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Image provided by: University of Hawaii at Manoa; Honolulu, HI
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6 THE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION LETTER The University of Hawaii is printing und distributing free a weekly extension letter. A great many of our renders do not re ceive this letter, however, and for their information we will print in this column each week the parts that seem to us to apply especially to our1 farmers: FIRST STEPS IN BEEKEEPING While it is true that the field for commercial beekeeping on a large scale is pretty well filled by sev cral apiary companies in the ter ritory, still there are plenty of op portunities for this industry on a scale to furnish honey for home use and 'lerhaps to snake a little money Dii the side. That there is wide inUreht in this subject throughout the to utory U indicated by the many rt.nue.'ts for information on this subject that come to the university, as well as by the surprisingly largo number who have enrolled in ihs extension short course in bookkeeping. The first step in beekeeping is to learn something about it. Get b.ii'.itins or a r,on. book on th-3 sabje-t. and l.i.l with experienced bookkeepers. The best book is "el!e kjepiii;;," by II V. rhiilirs, pub lished by McMillen Co., New York, V.I17). A pamphlet published by E. C Smith, experienced apiarist, can b: pun based for 25 cents. We can take our orders for these, thru the Uni versity Hook Store. The best time to sta.i is in the spring, in April or May or earlier. in Hawaii it is possible to make a start at most any period of th year, but now is the best time when the kiawe (algaroba) is in bloom ur.A a long period of honey storage is ahead for the colony. Good standard hives only should be used, for they are much better and in the long run cheaper than others.' Sufficient hives, a smoker, a bee-veil and a hive-tool such as Smith describes should be provided before you get the bees. Where to Get Bees Established colonies. In standard hives may be purchased for about $n from any apiarist. Stray swavpis occasionally may be caught and l ived. A small colony of bees with n good queen may be bought and during the spring and summed months the small handful will mul tiply into a strong colony. This is rot recommended as the best way of making a start however. Anyone who cares to may sen 1 us orders for established colonies and wo will piace them where they can best be filled. iieekeepcr's Supplies ire sold by tnc Jordan Co., 203 iV.eCandle"B Iiuilding, Honolulu. Canning Tivits tmd Vej-tablei We ha.vn fo, free aistrl'nitinn a few extra copies of a government bulletin (Farmers Bulletin 8.r3) which ;;v(8 much valuable informa tion mi tbo home canmuj of fruits and vegetables. WATER MAKES EGGS :ne: the cheapest and most es se:. 111.,; tl( ncnt, Is cl'teii lost sh-hl of l-y ti.i average p.;-iltry inai. Khpec.illy as 'be warm season of tin? year approaches should ample provision be made to supply plen ty of water for all fowl whether, con fined ir on free range. A dozen medium sized f-'gs contain about a pint of water and D5 per cent of thi; bod- weight of a nen Is water Water i: necessary in the crop of the hen to keep the tood which reaches there from beci niii'g con Kivied. or crop-bound which n.ay result from the lack of water. Wat er iii'ii-iis the food and allow.-) it to pass uniformly down tha il!et into the glandular sto.-u.'h. In tli3 glandular stoma -h quantities of di KcMivo juices my; poured li-. the 'food here it passes on to the kiz zanl. ''ho action of the givard grit (I' contents into a lino paste, from l Ik-it it goes on thru ibe in-t'.-stlnoK and is acted u-iou by Ibe !iHr".iio iuici's at dif'i n nt po'nts until it .s a sf-fli'ikjl solution In the hn;".' i''ti I ;in-s Absoi piion of the foctl mlo the bl-'d occurs whilo i: a lit; iM : tale i:i the mt .-slinos T he absorbed food is carried to all parts of the body in the blood stream. Water is necessary for every one of these processes. Many flocks pro duce few eggs because of the lack of water. Supply ple"ty of water for it is the cheapest ind most essential food for poultry. ALFALFA IN HAWAII The opinion seems to prevail that alfalfa is not well adapted to Ha waii. Many failures have been re potted, due in some cases to ad verse soil or weather conditions. When it has been definitely deters mined that alfalfa will not do well in any given section, It would be a waste of time and money to make further attempts to grow this kind of forage crops, but we must be sure that a failure Is real and not caused simply by failure to appre ciate the habits of the plants. At the university farm we have just harvested the first crop of Hairy Peruvian alfalfa on an acre field that was planted last Novem ber. Time and again it looked like a