CULTIVATION OF THE COFFEE TREE IN THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.
In order to obtain the best results the coffee tree requires to be
properly planted, and during its life time needs frequent and
intelligent cultivation.
The various operations incidental to the opening and carrying on of a
coffee plantation will be taken up in their proper order and described
in as plain language as possible, and as briefly as is consistent with a
clear explanation of the subject.
The very first thing the planter should do after obtaining possession of
his land is to plant a nursery, so that he may have, as soon as
possible, an abundant supply of strong healthy plants. Many planters
have planted their fields with wild stumps, these are young coffee
plants that are found under wild growths of coffee trees. The young
trees are cut off about six inches above the ground, they are then taken
up and the lateral roots trimmed close to the tap root. The thready end
of the tap root is cut off and the stump is ready to plant. In some
cases the young plants are taken up, from under the wild trees, and
planted just as they are. This method can be dismissed at once as the
worst possible method of planting the coffee tree. The very best plants
are strong healthy nursery plants, that is, plants that have been grown
from the best seed in a properly prepared nursery. The next best plants
to use are nursery stumps. These are nursery trees that have grown too
large to safely transplant. By cutting them down and trimming the roots
they can be safely transplanted to the field, where they will grow into
good healthy trees. Stumps soon after planting send up several shoots,
these, with the exception of the strongest one, are taken off. This
latter shoot is to grow and make the coffee trees.
MAKING THE NURSERY.
The size of the nursery will depend on how large the plantation is to
be. For a 75-acre plantation, one acre of ground will more than supply
all the plants required. It is always desirable to have a greater number
of plants than is needed to just plant the acreage the plantation is to
be, for after the fields are planted some of the plants may get injured
from dry weather and require replacing with plants from the nursery. Any
surplus left, after the trees in the fields are well established, can be
sold to some later planter, who will find it to his advantage to
purchase good nursery plants for his first planting and thereby save one
year of time. It is advisable for all planters to buy plants for their
first planting, but for the second year's planting they should have a
nursery of their own from which they can select the strongest and most
forward plants.
The land for the nursery should be selected as close as possible to
where the plantation is to be. It should be on a slight slope to insure
drainage, and free from rocks and stones. The soil should be ploughed or
dug over to the depth of one foot and made as fine as possible. Beds
should be thrown up six inches high and three feet wide. The surface of
the beds should be made quite smooth and level; the seeds should be
planted six inches apart and three quarters of an inch deep. A good way
to ensure even and regular planting is to make a frame three feet wide
each way. Pegs, three quarters of an inch long and five eighths of an
inch diameter, should be fastened to one side of the frame, placing
them exactly six inches apart. The frame, thus prepared, is placed, pegs
down, on the bed. A slight pressure will sink the pegs into the soil.
The frame is now lifted and you have the holes for the seeds all of one
depth and equi-distant from each other. The seeds can now be dropped one
in each hole. The seeds should be placed flat side down, and covered by
brushing over the surface of the bed. If the weather is at all dry it is
a good plan to mulch the surface of the bed with dry grass or fern
leaves. The soil should be kept moist, and if there is not sufficient
rain the beds must be watered. In six or seven weeks the seeds should
sprout and show above ground. The mulching should now be moved from over
the plants and arranged in the rows. It has been the practice of some
planters to plant the seed much closer than six inches apart, but it
will be found that plants at six inches apart can be more easily and
safely transplanted than from close planted beds. It will be advisable
in taking up plants from the beds, to take only every other one, this
will give the remaining plants more room to develop and grow more stocky
than would be the case if all the plants were taken up from each bed as
they were required.
CLEARING THE LAND.
