big difference, but Dumbera often 
gave over 1,0001b. per acre of coffee.— Ed. 7’.M. 
chase of 100 acres of Government land will cost 
§1,000. The Manager's salary is set down a:, §l,2O0 
a year. Six Japanese are employed in the first two 
years, nine in the four following years, and twelve 
in the seventh year. The estate should give 20,000lb. 
of coffee of the value of §3,600 in the third year; 
60,000 lb., of the value of §10,800 in the fourth year ; 
and 85,000 lb., of the value of §15,300, in the fifth 
year. This will suffice to clear all the working 
outlay up to date. This sixth year is calculated to 
yield 100,000 lb., of the value of §9,085 ; and 
the seventh year 125,000 lb., of the value 
of §11,680. At the end of the seventh year the 
balance at the credit of the plantation should it is 
said, be upwards of §21,000. The above yields are 
stated to Ije far below what may be attained by 
tliorou h cultivation and fertilising. The estimates 
were compiled by the local Commissioner of Agri- 
culture, and Mr, Hawes says that they may be relied 
upon as correct. He adds that fairly good coffee 
land can often be leased in the islands from 
private individuals at from 2 to 4 dollars per acre, for 
terms varing from 20 to 25 years, and that this 
method of obtaining land does not necessitate the 
holder becoming a denizen of the country. — J/. J/ai7. 
LEASING OF VIHAKE LANDS. 
A conespoiident enquires — “Do you know if 
there has been an extension of time for leasing 
Vihare lauds allowed? I have an idea that tliere 
has been a Minute .sanctioning leasing of such 
lands for .50 year.s. Can you say if I am right? 
Without such an extension few people would care 
to have such lands, at any rate for any (lermaneut 
ju’oduct sucli as coconuts.” 
Under the inovisions of “The Bnddliist Tem- 
poralities Ordinance 1880 and 180.5,” the Ti nstee 
of a Buddhist temple may with the sanction of 
the Provincial Committee, and for such rent 
and subject to sncli conditions as tliey sliall deem 
reasonahle, lease frn- any term not exceeding 50 
years, all or any of the lands vested in him ; 
provided that wdienever a Trustee sh.all, with 
the consent of the Provincial Committee, he 
desirous of leasing any land for a period of more 
than 20 vears, the sanetiju of the District Judge 
of the District in which such land is situated, 
sliall first be had and obtained by him for that 
purpose. There is no later regulation thatwwe 
are aware ot. 
Good Old Times, — In the good old days of China 
tea some sixty years ago, the duty was 2s Id per 
lb., and the range of prices per lb. in bond was as 
follows ; Bohea 2s 101, Congou common Is to Is 
4d, strong Is Gd to 2s, Pekoe kinds Is lOd to 
2s 8d, Souchong Is Id to 2s Id, Caper Is Id 
to Is 5d, fine Orange Pekoe 2s 6d to 3s 6d. The 
retail price of tea ranged in 1837 from 6s 4d 
to 14s. This was of course before the days of 
Indian tea. To those who remember the difficulty 
experienced over twenty years ago in procuring 
Indian tea from the shop of the tea retailer the fol- 
lowing passage from the last issue of the Oroccr shows 
the changes brought about by time. “As China is 
now- making strenuous efforts to as-similate her pro- 
duce to that grown in India and Ceylon, it becomes,” 
says the organ from which we quote, “ all the more 
necessary for British planters to turn out tea of extra 
good quality ; for it is the undoubted excellence of 
their productions, adapted to the peculiar tastes and 
made to suit the palates of consumers at home, that 
his enabled them to achieve so signal a victory over 
their Chinese rivals as has been shown for many 
years past, and it is to be hoped that nothing on the 
part of the British tea-grovvers will be left undone to 
preserve tlieir old reputation for successfully building 
up a gigantic industry, and thus maintain the pres- 
tige of their favourite product.” — II. & C, Mail, June 25. 