failure. The weather was cool, too much rain in January, the cut worms ate up one quarter of the field, but the plants came up again from the roots, and now that the hard-beginning perior is over we feel that it will be practically proof against pests and from now it will easily hold Its own against weeds. It is planted in three foot rows and once between each cutting we will run the cultivator thru. On the bas is of our previous experience, we expect to cut this field nine times each year for the next five years, an average of forty tons of green forage per acre per year. No bet ter forage for dairy cows can be grown in Hawaii. These figures are based on records of fields that have been producing since IJ'16 on the university farm. Forty tons of green alfalfa are euivalent to ten tons of dry alfalfa hay, which means a re turn of over $400 per acre based on the cost of alfalfa hay in Hawaii. Here are some requisites for growing this crop: (1) The ground must be finely pulverized for seeds will not ger minate among dry clods. (2) Ger minate and kill all possible weed seeds before planting, by repeated discings. It is cheaper to kill them with a disc than to use a hoe after planting. And the repeated discings to kill the weeds will, pulverize the soil at the same time. Six weeks of discing may be necessary in some weedy soils. Hemember that plant ing before the soil is properly pre pared is sure to result in failure. In rainfall sections or in weedlesa sections broadcasting may be pre ferable to planting in rows. (3) The seeds' must be new enough so that they have their full vitality. Alfalfa seeds lose much of their vitality in Hawaii during the first year. They may still germinate but produce such weak plants that they cannot survive the first adverse condition The Hairy Peruvian variety has been the best yielder on the univer sity farm. An alfalfa field once established rpquires less attention than sugar cane and no nitrogenous fertilizers since it gets its nitrogen from the air. Our oldest fields have produc ed over forty ratoon crops. A for age crop so valuable is entitled to some attention in getting it started. Visit the alfalfa field on university farm when next in Honolulu. BANANAS OUR THIRD CROP? Sugar, and pineapples are estab lished, leading crops here what will be ouc third big crop? Rice growing probably will not expand farther, and avocado production will soon reach its limit because the quarantine prohibition against ship ping this fruit to the mainland. Our third big crop must be a product which we "can market profitably and on a large scale outside of Ha waii, in competition with other tropical countries. Bananas are grown successfully here on a large enough scale to de monstrate the possibilities. The Pa cific coast cities absorb enormous quantities of bananas and Hawaii Bhould be able to supply this demand better and more cheaply than any other country provided we can get the necessary transportation. Prob ably banana production will be our third big agricultural industry. Waiakea homesteaders, and oth ers similarly situated, should con sider carefully the proposition of planting one or two acres of their land to bananas now, in order to make a start in this industry. This will cost very little and yield large returns in two ways (1) valuable experience will be gained and (2) a large number of young plants will bo available when the time comes for expansion. t What variety Is the best to plant? This important question will be answered in the next fetter. Watch for it. SUDAN GRASS This non-leguminous grass crop has been widely advertised thru all the southern states and apparently it fits well into the agriculture of those sections. it has been grown in Hawaii long before its popularity spread over the southern United States, and it has not proved to be an Ideal for age crop hero, although it does pos sess many merits. The forage seems very palatable to both horses and cattle, and with green alfalfa it makes a good mixture for dairy cows, since alfalfa alone may prove too laxative. Sudan gras3 seems rather immune to insect pests and it is not hard to establish a stand. During the cooler mouths of the year the leaves tend to be very susceptable to a form of rust, which, however, does not seem to kill the plant, but does greatly retard its growth. Us greatest drawback is that it does not maintain itself very long, thus necessitating replanting at least every year, and in many of our fields on the university farm the yields have decreased to an un profitable point at the end of eight months after planting. The fertil ity of the soil of course will largely determine the length of time that the field maintains itself. The yields on the university farm range from about 28 to 47 tons of green forage per acre per year. The yields decrease with each ra toon crop. This