The next thing for the planter to do is to get his land cleared. This
can be done more satisfactorily and cheaply by contract than can be done
by days' work. Gangs of Chinese and Japanese undertake the clearing of
land and will make a contract to clear the land as per specification. In
the Olaa District land costs from $20 to $50 per acre to clear,
according to the kind of clearing done. The land is forest land and some
planters have the trees cut down and everything burned making the land
quite clear, while others just have the vines and ferns cut and the
trees felled, leaving everything on the land to rot. This method while
costing much less than burning up everything, makes it more expensive to
lay out and plant the land. The planter must decide for himself which of
the two methods he will pursue. However, it can be said in the case of
those who only cut and fell, in a few years everything, trees, vines and
ferns rot down and greatly increase the fertility of the soil. The next
thing is to lay out the land for the digging of the holes where it is
intended to set out the young trees. There is a wide diversity of
opinion as to the proper distance apart to plant coffee trees. From
10x12 feet down to 5x6 and all intermediate distances are practiced. It
is a significant fact that planters who formerly planted their trees at
the wider distances are now setting out trees as close as 6x5. Trees
planted 6x6 will probably yield better results per acre than trees
planted at a wider or closer distance. Having fixed upon the distance
apart the trees are to be planted, the planter proceeds to mark with
pegs the places where he wants the holes dug. This is usually done with
a line or rope that has pieces of red rag fastened in the strands, at
the distance apart at which it is intended to dig the holes. The line is
drawn tightly across one end of the clearing and a peg driven into the
soil at every place that is marked on the line. The men, holding the two
ends of the line, are each provided with a stick the exact length that
the rows are to be apart. After one row is pegged, the line is advanced
one length of the stick and the operation repeated until the whole
clearing is pegged. After the first line is pegged a line should be laid
at exactly right angles to the first line so that the rows will be
straight both ways. The pegging being completed, the holes should be dug
not less than 18 inches wide and 18 inches deep. The top soil should be
carefully placed on one side of the hole and the subsoil on the other,
the holes should remain open as long as possible and should only be
filled in a week or so before planting the trees. The bottoms of the
holes should be explored with a light crowbar and, if any rocks or
stones are found, they should be removed. In filling the holes the top
soil (that has been placed on one side) should be placed in the bottom
of the hole and other top soil should be taken from between the rows
until the hole is full, the subsoil can now be disposed of by scattering
it between the rows. The holes after filling should have the marking
pegs replaced in the center of the filling, this will serve as a guide
for planting the trees.
PLANTING.
There is no operation in all the work of establishing a coffee
plantation that requires such careful supervision as that of planting
out the young trees. If the work is carelessly done and the slender tap
root is doubled up or, if it is shortened too much, the tree will never
thrive. It may grow fairly well for a time, perhaps until the time for
the first crop, then the foliage will turn yellow and the tree show
every sign of decay. The effort to produce a crop is too much for the
tree and the sooner it is pulled up and replaced by a properly planted
tree the better.
The closest supervision is necessary in order that the planter may be
certain that the tap roots are placed perfectly straight in the ground;
and the lateral roots placed in a natural position. In order to effect
this, with the least amount of trouble, transplanters have been used. A
transplanter that has been used with success is made as follows: two
pieces of sheet iron (galvanized) are bent into two half circles, which,
when placed together, form a cylinder 3 inches in diameter and seven
inches long. A piece of hoop iron is bent to a ring, that will fit over
the cylinder, and riveted. The mode of using is as follows: The two
halves of the cylinder are pressed into the ground, one on each side of
the young coffee tree. They are pressed down until the upper ends are
level with the surface of the soil. The hoop iron ring is then
pressed over the ends of the two halves of the cylinder, binding them
firmly together. The cylinder can now be lifted from the ground bringing
with it the young tree with all its roots in the position in which they
grew. In this condition the young trees are carried to the field and,
the holes being opened, the cylinder, holding the tree, is placed in the
ground and the soil packed firmly around it. The hoop iron ring is then
removed and the two halves of the cylinder withdrawn. The soil is again
compacted around the roots and the tree is planted. There is another
transplanter, invented in America, that would probably be better and
more economical in working than the one described above. This
transplanter consists of a cylinder of thin sheet steel. These are made
in America of various sizes to suit different kinds of trees. For a
coffee tree a good size would be 7 inches long and 5 inches in diameter.
The cylinder has an opening, five-eighths of an inch wide, running the
whole length of the cylinder and exactly opposite this opening a handle
is riveted. This handle is of half inch round iron, 18 inches long with
a cross bar on top. The rod is bent outward in the form of a bow, so
that in working, the branches of the young tree may not be injured. The
mode of working the transplanter is as follows: the cylinder is placed
on the ground with the tree in the center of the cylinder. This can be
done by allowing the stem of the young tree to pass through the slot in
the cylinder. Then, by means of the cross handle, the cylinder is turned
and pressed into the soil until the upper end is level with the surface
of the ground. Then, by lifting on the stem of the tree and the handle
of the transplanter at the same time, the tree is taken from the ground
with its roots undisturbed. Should the end of the tap root project below
the end of the cylinder, the thready end should be pinched off with the
thumb nail. By placing the lower end of the cylinder on the bottom of a
box and inserting a wedge-shaped piece of wood in the slot, the cylinder
is sprung open and can be withdrawn, leaving the young tree, with a
cylinder of earth around its roots, standing on the bottom of the box.
This operation can be repeated until the box is full of the young trees,
when it is carried to the field and the trees placed one at each hole.