field maintained itself better than the average. We seldom get a plart and seven ra toon cr.ops from one planting. POULTRL REMEDIES (Tested by the Poultry Division, University of Hawaii.) Ordinarily a well kept flock needs little medical treatment. Neverthe less poultry of all kinds are sus ceptable to many diseases, some of which are highly Infectious. Cer tain diseases respond favorably to treatment; others resist all efforts at treatment and cause heavy loss es. During the past year, the univer sity flocks have suffered from sore head or chicken-pox, especially the young chicks. Also from eye-worm and intestinal worm, all of which complaints we have been advised, are very prevalent thruout the ter ritory. The following treatments were tested and for the most part gave excellent results. Sore-head or Chicken-pox Evidently a contagious disease, perhaps transmitted thru sparrows, or possibly mosquitoes. Affected chicks were separated from well ones as far as possible. Treatment: Synol Liquid Soap was -applied to the affected parts with a stiff brush vigorously. Three to five applications a day proved much more effective than iodine or blue dintment, both old standard remedies. GOO chicks were treated with vaccine, which, for Borne un accountable reason proved less ef fective in this case than in former tests. Possibly the excessively hot weather prevailing at the time was responsible. Eye-worm of Chickens. This trouble .appears to be ex tremely prevalent In Hawaiian flocks, to judge by the complaints that have come to us. A score of birds have been successfully and expeditiously treated by one of our short course students as follows: the fowl is held securely under, the left arm and the head is held firm ly with two hands. With the left thumb press against the rear end of the eye, and with the right thumb press firmly across the nos tril, or over the tear pocket at the inner corner of the eye, toward the other thumb in a slightly upward movement. If rightly done great masses, 10 to 50 of the worms may be pressed out from under the up per lid. We have found this a sim pler and more effective remedy than the 5 per cent solution of creolin dropped in the eye beneath the nictitating membrane. A lit tle practice will make the squeez ing out method very effective. Intestinal Worms Most chicks are infected with one or more species of parasite worms and these may become a sour.ee of disaster unless the fowl are rid of them. After testing out the cumber some tobacco treatment and others, we have adopted the iron sulphate (copperas) treatment, attention to which was was first called to the writer by E. C. Moore of Hai ku, Maui. Place in a gallon demi Jon one pound iron sulphate crys tals and fill with water. Shake thor oughly, then the suspended liquid will be a saturated solution. Of the solution add a tablespoonful to each quart of drinking water, sufficient for one day's supply for a dozen hens. Supply to the flock in alter nating days, or if badly Infested give daily for a week and alternat ing weeks thereafter. The iron sul phate appears to be a tonic as well as a vermifuge. DELEGATE SENDS VEGETABLE SEEDS to The boar.d of agriculture and for estry has just received a generous supply of assorted vegetable seed from our delegate to congress. This Is now available, free of charge. all who can make good use of It. No flower seeds are in the lot. The vegetablo seeds come ii packages of three assortments sa follows: V-2 contains beans, beet, lettuce onion and tomato seeds. V-4 contains peas, beet, onion and radish seeds. V-7 contains beet, carrot onion and tomato seeds. This seed will bo mailed out to all who will apply for it. Applica tions should be sent to David Haughs, Box 3319, Honolulu. lettuce, lettuce. ' V TIRES 2R en I fa! 0 TI THEN renewal tim VV comes, equip your car with Vacuum Cup Fabric ov Cord Tires and forget the dangers of "ekiddy" paYements. Forget also the disappointing mileage averages other tires may have given you. Buy Vacuum Cup Tires you pay only for the quality the safety coats you nothing. C. B. HOFGAARD & CO., Ltd., Agents, WAIMEA JUST ON HAND DIRECT FROM THE FACTORY UNIVERSAL" Made by LANDERS. FRARY & CLARKE New Britain, Connecticut Vacuum Botlles - quart and pints heavy steel cash, hrowx enamel finish Vacuum Botlles - quarts and pints EXTRA HEAVY SEAMLESS P.RASS CASE IIKU1LY POLISHED PULL NICKEL FINISH Vacuum Food Jars - quarts and pints HEAVY STEEL CASE, DARK (iREEX ENAMEL FINISH NICKEL PLATKD SHOULDKR AND CAP Fillers - Standard - for pottles and jars Beverage Shakers - i u pints and i pints MADE OF ISRASS. NICKEL PLATED . 'HAS STRAINER WITH LEAK-PROOF CAP FOOD CHOPPERS P.I'TCIIER KNIVES TARLE KNIVES SHEARS KNIVES AND FORKS COOKS KNIVES KITCHEN KNIVES TRIMM KRS FAMILY SCALES The above on display in our Hardware Department LIHUE STORE KAUAI'S EMPORIUM