By using a duplicate transplanter a cylinder of earth is removed from
the spot where the tree is to be placed, and the tree with its cylinder
of earth is placed in the round hole, which it exactly fits, the earth
being slightly compacted around the roots. The tree is thus planted with
the absolute certainty that the roots are in their natural position.
[Illustration: PAUOA VALLEY RICE FIELDS.]
[Illustration: PINEAPPLE PLANTATION.]
WEEDING.
The old adage, "a stitch in time saves nine," will bear its fullest
application in the care and weeding of a coffee estate. From the time
the land is first cleared, weeding should commence, and it is
astonishing how little it will cost if care is taken that no weed be
allowed to run to seed. The bulk of Hawaiian coffee lands is situated in
the forests where the land is covered with a dense undergrowth of ferns
and vines and there are no pernicious weeds to bother. But soon after
clearing, the seeds of weeds are dropped by the birds and are carried in
on the feet and clothing of the laborers and visitors. We have no weeds
that run to seed in less than thirty days, and if the fields are gone
over, once a month, and any weed that can be found pulled up and buried,
the work of weeding will be reduced to a minimum. But if the weeds, that
are bound to spring up, are allowed to run to seed, the work of weeding
will be greatly increased and will require the labor of a large gang to
keep the fields in order. If taken in time, the labor of one man will
keep from 15 to 25 acres quite clean. During the first year after
setting out the fields, all that is required is to keep the fields clear
of weeds and the replacing, with a healthy tree from the nursery, any
tree that from any cause looks sickly and does not come along well.
It will be found that in parts of the field some trees, while looking
healthy, do not grow as fast as the average of the trees, this is often
due to the soil not being of as good a quality. Knolls and side hills
are not generally so rich as the hollows and valleys, and the coffee
trees, planted in the poorest parts of the field, should be fertilized
until they are as vigorous as the trees in the best parts.
HANDLING.
During the second year the young trees will have begun to make a good
growth and will require handling. In order to make clear the description
of the operations of handling and pruning, it may be well to describe
here the component parts of the coffee tree.
The underground portion consists of a tap root and numerous lateral or
side roots. The parts above ground consist of:
1st. The stem or trunk.
2d. The primaries or first branches; these grow from the trunk in pairs
at intervals of from two to four inches, the two primaries, making a
pair, grow one opposite to the other, the pair above radiating out at a
different angle and so on to the top of the tree.
3rd. The secondaries; these are the branches that grow in pairs from the
primaries.
4th. The tertiaries; these are the third branches that grow in pairs
from the secondaries in the same manner as the secondaries grow on the
primaries.
5th. The leaves that grow on all the branches.
During the whole of the second year, the field should be gone over at
least every two months and all the secondaries that make their
appearance should be rubbed off; this can be done by a touch of the
fingers, if the secondaries are not more than two or three inches long.
If allowed to grow longer, the knife must be used, or there is danger
of tearing out the eye or bud, which we depend upon for growing new
secondaries at the proper time. During the second year, the secondaries
will make their appearance only on the lower sets of primaries, the
upper sets as they grow being too young to grow secondaries. At the
beginning of the third year all the secondaries should be allowed to
grow till they attain a length of six inches; then the trees should be
carefully gone over and all but five of the secondaries on each primary
cut off with a sharp pruning knife. No pairs should be left, and only
the strongest and most vigorous should be retained. They should be
disposed on alternate sides of the primary and none left in a space of
six inches from the stem of the tree. The object of this is to allow the
light to penetrate to the center of the tree, for the coffee tree bears
fruit in greater profusion on branches that are exposed to the light
than on those that are shaded.
During this third year the tree will blossom and bear the first or
maiden crop. In some cases the tree will blossom in the second year, but
it is a wise plan to rub all the blossoms off, as it only weakens the
tree to bear a crop at such an early age. It is of the utmost importance
that in the first crop, as well as in all future crops, the tree should
not be overburdened with a superabundance of growing wood. If left to
itself, the lower primaries will grow a mass of secondaries, so much so
that no blossom will set on them, and the first crop will come only on
the upper primaries, and be only a third or fourth of the crop that
would be produced if the trees were properly handled. By handling, as
described above, the tree is relieved of all superfluous wood and only
such secondaries are left as are needed to bear the fourth year's crop,
and the maiden crop will grow on the primaries. It may be well to
mention here, that coffee only grows on wood of the second year's
growth, and does not grow on the same wood twice.
During the third year, the secondaries will come on the upper primaries.
When they are well set, they should be reduced in number and in no case
should more than five be left to grow. In some cases four or even three
will be sufficient. Whatever the number that may be left, it must be
understood that these are the branches that will bear the crop for the
fourth year. During the third year new secondaries will grow from the
places where the former secondaries grew. Sometimes two will grow from
one bud, they should all be removed, the trees being gone over two
months, but at the last handling before blossoming time, which varies
greatly with the elevation above sea level, enough of these new
secondaries should be left to make wood for the fifth year's crop. From
this time on the coffee planter should be able to point out the wood on
which the present and the next year's crop will be borne, and it is this
wood and that only, that should be allowed to grow. All other shoots,
suckers, etc., should be rubbed off each time the tree is handled,
provision being made each year for the wood for the crop two years hence.
During the third year, the trees will require topping. As to the height
at which a coffee tree should be topped, there is a great diversity of
opinion. Some planters advocate topping as low as four and a half feet,
others at six or seven feet; as a matter of fact the coffee tree will
bear fruit if topped as low as one and one half feet or if not topped at
all. The only valid reason for topping as low as four and a half feet is
for the convenience of picking the crop. Five and a half or six feet is
a good height to top a coffee tree on the rich lands of the Hawaiian
Islands. In fact the planters should not be guided by the number of
feet, but by the number of primaries he desires the tree to carry.
Eighteen to twenty pairs are a reasonable number for a coffee tree to
carry in this country, and it will be found that by not counting those
primaries that grow on the stem within fifteen inches from the ground,
eighteen or twenty pairs of primaries will come on the stem within six
feet from the ground. Before topping the tree, it should be allowed to
grow somewhat higher that it is intended to top, so that the wood may be
hardened and not decay as it sometimes does if topped when the wood is
too young. Topping is performed by cutting off the top of the tree at a
point an inch above a pair of primaries. Both primaries should also be
cut off an inch from the stem. This will leave the top in the form of a
cross; a knot will form at this point from which the tree will
constantly send up shoots striving to make a new top. These should be
torn off every time the tree is handled.
We have now arrived at the time when the tree is bearing the first or
maiden crop. Through careful handling the tree has been divested of all
superfluous shoots, branches, etc., and the crop is maturing on the
primaries. If the trees are situated on good rich soil, and the trees
are well grown, there should be at least thirteen pairs of primaries
bearing crop. At an average of fifty berries to each primary there will
be a yield of over one and a quarter pounds of clean coffee to the tree.
This yield for the first crop has been much exceeded in this country,
but it can only be assured by careful cultivation and handling as
described in this paper.
We will now take a look at the condition of our three years old trees.
They have all been topped and are carrying from thirty-six to forty
primaries, of which all except the upper six or eight are carrying four
or five secondaries that are well advanced and which will bear the crop
for the fourth year. There will also be four or five secondaries, that
are one or two months old, which are intended to bear the fifth year's
crop. All other growth should be removed as before up to the time of
blossoming for the fourth year's crop. This may be estimated as follows:
There should be at least twenty-four primaries that have on each of them
say, four bearing secondaries. At thirty berries to each secondary, the
yield would be close to three pounds of clean coffee to each tree. This
again has been exceeded in this country for four year old trees, but it
must be borne in mind, that in order to obtain these results, proper
cultivation, handling and pruning must be done. Without proper care such
results would be impossible, the coffee cannot grow an abundance of wood
and coffee at the same time. As soon as the crop of the fourth year is
gathered the work of pruning must commence without delay. This consists
of cutting off with a sharp knife the secondaries that have borne the
crop. They must not be cut so close as to injure the eye or bud. About
three-sixteenths of an inch from the stem of the primary will be quite
safe, and the secondaries for the fifth year's crop will soon make their
appearance. Care should be taken to leave the stem of the tree clear of
shoots and foliage for a space of six inches from the stem; the tree
will want all the light it can get. The coffee tree can be said to be in
full bearing when all the primaries are carrying bearing secondaries.
During the life of the coffee tree, the planter must keep a close watch
on his trees and restrict their wood-bearing propensities to the wood
that is to bear his crops; nothing else should be allowed to grow. If
the work is commenced rightly and carried on systematically, the work
will not be difficult and no crops will be lost. But on the other hand,
if the work is neglected, the trees will become matted and all the lower
primaries die off. These, if once lost, will not grow again. The tree
under these conditions will only bear a tithe of the crop it would bear
with proper attention, and furthermore it is a most difficult matter to
bring a neglected tree into proper shape and it can only be done at a
loss of one and perhaps two years' time. There are many minor details
connected with the care of the coffee tree which would occupy too much
space to describe here, and which the coffee planter can easily learn as
he carries on the work of coffee planting. Without doubt coffee planting
in this country is destined to become a great industry. We have large
tracts of the finest coffee lands in the world, only waiting to be
cultivated to make prosperous and happy homes. One parting word to the
intending coffee planter, take Davie Crockett's motto, "Be sure you're
right and then go ahead."
ESTIMATE OF COST OF ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING A COFFEE PLANTATION OF
75 ACRES, FROM THE FIRST TO THE SEVENTH YEAR.
FIRST YEAR.
Purchase of 100 acres of Government land
at $10.00 per acre $1,000 00
Manager's house and water tank 600 00
Laborers' quarters and water tank 350 00
Clearing 50 acres of land, at $20 per acre 1,000 00
Fencing 300 00
Purchase of 65,000, 1-year old coffee
plants at $5.00 per M 325 00
Lining, holing and planting 50 acres 600 00
Manager's salary, 1 year 1,200 00
Labor of 6 Japanese, 1 year at $15 per
month 1,080 00
Purchase of tools and starting nursery 500 00
---------
$6,955 00 $6,955 00
SECOND YEAR.
Manager's salary $1,200 00
Labor, 6 Japanese 1,080 00
Extra labor lining, holing and planting
25 acres 300 00
Sundries 500 00
---------
$3,080 00 $10,035 00
THIRD YEAR.
Manager's salary $1,200 00
Labor, 9 Japanese 1,620 00
Pulping shed and drying house 500 00
Pulper, with engine and boiler 500 00
Extra help for picking, pulping and drying
20,000 lbs. of coffee from 50 acres
(at 4 cents per lb.) 800 00
Hulling, polishing and grading 20,000 lbs.
of coffee at 1 cent 200 00
Sundries: bags, freight, etc. 250 00
---------
$5,070 00 5,070 00
$15,105 00
CREDIT.
By sale of 20,000 lbs. of coffee at 18 cents 3,600 00
---------
$11,505 00
FOURTH YEAR.
Manager's salary $1,200 00
Labor, 9 Japanese 1,620 00
Extra labor picking, pulping and drying
50,000 lbs. of coffee from 50 acres
(at 4 cents per lb.) 2,000 00
10,000 lbs. from 25 acres (3-year-old trees) 400 00
Hulling, polishing and grading 60,000 lbs.
at 1 cent 600 00
Sundries: bags, freight, etc. 400 00
---------
$6,220 00 6,220 00
---------
$17,725 00
CREDIT.
By sale of 60,000 lbs. of coffee at 18c 10,800 00
---------
$ 6,925 00
FIFTH YEAR.
Manager's salary $1,200 00
Labor, 9 Japanese 1,620 00
Picking, pulping and drying 60,000 lbs.
coffee from 50 acres and 25,000 lbs.
from 25 acres, at 4 cents 3,400 00
Hulling, polishing and grading 85,000 lbs.
at 1 cent per lb. 850 00
Sundries: bags, freight, etc. 500 00
---------
$7,570 00 7,570 00
---------
$14,495 00
CREDIT.
By sale of 85,000 lbs. coffee at 18 cents 15,300 00
---------
Balance on hand $ 905 00
SIXTH YEAR.
Manager's salary $1,200 00
Labor, 9 Japanese 1,620 00
Picking, pulping and drying 75,000 lbs. of
coffee from 50 acres, and 25,000 lbs. from
25 acres, 100,000 lbs. at 4 cents 4,000 00
Hulling, polishing and grading 100,000 lbs.
at 1 cent 1,000 00
Sundries: bags, freight, etc. 1,000 00
---------
$8,820 00 $ 8,820 00
CREDIT.
By sale of 100,000 lbs. of coffee at 18 cents 18,000 00
---------
Balance on hand $10,085 00
SEVENTH YEAR.
Manager's salary $1,200 00
Labor, 12 Japanese 2,160 00
Picking, pulping and drying 125,000 lbs.
of coffee at 4 cents 5,500 00
Hulling, polishing and grading 125,000 lbs.
at 1 cent 1,250 00
Sundries: bags, freight, etc. 1,200 00
---------
$11,310 00 $11,310 00
CREDIT.
By sale of 125,000 lbs. of coffee at 18 cents 22,500 00
---------
Balance to credit of Plantation at
end of seventh year $21,275 00
The yields as given in the above estimate are far below what may be
attained by thorough cultivation and fertilizing. The coffee tree
responds readily to good treatment, but will disappoint its owner if
neglected.
[Illustration: COFFEE PLANTATION, HAMAKUA.]
[Illustration: COFFEE PLANTATION, PUNA.]